It’s time to order Lent
4.5: Christian Simplicity for your Catholic or Christian
(Interdenominational) church. The easy-to-administer 7-week Lenten program
provides your parish or congregation with a new approach to the traditional
Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Each week of this program for Lent has a unique focus:
Churches: Order Early and Save Churches and large groups placing orders by December 15th will receive a FREE tool kit to administer the program with ease. The kit will include
A $39.95 value, free when your church orders of over 100 handouts by December 15, 2011
Plus, while they last, a DVD produced by St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN: “Stewards of the Earth,” offering inspiration, support, and suggestions for actions to protect God’s creation for future generations.
Lent 4.5 takes advantage of people’s desire to do something more
for Lent, encouraging participants to pray and learn about ways to protect
God’s creation, embrace Gospel justice, and nurture their own spirituality. The core component of the
program is a series of nine full-color handouts covering the seven themes (two
handouts are introductory).
Each insert contains the following:
Handouts are available in three formats:
A second popular component is a non-denominational discussion course book, Christian Simplicity: A Gospel Value, which offers small groups within your church a chance to read and discuss articles about the topic. While the seven themes correspond exactly to the Lent 4.5 themes, Christian Simplicity does not use the language of Lent, so it can be used any time of the year!
Also available is a School Resource book available in a Catholic (K-8), and a Sunday School (K-8) version. Rights to reproduce as needed are included with this modestly priced book.
Through a measuring tool called Global Footprint, we are able to assess the impact of various lifestyles upon the Earth. It is a complex process, but a simple formula. At present, there are more than 6.5 billion people on the planet. If we were to divide the Earth equally among all of us, 4.5 acres would be available to each person. 4.5 acres is what we are each entitled to use. 4.5 acres is a fair share.
Prayer - Fasting - Almsgiving
Lent 4.5 is a seven-week faith formation program which inspires and informs Christian communities on how to use the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to protect God’s creation, embrace Gospel justice and nurture spiritual fulfillment. It offers practical opportunities for people of faith to apply the values of Christian Simplicity to their everyday lives.