Living Lent
For those who have given something up for Lent, Palm Sunday means entering the home stretch.
A few more days of self-denial and then they can resume enjoying that food, habit or activity you've sworn off of for the past 40 days.
But there are gains to be had from a period of self-deprivation say experts both spiritual and secular.
For the Rev. Peter de Vries, pastor of Old Union Presbyterian Church, 200 Union Church Road, Adams Township, Lent is time not of loss but of gain.
“In our church, rather than give things up for Lent, we pick up something new for Lent,” said de Vries. “Rather than give up a vice, it's picking up a virtue.”
De Vries said his congregation has split into groups of three who read a Bible passage and pray together once a week during Lent.
As for the value of the season, de Vries said, “One of the women in my congregation said, 'Shouldn't we be doing this year round?'”
“She's correct, but we are not always willing or able to do so on a permanent basis,” he said.
“Lent is a relatively short amount of time where we can bring our lives closer to what we understand God wants them to be,” de Vries said.
“The goal would be then, after Lent is over, that at least some of your Lenten practices would be incorporated into the rest of your life,” de Vries said.
“And in the case of our church, if you enjoy getting together to read the Bible and pray together, that will be something that you will continue to do. You are sort of doing a trial run during Lent to see if it is something you are able to continue to do,” he said.
“Lent is a period of self-reflection, discovering, I believe, that God is with us and understanding our connection and need to take care of each other,” said the Rev. James Dollhopf, pastor of First English Lutheran Church, 241 N. Main St.
“What Lent should do is focus on care for others. We don't give up anything but ourselves. We focus on others,” said Dollhopf.
The season is also traditionally a time for almsgiving or giving to the poor and needy.De Vries said, “For us in the Presbyterian Church, it still is. Together with other mainline churches, we have the One Great Hour of Sharing.”De Vries said the extra collection was started after World War II to help refugees.“It's continued to be a way for us to give to ministries of justice and compassion,” he said.“My focus has always been on not giving something up but on focusing on giving to others,” said Dollhopf.“It makes us think about our faith a little more,” said the Rev. Randall Forester, pastor of St. Paul's Community Church, 2167 Route 268, Sugarcreek Township.“A lot of things we take for granted, and Lent helps us step out of the routine. We all fall into ruts at some point, that's part of being human.“When we get to Lent, that's when we step back and ask ourselves 'How might I commit myself more fully so it builds up my faith and strengthens the community?'”“One year I preached a sermon asking rather than quit eating chocolate, consider who we can serve in the community during Lent,” Forester said.“It ended up that one woman, Grace Lendyak, now Burkhardt and her mother, Nancy Lendyak, started going to a local care facility that didn't have a lot of resources. They'd visit, take a little snack for the residents.”“It became a monthly ministry for us,” Forester said.Lent, with its deprivations, said Forester “makes you more aware of what is going on around you.”“It's being attentive to God's call, That's what happens on Easter. Christ's sacrifice brought us together. Lent just prepares us,” Forester said.“Lent is really interesting. In the Middle Ages it was 60 days and at one time it was longer,” said Dollhopf. “It was a time when people really were dealing with the dark and waiting for the light.”“Lent is an opportunity, a time to take a strong look at who we are and who we want to become,” said the Rev. Philip Farell, the parochial vicar for the northern part of the Pittsburgh Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. “It's a time to look at ourselves honestly. I can even say honest to God.”“I think it has always been the purpose of Lent to encourage self reflection,” agreed Donna Korczyk, a Cranberry Township psychologist.“We reflect on the things that we do that get in the way of our relationship with God,” said Korczyk.“It can be a way of looking at habits that aren't healthy, so I think having a period of time out to reflect on these things, to be intentional in our actions, is a good thing,” said Korczyk.Korczyk said in a hectic world, Lent can be an opportunity to grow.“It's a good reminder we can get caught up in the business of everyday living. Lent gives us time to slow down and take a look at ourselves,” said Korczyk.“The idea of Lent is the 40-day fasting period of our Lord” said the Rev. Joseph Wargo, pastor of St. Andrew Orthodox Church, 201 Penn Ave., Lyndora.“Jesus Christ went out into the desert to fast before he came back to Jerusalem for Passover,” said Wargo.