Doing Lent - the Omicron way
Lent begins on 2 March this year, and as we wait to see what the arrival of the Omicron variant in our communities will look like, we’re encouraging our Movement to think about how to use Lent Studies as a way to continue to gather safely, build teams, care for one another, and continue to learn together about who God is and who we are called to be at this time. The theme for this year’s study is Sentinels: Discerning New Life. Now more than ever, as our walls continue to be smaller, finding out how to both see where God’s invitation is, and how to share that with others, is crucial.
There’s a strong possibility that in the near future a number of us within parishes and mission units may have to self-isolate. So, we need to be proactive in ensuring that we can continue to be the body of Christ together. Here’s some suggestions of how to use Lent Studies as a vehicle for doing this.
First off, time to decide some basics:
Why not encourage your whole parish to join in. Can you use an existing small group network, or do you may need to develop new or additional groups?
Who’s going to lead your groups? Can you identify others within that group who are willing to step up and lead if the usual leader is unwell or isolating?
Are you going to meet in person, or on Zoom?
Now let’s dig in to some of these options.
Doing small groups safely in homes
By now we are all well versed in Covid-19 protocols [link] around staying safe, but it’s worth just running through these again as guidelines become nuanced. Decide whether you would prefer to have all members vaccine passed, or a mixed economy, and how you will communicate that decision with others. Talk to your parish leader if you need advice and support.
Contact trace! Keep a record of who was there.
Ventilate and allow enough room for 1m social distancing.
Communicate that mask-wearing is appropriate if people feel more comfortable doing so.
Consider how you could do refreshments safely
Remind your group to stay at home if feeling in any way sick, and get tested.
If someone in your group gets a positive Covid-19 test, ask them to let you know right away, so you can inform the other group members.
If part of your group can’t meet in person, consider whether you want to have a combination of in-house and people on Zoom. We’ve found that it’s much easier if everyone is on Zoom, rather than a ‘mixed economy’, as it’s hard for those on screen to keep up with in person conversations.
Meeting out and about
Here’s a suggestion while the weather is still nice: meet outside. It has great ventilation. Get people to bring their own thermos or refreshments, and perhaps identify in advance 6 locations around your area which would relate to each week’s theme. They don’t need to be beautiful places – in fact bringing God into places which are conflicted, barren or ugly is important. Here’s some suggestions:
Week 1: The Wilderness
Why not find a space which is either more open and seemingly barren, or more forested. e.g. beach, riverside, local park or reserve.
Week 2: Life in Loss
Near a cemetery, if appropriate for your group, or in a churchyard. Perhaps a location near you that you know has a difficult history.
Week 3: Lost Art of God Conversations
Somewhere that is a hub for people coming and going. e.g. public square, park or shopping precinct.
Week 4: OK Boomer
Somewhere that is a hub for people of different generations. e.g. playground. In sight of a school or retirement home.
Week 5: Fruitful Repentance
A place where things are grown to eat. e.g. someone’s garden. A community garden.
Week 6: Cross-cultural sentinels
Somewhere high, or with a view into the distance.
Before you begin, you may like to ask each other what you notice about the location you are in? And afterwards, in the light of the study, what do you notice now? What might be the invitation from God to be a sentinel in this place?
Meeting on Zoom
Finally, our old friend Zoom. Here’s some thoughts about doing this well.
Does everyone in your group have a Zoom account and know how to work it? If not, get this sussed now!
Ensure whoever is facilitating makes room for everyone to be heard.
Use breakout rooms to discuss what God might be saying in pairs or threes, and then feed in your action points briefly to the whole room.
Don’t take up more than an hour – people get Zoom fatigue.
But make time to check in with each other at the beginning. How is everyone doing? Are there prayer needs? Is there any follow up from action points from the previous week’s study?
Why not provide a theme for each meeting e.g.
Each person brings a photo of a place that represents wilderness for them.
Come with a suggestion of a story or movie to watch on the theme of reconciliation.
Come prepared to share about the person or people who introduced you to Jesus
Bring a picture of you as a child – why not keep it anonymous and see if people can guess who is who?
Bring along your favourite fruit!
Bring a memory of a cross-cultural experience to share.
If we’re going to continue to be a transformative movement of local faith communities, we need to be continue to practice being family, being disciples and caring for the vulnerable among us, where we each are, on the ground. The small group vehicle is one key way that we have consistently found over the pandemic that we can continue to do this, even when we have to isolate from one another.
If you have any ideas, tips or suggestions on doing Lent Studies and small groups well, we’d love to hear from you, so do get in touch.
