Commit to making change in Lent

From Christmas to the end of January, without fail, my Facebook feed fills up with women bearing lithe bodies and seductive promises.

“A new you in seven minutes a day!” (Seven minutes… what? I’m in the shower longer!)

“Two months to a new body!”

Change, of course, isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. The promise of transformation is attractive but the hard work required to get there? The discipline and commitment? Not so much. So, how can real change actually take place? Whether you begin with seven minutes or 70, making change begins with deep conviction and small steps, incorporated into your daily routine. And that’s where spiritual practises can be genuinely helpful.

The first glow of your New Years Resolutions may have faded, but Lent is coming up on March 1. School is back, the routines are in place and conditions are ideal to join others committed to spiritual growth and change within the wider world.

40 days to a ‘new you’ – for others

Lasting 40 days, Lent echoes the time of God’s people wandering in the wilderness, led by Moses. It reflects Jesus’s 40 days in the desert, where he was totally reliant on God and gathering strength for the challenges ahead. Perhaps Lent’s also a bit reminiscent of the six week program to a ‘new you.’ But its compactness definitely gives us a chance to reflect, renew and create change as we prepare for Easter — new life in Christ through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

UnitingWorld invites you to join a movement of people interested in real transformation — change within and change without. When you sign up to Lent Event, you’re committing to set aside some time each day to connect, reflect and act. Your goal? Spiritual growth, awareness of the lives of people living in challenging situations around the world, and the opportunity to help overcome poverty and share good news.

This year we’ll send you a reflection, action or video to muse on each day during Lent, as well as ideas about how you can raise the money needed to put fresh water in remote communities in Papua New Guinea, equip young people to share the news of Christ, send PeaceMakers into conflict areas in South Sudan, and help families break the poverty trap in India.

More than $3 million and 8000 churches have together combined for Lent Event, to help bring real change to people in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. If you want to be part of it, visit lentevent.com and sign up today.

Lives transformed in India

Parnjeet (pictured above) is one of the teachers in a Development Program run by UnitingWorld’s church partner in the Indian city of Amritsar. From the Dalit (untouchable) community within India, her life has been completely transformed through her involvement with the project.

“My own family has been changed by this project, and now we’re changing the community,” she says. “Not only have I trained to become a teacher and am encouraging children and families to understand the value of education, but my daughter has been through the program and, with the support of the church, has excelled in her studies. She’s now working full time as a nurse.”

Funds raised through Lent Event directly support the work of women like Parnjeet and her community.

Cath Taylor