• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Shop
  • A Rocha Intl

A Rocha USA

A Rocha USA

  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
    • Events Calendar
    • Join the A Rocha Community
    • Tackle Plastic Pollution
    • Take Climate Action
    • Wild Wonder Curriculum
  • Donate

Lenten Practice

A Rocha USA / March 1, 2017

In many churches around the country, today marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Traditionally, Lent is considered a time for prayer, penance, and reflection as we prepare to celebrate Easter. We mark the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday service that includes imagery of ashes (and sometimes real ones) and the words, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Lent has also traditionally included the practice of giving something up in order to bring our relationship with God into greater focus – sometimes fasting, or sometimes giving up a habit that has become distracting or unhelpful in our lives.

However, Lent can also be considered a time to focus on our relationship with God than on any type of self-deprivation we can come up with (although for many people, the act of abstaining from something is still an important and spiritually fulfilling aspect of Lent). This focus can include, instead of giving something up, adding something to daily life: a time of reflection, perhaps, or some reading, or another spiritual practice.

Here at A Rocha USA, we believe that Lent is a perfect time for spending quiet, reflective time in nature in order to deepen our relationship with God and better understand our role in the great, ever-unfolding story of creation. What about adopting a Lenten practice of spending time in creation? A daily walk, perhaps? Sitting outside without distraction? Or maybe even planting some seeds (either outdoors or indoors) and watching them grow?

As we begin this season of Lent and draw closer to God in the way that works best for each one of us, A Rocha USA will have a series of posts that explores the connection between the Earth and its Creator, drawing on the beauty of the hymn “Now The Green Blade Rises.” This hymn was written in the early 20th Century by John MacLeod Campbell Crum, using a 15th Century French tune. It celebrates the parallels between God’s Easter story, God’s creation story, and the story of God in each of our lives.

Filed Under: Lent, Worship

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • A Rocha
  • A Rocha Arts
  • A Rocha Canada
  • A Rocha Ghana
  • A Rocha International
  • A Rocha Kenya
  • A Rocha Portugal
  • A Rocha USA
  • Advent
  • At Home
  • Au Sable
  • Autumn Ayers
  • Ben Lowe
  • Birds
  • Brittany Michalski
  • Bugs
  • Campus Chapters
  • Central Oregon
  • Central Texas
  • Church
  • Citizen Science
  • Climate Change
  • Climate Stewards USA
  • Climate Stewards USA
  • Community
  • Conservation
  • Core Commitments
  • Creation Care
  • Creation Care Camp
  • Dave Timmer
  • David Taylor
  • Dirt
  • Dr. Howard Snyder
  • Dr. Robert Sluka
  • Easter
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Ecosystems
  • Education
  • EEN
  • Election
  • Environment
  • Environmental Education
  • Extinction
  • Farm
  • Flo Oakes
  • Florida
  • Food
  • Forest
  • Global Partners
  • Gospel
  • Grant Shellhouse
  • John Elwood
  • John Stott
  • Kilns College
  • Leah Kostamo
  • Lent
  • Liuan Huska
  • Living Planet Report
  • Love Your Place
  • Marine
  • Mark McReynolds
  • Nashville
  • NW Washington
  • Partners
  • People
  • Peter Harris
  • Planet
  • Planetwise Blog
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Pollinators
  • Programs and Projects
  • Race
  • Recycling
  • Redemption
  • Resources
  • Restoration
  • Robert Campbell
  • Sabbath
  • Sandra McCracken
  • SoCal
  • Species
  • Theology
  • To Repair the World
  • Uncategorized
  • Washington DC
  • Wheaton
  • Wild Wonder
  • Worship
  • YECA

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • May 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012

Tags

All Things Reconciled arocha A Rocha A Rocha Marine A Rocha USA arochausa biodiversity birds Christmas citizen science Climate Change Climate Stewards community conservation creation Creation Care Creation Care Camp Dave Bookless dirt environment explore place arocha arochausa saltandsteel trees nature gospel Gratitude hope internship Kellie Haddock Love Your Place loveyourplace making all things new Marine Miranda Harris New Year nwwashingtonarocha Peter Harris prayer Redemption Restoring people and places Richard Louv Sandra McCracken Seasons songwriting sustainable Together in the Harvest Tom Rowley Wild Wonder

Footer

A Rocha USA
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • ABOUT US
  • What We Do
  • Meet the Team
  • Careers and Internships
  • Contact
  • RESOURCES
  • Blog
  • Join Love Your Place
  • Multimedia
  • GET INVOLVED
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Join Our Community
  • Take Climate Action
  • Marine Conservation
  • Camp Curriculum
  • Projects

© 2016 A Rocha USA Environmental Stewardship

A Rocha USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 31-1751509
  • ECFA |
  • GuideStar |
  • Privacy Policy |
  • Faith Statement