“We empty ourselves from the worldliness of the world,” through fasting, said Wargo.He added in the Orthodox faith fasting for Lent is 40 days of abstaining from dairy products and meat.In keeping with alms giving tradition, Wargo said, “The money saved from not buying meat and dairy products is put aside and given to the poor who have no food at all.”“We pray more at Lent than we do any other time of the year,” said Wargo. “We pray and we fast to get closer to God. Lent for us is a discipline to get closer to Christ and his church.”“Everybody, whether sick or healthy, should discipline themselves through fasting,” said Wargo.It's not just unhealthy habits, but unhealthy diets that come under increased scrutiny during Lent, said Nicole Murray, nutrition instructor at Butler County Community College.“There are some people that do it (refrain from a food during Lent) just to do it, see what it is like and then start up again when it's over,” said Murray. “And some give up an unhealthy food or drink and keep that up when it's over.”One of the practices of Lent is to give up meat on Fridays, said Murray.“What can they eat to make sure they get enough protein?” asked Murray. “They should load up on fruits, vegetables, high-fiber foods and whole grain.”“Fish and seafood can be very healthy,” said Murray, “but you have to be really careful of all the fish fries that are going on at this time. Just keep in mind that by eating fried fish you are increasing your saturated fat.”“But it's not going to kill people to give up one day of meat (for) six weeks,” she said.Despite the traditional emphasis on helping the needy during Lent, Mary Pataky, director of the Butler Meals on Wheels, said she hasn't noticed any increase in volunteers or donations, but the season has made changes in the program nonetheless.The Butler Meals on Wheels program feeds 110 clients Monday through Friday.“With the Lenten season, so many of our clients are Catholic,” said Pataky. “We switch our menu so that they don't get meat on Fridays.”“It's a lot of work for our cook but she makes that happen to accommodate them,” said Pataky.
“I think it has always been the purpose of Lent to encourage self reflection,” agreed Donna Korczyk, a Cranberry Township psychologist.“We reflect on the things that we do that get in the way of our relationship with God,” said Korczyk.“It can be a way of looking at habits that aren't healthy, so I think having a period of time out to reflect on these things, to be intentional in our actions, is a good thing,” said Korczyk.Korczyk said in a hectic world, Lent can be an opportunity to grow.“It's a good reminder we can get caught up in the business of everyday living. Lent gives us time to slow down and take a look at ourselves,” said Korczyk.“The idea of Lent is the 40-day fasting period of our Lord” said the Rev. Joseph Wargo, pastor of St. Andrew Orthodox Church, 201 Penn Ave., Lyndora.“Jesus Christ went out into the desert to fast before he came back to Jerusalem for Passover,” said Wargo.“We empty ourselves from the worldliness of the world,” through fasting, said Wargo.He added in the Orthodox faith fasting for Lent is 40 days of abstaining from dairy products and meat.In keeping with alms giving tradition, Wargo said, “The money saved from not buying meat and dairy products is put aside and given to the poor who have no food at all.”“We pray more at Lent than we do any other time of the year,” said Wargo. “We pray and we fast to get closer to God. Lent for us is a discipline to get closer to Christ and his church.”“Everybody, whether sick or healthy, should discipline themselves through fasting,” said Wargo.It's not just unhealthy habits, but unhealthy diets that come under increased scrutiny during Lent, said Nicole Murray, nutrition instructor at Butler County Community College.“There are some people that do it (refrain from a food during Lent) just to do it, see what it is like and then start up again when it's over,” said Murray. “And some give up an unhealthy food or drink and keep that up when it's over.”
One of the practices of Lent is to give up meat on Fridays, said Murray.“What can they eat to make sure they get enough protein?” asked Murray. “They should load up on fruits, vegetables, high-fiber foods and whole grain.”“Fish and seafood can be very healthy,” said Murray, “but you have to be really careful of all the fish fries that are going on at this time. Just keep in mind that by eating fried fish you are increasing your saturated fat.”“But it's not going to kill people to give up one day of meat (for) six weeks,” she said.Despite the traditional emphasis on helping the needy during Lent, Mary Pataky, director of the Butler Meals on Wheels, said she hasn't noticed any increase in volunteers or donations, but the season has made changes in the program nonetheless.The Butler Meals on Wheels program feeds 110 clients Monday through Friday.“With the Lenten season, so many of our clients are Catholic,” said Pataky. “We switch our menu so that they don't get meat on Fridays.”“It's a lot of work for our cook but she makes that happen to accommodate them,” said Pataky.
