Starting with #VirtualShrove and #ashtag, Lent’s online incarnation (if you’ll pardon the pun) has been substantial this year. Here’s a roundup of some of where Lent is happening online:
The Society of St. John the Evangelist has created a Lenten series, with a daily two-minute meditation based on a different word each day, ending with a question to ponder throughout the day. Links to meditations, a list of concepts, downloadable worksheets and resources for church leaders and educators are available here.
The United Methodist Church has launched a Lenten Photo a Day project.
Of course, there is Lent Madness, created in 2010 by the Reverend Tim Schenck, rector of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Massachusetts.
The Episcopal News Service reports on another Massachusetts project, Intent:
Young adults from several worshiping communities in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts are inviting one another into Lent this year with a daily dose of their own art, poetry, stories, photography, music and maybe even a cartoon or two.
And because these devotions are digital, anyone can sign up to receive them via a daily e-mail.
The Anglican Church of Canada has created an online Lenten resources page, including prayers, Bible study and video.
Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri, is publishing 40 Essential Bible Passages on its YouTube channel.
The Episcopal Church’s Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society is offering a number of resource, including daily scripture passages from United Thank Offering on Twitter (#unitedthankoffering) and Facebook and a seven-part series of blogs on poverty from Justice and Advocacy that can be read here (Episcopal Cafe excerpted the first two posts here).
From the Diocese of Texas, a #LivingLent How-To Guide, prompts projects that combine digital photography/video, tableaux-vivant and social media.
The Diocese of Oxford in England, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and the Church of England, along with other dioceses, have created #washday15, a Lenten practice explained as
…a way of encouraging people to make a difference to their communities this Lent through some kind of washing-related activity. The washing element is a way of re-enacting Jesus’s washing of the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.
And The Independent reports on a particularly compelling movement by Muslims who are following Lent in order to stand in solidarity with Christians, tweeting what they are giving up for the Christian season with the hashtag #Muslims4Lent:
Muslim American entrepreneur Bassel Riche, 28, told The Independent that he was inspired to start the started the campaign after non-Muslim students joined in with the Muslim Students Association’s Ramadan Fast-a-Thon at his former college, The University of Houston.
“We would all gather in a big hall and break our fast together at a hosted dinner and partake in interfaith dialogue,” he said, explaining that he had observed lent around for four years, and wanted to encourage fellow Muslims to join him this year.
“The goal is to thank the many Christians that have always shown love and respect towards Islam by showing them we in turn have the utmost respect for their beliefs,” Riche said.
Are you using social media or other online resources for your Lenten disciplines? Tell us below in the comments. What’s not on the list above? Add those in comments too.
Posted by Cara Ellen Modisett
Edited on March 9 to include #LentLiving and #washday15.