‘Beginnings’ – A Lent course for the Pas-de-Calais Chaplaincy, 2026

Lent 2026 for the Church of England is ‘a journey of spiritual renewal through cultivating daily, life-giving
habits to prepare for Easter’. A new beginning is a good time to take stock of our spiritual lives and habits
and consider how our spiritual habits such as worship, prayer, scripture, communion, service, and sharing
faith can enrich and enliven our walk with God.

Course format
The course will be held on Zoom on Wednesday evenings from 6.30pm, beginning on Wednesday 25th February.
(If there is a large amount of interest, in order to facilitate the best group experience it may be possible to organise
a second session at a different time.)

The material for discussion will be circulated by email the previous Wednesday to give you time to read and reflect
so that our conversations will be most fruitful. Each session is stand-alone, so you don’t need to worry if you are not
able to attend all sessions. If you are unable to attend the course but would like to follow it privately yourself, or
would prefer a hard copy of the materials please ask.

Course content
The course will look at 5 Bible stories of new beginnings, considering what they have to teach us and how
they can influence our approach to worship, prayer, communion, service and sharing our faith. Each
session will begin with a short time of prayer, then the Scripture for the session will be read and discussed
using a few questions as starting points. The course will be conversational co-learning – we learn from
each other by sharing and reflecting on our own experience and understanding, and listening to the
different viewpoints and interpretations of our colleagues on the course. Each session will also offer a list
of other materials (other Scriptures, readings or resources) for your own reflection and learning.

Session 1: Creation: Adam and Eve: Main Reading: Genesis 1-2 25th Feb
Theme: Ours is a generous God – so what’s our response? What does that mean for our worship,
prayer, stewardship?

Session 2: The Exodus: Moses Main Reading: Exodus 3 4th Mar
Theme: Wilderness people: trusting God. How can our relationship with God grow through reflective
practice as we journey through the wilderness times of life?

Session 3: Ruth: Main Reading: The Book of Ruth 11th Mar
Theme: Love and service. What does it mean to love and serve the Lord? How can our service help us to
share our faith?

Session 4: Paul: Main Reading: Acts 9.1-31 18th Mar
Theme: Hearing God’s voice. How can we deepen our conversation and communication with God
through spiritual practices of prayer and reflection?

Session 5: Jesus Christ: Main readings: Luke 1.26-38 25th Mar
Theme: Turning to Christ. What is our vocation – as individuals, and as ‘the body of Christ’ – the church
in communion?

INTERESTED? Sign up by emailing Revd. Teena: church.teena@gmail.com – put ‘Lent Course’ in
the subject field. You will then receive an email to ask you to confirm your availability for the
sessions, and the first session will be emailed to you on Ash Wednesday.