Dear Friends,   Welcome to the March edition of our benefice magazine which again covers lots of news and activities across our four churches.  We are now in Lent, and over the forty days we will reflect on Jesus’ life in the wilderness and the temptations he faced, and our journey of discipleship.  

Several years ago on a trip to the Holy Land, I decided to scoop up some of the Judean desert and placed it in a jam jar to bring home.  As I went through security in Tel Aviv airport I thought perhaps I should mention it to the security guard.  His response was that people often pinch a bit of desert but there’s plenty to go around so it’s okay. It has served as a visual aid in talks and assemblies for many years and it gives one a little sense of what life in the desert might be like: the contrast between the heat of the day and the coldness of the night, and the sheer bareness of the desert.  Life in the desert would have little in the way of luxury and one would have to focus on the essentials: survival, and what is really important in life.

In the past, Lent for many people has involved going without certain things, but interestingly many contemporary Christians push back against the idea of “giving something up” and instead suggest that we “take something on.”  Rather than seeing Lent as a period of denial and deprivation, they suggest we view Lent as an invitation to commit to positive actions, like volunteering, donating money, or practicing deeper contemplation.  Proponents of this view point out that by virtue of committing to something new, we also give something else up.  We sacrifice our time and commit it to service, or to God.  It may be an approach to consider for us this Lent….

During Lent we shall be holding a series of Lent groups at different times and places across the benefice (see opposite).  In Lent we shall journey with Jesus into the wilderness and explore how his relationship with his Father sustained him and blessed him. All of us at some stage in our lives have wilderness experiences and the Lent groups will look at different aspects of our faith and how they sustain and support us at these times.

In other news we shall have Bishop Tony Robinson with us at each of the four Sundays in March, and it will be an opportunity for us to share in worship and have fellowship afterwards.  Further news about the vacancy will follow in due course but in the meantime please pray for the benefice and for those involved in the day to day running of the benefice during the vacancy – many thanks.

Take care and God Bless, Glenn

Rev Glenn Coggins, Vicar of the United Benefice of Stanley,

Outwood and Wrenthorpe and Alverthorpe