The Slow Lent Movement

I am joining Andrea at The House of Sprout in the Slow Lent Movement during this season of Lent. "We are dust, and to dust we shall return."


I was looking for a little inspiration for Lent since we have been spending a lot of time at home lately and not a lot of time at church. The idea of the Slow Lent Movement is to slow down to in this busy world. We are not so busy these days, but I still like the idea of practicing moving slower and reflecting.

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There are five basic principles or disciplines for a Slow Lent. Each discipline first introduces the traditional thought and then adapts it to the new way of thinking. Enjoy!


#1. Traditional: repentance
Slow: speak less, listen more

So often we listen to someone talk while already thinking about how we will respond, never really hearing what the other person was saying. This discipline asks you to listen more carefully with your full attention.

#2. Traditional: forgiveness
Slow: let go of one grudge and one "should"

Letting go of grudges will be good practice for the begin of my parenting journey. It is also important that I let go of a lot of my "shoulds" now that I have a newborn and don't really have time for them all anyway.

#3 Traditional: catechesis (explained as preparation for religious service)
Slow: re-learn one basic of the faith

This could be as simple as focusing on prayer or rereading a section of the Bible. Make it work for you to help you build your understanding of your faith.

#4 Traditional: fasting
Slow: choose one way to "unplug"

A technology fast as opposed to a food fast---a little hard for me right now since most of my life is spent on the couch nursing. But I will take a few of those daytime nursing sessions to read and sing to Lil' D instead of watching tv or playing on my phone.

#5 Traditional: almsgiving (tithing)
Slow: simplify

Hmmm...

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Borrowed from Bishop Margaret G. Payne of the NewEngland Lutheran Synod