Participate in an Ash Wednesday service in town. (Join Brad & Karla & St. Peters tomorrow at noon in St. Andrew's Chapel.) Receive the imposition of the ashes and consider your mortality. Read Jan Richardson’s Blessing the Dust.

As a part of your giving, make a point to learn more about a particular social issue (immigration, human trafficking, racism, the environment, public education, child poverty). Give money to an organization related to your chosen issue that supports the dignity of the human person.

Start a Bible reading plan - why not choose one focused on the Sermon on the Mount since Brad has been walking us through that passage?

Read Matthew 25:31-46 - Works of Mercy as described by Jesus. Put this teaching into practice and choose an act of service you can perform throughout Lent.

Donate 40 items to a local charity thrift store or donate extra blankets, towels and sheets to a local shelter. Bring food to your local food bank

Go to a museum and admire creation/creations. 

Tell someone something they did that made your day better. 

Compliment each family member or colleague today.

Call a relative who lives far away.

Pray with someone about current events - abroad and close to home. 

Go to a local seniors' home and hand out fresh flowers.

Talk about your loved ones that have passed away. Share memories and stories. Visit the cemetery if that’s possible.

Do something creative!  Don't judge what you make. Just enjoy!

Plant some seeds. Take a moment to be grateful for the earth as you hold dirt in your hands. 

Light a candle and meditate for five minute, bringing yourself back over and over again to one word you need right now (examples: beloved, peace, hope, enough…).

Create a care package for a person living on the street.

Go to a church or a concert or an evening prayer service and sing your heart out. Oh look, it’s Evensong this Sunday night at 7pm at St. Andrew’s chapel! Kids are welcome to join us (Be prepared for both silence and singing.)

Try a silent meditation. With kids, set a timer on your phone (use a gentle sound to signal the end), put on some relaxing music, and sit, basking in the love of God. Join the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) each Sunday during Lent from 11:30-12 for free Lent Virtual Sit Meditations to explore practices inspired by the themes from Richard Rohr’s new book, “Tears of Things”. 

Read the entire Gospel of Mark in one sitting. It is the most concise story of Jesus’ life, and the cross plays a more prominent role than in the other Gospels.

Try silence on your commute. It may be jarring at first, but see if it helps concentration. Can you observe your surroundings better? Invite kids to see if they notice a difference. 

Buy a book of daily reflections and keep it by your bed.

• “Prayers of the Cosmos” by Neil Douglas-Klotz

• “Daily Office” by Pete Scazzero

• “Yes, And” by Richard Rohr

• also check out Kate Bowler and Sarah Bessey

For kids:

• “The Book of Belonging” by Mariko Clark & Rachel Eleanor

• “Mother God” by Teresa Kim Pecinovsky & Khoa Le

• “What is God Like?” by Rachel Held Evans & Matthew Paul Turner

Volunteer - help package meals at a local soup kitchen or stock shelves at a food pantry… 

Try using coloring as a way to pray and meditate. Buy a colouring book or explore “Praying in Colour”

Pray for somebody as you walk, drive, or wait for a meeting to begin. Notice a person who seems to be in need and pray for them. 

Check out mcc.org/ to reflect on the realities of people in need around the world. See how you might get inspired to pray, fast or give in support of the poor. 

Choose a song and sing it as a prayer for someone you know who is struggling.

• “Be Kind to Yourself “by Andrew Peterson

• “Brave” by Sarah Bareilles

• “The Blessing” by Elevation Worship…)

Make someone laugh today.

Reach out to your neighbors in a small way (embrace the cringe!) Introduce yourself, invite them for a coffee, even a meal, or bring them something to eat. 

Get to know your spiritual pathway (the way you connect most easily with God), and experiment with praying in line with that pathway. If you have kids, ask them questions about how they see God, and what makes them feel loving and peaceful. Consider that they may have a different pathway from you and celebrate the differences. 

Go to a spot with trees or water (Waterloo or Victoria Park, Monarch Woods, etc etc).

Ask for help with something.

Make a list of 40 things, people, experiences you’re thankful for. Or find a little notebook, and collect one or two each day. 

Educate yourself about whose land you are living on by visiting Native-Land.ca and learn something about the people.

Light a candle and meditate for five minutes, bringing yourself back over and over again to one word you need to cling to right now (example: beloved).

Bring to mind a truth you’ve been holding back, and tell it to someone you trust. Parents, do your best to bring compassion and non-anxious presence to your children if you invite them to do this. 

Write a lament for injustice you or people you love have experienced, modeled on the Psalms of Lament. Bury that piece of paper at the base of a tree or in a garden so your grief and lament can nourish the soil of a living thing. For kids: https://www.cboqkids.ca/leading-kids-in-a-lament-psalm/

Memorize the Jesus Prayer - “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” - in the morning and pray it throughout the day. Consider switching the word “sinner” for “your beloved child” and see how that changes things.

Sign up to a monthly supporter of a ministry or non-profit that you feel doesn’t get enough love or attention. Even $5 a month matters. Look for a way to turn your anxieties about the world into real, positive work.

Sing the kids’ song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” but switch the pronouns to feminine ones: “She’s Got the Whole World in Her Hands.” Notice how it feels to use a feminine pronoun for God. Imagine how God would mother you today, how it would feel to be held in the hands of God, and open yourself to those possibilities. 

Pray scriptures on behalf of needs in the world, our community, or specific people you know, even enemies, such as these blessings from the Bible. (Do this as a family, and on your own. It’ll be a different experience!) 

• • “May God be gracious to you and bless you and make His face shine upon you.” (Ps 67:1)

  • “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it, and may you be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Eph 3:16)

  • “May Christ make His home in your heart through faith.” (Eph 3:17b)

  • “May your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:9-11)

  • “May you be strengthened with all power, according to God’s glorious might.” (Col 1:11a)

  • “May you be filled with joy.” (Col 1:11b)

  • “May the Master pour on the love so it fills your life and splashes over on everyone around you.” (1 Thess 3:12)

  • “May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” (2 Thess 3:16)

  • May God forgive all your iniquities, heal all your diseases, redeem your life from the pit and crown you with loving devotion and compassion. May God satisfy your desires with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Ps 103:1-5)

  • May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7)