From The Editor

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FEBRUARY this year marks the change of season within the church year from Epiphany to Lent.

It is also a time of physical change in our weather: after the darkness of winter, there is slowly, day by, day, a little more light in our days.

Snowdrops have generally made an appearance by now. We moved house in 2018 and I now miss this first sign of growth in a new year (snowdrop bulbs are on the gardening shopping list for this year).

The subtle change in weather very often accompanies the change in church season – marked initially by the fun of Pancake Day, followed by Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent and the 40-day journey to Easter.

It is the second time of preparation within our Church (after Advent) – preparation for hearing anew the story of Jesus’ last days – his arrival in Jerusalem on a donkey, greeted by mass crowds and ending ultimately with the pain of death on the cross on Good Friday, the uncertainty of Saturday, followed by the joy of the resurrection on Easter Day – and the new life of promise within the miracle and the church year.

In recent years I have learned more about Lent and come to understand that whilst it is traditionally regarded as a time of denial (echoing Jesus’ time in the wilderness), it can also be a time to take up new things. My new thing to take up this Lent is to try and take a photograph every day to mark the journey through the Church season.

The subtle change in weather very often accompanies the change in church season.

The advance in mobile phone technology changes makes this a relatively easy task – the challenge will be remembering to do it!

It will offer an opportunity to reflect on creation and daily life through this important season of preparation and reflection, echoing the light and darkness of the journey of life before the joy of the unexpected and unbelievable which defies the odds and confounds expectations.

Some images of the journey will be posted on my Twitter feed at @LifeWorkEditor, so please feel free to join me there. Our Big Picture centre spread is one of the most popular parts of the magazine, so please feel you can send images for this section of the print magazine too at magazine@lifeandwork.org

For those who don’t do social media, please feel free to share images or thoughts with us by post.

Whatever happens, it promises to offer a different insight to this important season of the Church year.

Lynne McNeil Editor

This article appears in the February 2020 Issue of Life and Work

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