Lent is a period of time in which people often give up some comfort, that leads to self-examination in anticipation of greater dedication to serving God and others in the coming year. Fasting is a deep and meaningful practice of sacrifice and dedication.
For those of you who do practice fasting during lent I invite you to consider taking it one step further. Do your fast but find a way to pay it forward. Find a way to take whatever you are fasting from and use it to do something good for charity.
#fastingfowardSCO
Use your fast to serve others in our community who are needy and struggling. Donate your time, goods and money to SCO throughout lent. Find a way to use what you are fasting from and pay it forward to our guests at Steinbach Community Outreach.
Then post a picture of yourself paying your fast forward to Outreach using the hashtag #fastingforwardSCO, not so you can brag about what you are doing, but so that you can inspire others with your actions.
Here are a few ideas of how you can participate in #fastingforwardSCO based on common fasts
Coffee: I recently wrote a blog post on how important a role coffee plays at SCO. If you are fasting from coffee donate that tin of coffee that you would normally buy with your grocery shop to SCO. If you go to Tim's, Starbucks or Coffee Culture every day take that amount of money you would normally have spent at the coffee shop and donate it to SCO instead.
Chocolate, pop, chips and other junk foods: We have a focus on providing healthy foods to our guests so we are not likely to include a bunch of junk food in our food hampers even if it does get donated in. However, you can take the money you would have spent buying junk food and donate it to SCO so we can purchase healthy food options to include in our food handouts.
Social media or Screen time fasts: Think of the story of Dorcas, aka Tabitha, in Acts 9 who used her hands to help the poor. Take the time you would have spent on social media and use your hands to do something good for SCO. Bake buns and donate them, clean out your kitchen cupboards and donate unused kitchen supplies to SCO, or sew masks for us to hand out to our guests. Any talent can be turned into an act of service. Or do the 40 things for 40 days challenge. Then donate that stuff to SCO. Or spend your extra time in prayer. Join our prayer chain! There is always a need for prayer for those struggling physically and spiritually, the volunteers, and outstanding needs waiting to be met.
Eating out or ordering in: Made all the easier with the current covid restrictions many people may choose to abstain from takeout. How about you sponsor a meal instead? Have a meal delivered to Outreach. (345 Loewen Blvd, blue doors, west side parking lot between 9am and 4pm.) We'll make sure it gets in the belly of someone in need. Or of course, take that money you would have spent on takeout and donate it to SCO.
Don't forget to post a picture of yourself paying your fast forward to Outreach using the #fastingforwardSCO tag so we can inspire each other with all the creative ways people are taking their fast one step further.
For those of you who do practice fasting during lent I invite you to consider taking it one step further. Do your fast but find a way to pay it forward. Find a way to take whatever you are fasting from and use it to do something good for charity.
#fastingfowardSCO
Use your fast to serve others in our community who are needy and struggling. Donate your time, goods and money to SCO throughout lent. Find a way to use what you are fasting from and pay it forward to our guests at Steinbach Community Outreach.
Then post a picture of yourself paying your fast forward to Outreach using the hashtag #fastingforwardSCO, not so you can brag about what you are doing, but so that you can inspire others with your actions.
Here are a few ideas of how you can participate in #fastingforwardSCO based on common fasts
Coffee: I recently wrote a blog post on how important a role coffee plays at SCO. If you are fasting from coffee donate that tin of coffee that you would normally buy with your grocery shop to SCO. If you go to Tim's, Starbucks or Coffee Culture every day take that amount of money you would normally have spent at the coffee shop and donate it to SCO instead.
Chocolate, pop, chips and other junk foods: We have a focus on providing healthy foods to our guests so we are not likely to include a bunch of junk food in our food hampers even if it does get donated in. However, you can take the money you would have spent buying junk food and donate it to SCO so we can purchase healthy food options to include in our food handouts.
Social media or Screen time fasts: Think of the story of Dorcas, aka Tabitha, in Acts 9 who used her hands to help the poor. Take the time you would have spent on social media and use your hands to do something good for SCO. Bake buns and donate them, clean out your kitchen cupboards and donate unused kitchen supplies to SCO, or sew masks for us to hand out to our guests. Any talent can be turned into an act of service. Or do the 40 things for 40 days challenge. Then donate that stuff to SCO. Or spend your extra time in prayer. Join our prayer chain! There is always a need for prayer for those struggling physically and spiritually, the volunteers, and outstanding needs waiting to be met.
Eating out or ordering in: Made all the easier with the current covid restrictions many people may choose to abstain from takeout. How about you sponsor a meal instead? Have a meal delivered to Outreach. (345 Loewen Blvd, blue doors, west side parking lot between 9am and 4pm.) We'll make sure it gets in the belly of someone in need. Or of course, take that money you would have spent on takeout and donate it to SCO.
Don't forget to post a picture of yourself paying your fast forward to Outreach using the #fastingforwardSCO tag so we can inspire each other with all the creative ways people are taking their fast one step further.
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