Release & Respite

Our Community Lenten Practice

Practicing with a Church Friend

This year, we're putting a different spin on giving something up for Lent. We will be holding this question together:

What might you release during this time to invite respite?

We will move through this practice with a partner from our church family. If you sign up for this practice, we'll match you with someone from the community and you can check in with each other regularly—every day, every few days, every week or whatever you decide—to gently hold one another accountable to your practice.

You'll be matched with someone who wants to communicate in the same way as you: by phone, email, text, or even Facetime/Zoom.

Some suggestions of what you might release:

• Needing to be helpful

• Needing to be productive

• Hiding when you're struggling
  (or needing to appear strong)

• Needing to appear competent in the eyes of others

One way you might discover what you might want to release is to think about your "shoulds." What do you always tell yourself you "should" be doing that feels more draining than life-giving? Maybe it would be helpful to release that, if only for a little while.

You might release the same thing for the full 40 days of Lent, or you might find that you have something new to release every week or even every day. It's up to you.

You can also use your partner to figure out what you might want to release.

Click here to sign up for a partner from St. Luke's. 

You are also welcome to move through this practice on your own.