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42 Phonebox Magazine | March 2025Newport PagnellEmbracing Lent %u2013 and something to look forward to!Time moves quickly on. Christmas and New Year, with all those resolutions that we made, are now an almost distant memory, and before we know it, Lent is upon us, starting with Ash Wednesday on 5th March. There is the tradition of giving up something for Lent. Some people who don%u2019t want to let Lent go by without making an eff ort do something extra, which is also an option. It comes at a good time, because by now many of us will have forgotten about our New Year%u2019s resolutions (if we made any). So it%u2019s an opportunity for us to refl ect a little and maybe decide to give up something we like, but that is not particularly good for us, like sweets or alcohol. Lent certainly has one advantage over New Year resolutions: it doesn%u2019t last forever but only seven and a half weeks from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday (less, really, because the Sundays don%u2019t count). Any life changes are temporary and, therefore, more doable, although we may, of course, decide to continue with them after Lent. If you should decide to give up something, there is quite a choice, from traditional chocolates or biscuits to spending less time on social media or watching television. This is also an opportunity to resuscitate a New Year resolution. In my personal experience, it is best to stick to just one, as that makes it easier to keep. Or we could do something extra, perhaps a few minutes of prayer or reading the Bible or some spiritual writing at some point during the day.For those of us who live in or near Newport Pagnell or are in town at midday on Fridays, there is the opportunity to come to the Lent Lunches, which are served every Friday from 7th March to 11th April, 12 to 1.15pm in the Mead Centre. You will get home-made soup, bread, cheese and tea or coff ee. All proceeds go to Christian Aid, which means you will not just enjoy a lovely lunch but also help those less well-off than ourselves. I have to admit that I haven%u2019t been to the Lent Lunches as often as I would have liked, but from the times I did go, I know that the home-made soup is delicious. And I will make an eff ort this year to take advantage of what is on off er. And if you have not yet been to the Mead Centre, this is your chance for a visit and a look round.Deacon Klaus Reidel, St Bede%u2019s Catholic ChurchOlneyThe Churches of OlneyAnticipation %u2013 positive or negative?Well, the Christmas holidays are well and truly over now. One of the things that has aff ected most of us in the run-up to Christmas, probably all of us when we were children and perhaps less so as adults, is the feeling of anticipation that we have. Sometimes this is due to the specifi c arrangements we might be having %u2013 a gathering of the clan or an away trip for us %u2013 and sometimes it may be due to the prospect of exciting presents that we might receive.%u2018Anticipation%u2019 is a very individual feeling. Some people may feel totally incapable of keeping it within %u2013 the prospect of watching Liverpool in an incredibly important Premier Division match at the end of the season or perhaps awaiting the result of an important exam. %u2018I just can%u2019t wait!%u2019 Others may fi nd it almost impossible to get excited by anything but seem to, on the surface at least, keep totally calm and unphased by what it is they%u2019re expecting.Jesus%u2019 disciples between them must have harboured a range of feelings when Jesus told them that they were going back to Jerusalem again. It was clear to them that some of the religious leaders felt threatened by him but they knew also that most of the people in the city loved listening to Jesus%u2019 teaching and were amazed by his ability to heal anyone of any health problem. They must have been even more pumped by the amazing reception the people gave him when he rode down to the city entrance from the Mount of Olives on a donkey. There was total uproar, and many were keen to ensure that others were told that it was Jesus whom they had all heard of, even those visiting the city from a vast number of diff erent places to celebrate the Passover Feast. Perhaps this would be the moment when even the religious leaders came around to a position of supporting him.However, at the back of their minds there must have been fl oating some of the words Jesus had pronounced to them as they journeyed to Jerusalem: that he would be betrayed, handed over to the religious leaders, sentenced to death and eventually crucifi ed by the Romans. Surely he didn%u2019t really think that would be the outcome!As we approach Easter, we are in possession of the complete story, so have no need to experience the highs and lows that the disciples did. We know exactly what will unfold during the run-up to Good Friday and beyond. We know that death on a Roman cross was not the end but that Jesus would rise triumphantly to life again as God accepted his son%u2019s death for our sins. But I can still sympathise with the disciples during this whole period. What a hotch-potch of feelings they must have gone through! Perhaps, like me, you will be rereading the account of those last couple of weeks as written by four diff erent authors. Two of them were amongst the 12 disciples; one was most probably a teenager who was certainly present at a lot of the events, and one was a doctor who had researched the whole life of Jesus with the most methodical accuracy possible, interviewing those who were part of the train of events. I%u2019m pretty sure that, as I reread the Easter story, I will be taken on the seesaw ride of anticipation again with the disciples. One thing is certain %u2013 it will be much more of a draw on my emotions than waiting to unwrap my C h r i s t m a s p r e s e n t s , lovely as they were!Martyn Glass, Olney Baptist ChurchChurches Together