Before we begin...

Dear Exeter Vineyard

I’m SO pleased you’ve signed up to the Lent 40 e-mail series! Thank you! I wanted to write, to say hello, and to encourage you to be ready for the off!

The most important thing to say is this: that you’ll get most out of this process if you give yourself time, as part of your daily routine, to slow down, or pause for breath, or try something new, or pray, or listen... even if it’s just for five minutes each day when you try to be ‘fully present’ to the reflections.

A few extra thoughts, then, before we begin:

1. My role

I’m not here to tell you what to do; instead, I’m thinking aloud, creating (I hope) an evocative space for us to explore together. In case you don’t know, I’m Brian Draper, and I’m a writer, speaker, thinker, retreat guide, author, occasional Thought for the Day presenter on Radio 4 and Gillingham fan.

2. I write these reflections ‘in the moment’

This isn’t a pre-packaged series, and I don’t quite know where it will take us. But it will take shape, as we go...

3. That said, the theme is ‘Simplicity’

I plan to use everyday objects or experiences – ‘icons of simplicity’ - to help us to reflect. And the medium is the message - so I’ll try to make the e-mails shorter and simpler than usual. Each reflection will leave some space for your own imagination, and for you to respond as you wish.

4. When will my reflections arrive?

I’ll get them out in the morning. (Some may arrive late the night before.) But times may vary a little. You won’t get an e-mail on a Sunday, and Saturdays will typically be briefer.

5. Echosounder is a cottage industry

It’s just me, here. So please ‘bear with’ if there are any rough edges, or technical hitches. Do shout if you think you haven’t got your e-mail or if something seems amiss!

6. Interactivity

The best thing, for me, about Lent 40, is your comments – what you’re giving up, or taking up, how you’re creating a rhythm for yourself, how you’re slowing down or acting differently... It’s great to hear what’s going on in the group, and it encourages us all. So I’ll post what I can from you at the end of the daily e-mails. (If you don’t want anything to be published, please mark your correspondence accordingly.) I may have to edit comments for length or clarity, and I can’t always use them all.

7. My own spirituality

I follow Jesus, and in a sense, I’m trying to follow him into the desert during Lent. So this series is Christian in its spirituality, and I’ll refer to Biblical themes as I go. However, I believe that we are born with innate spiritual intelligence (the book of Ecclesiastes says that “God has placed eternity in the hearts of all people’, a wonderful line!) - and I intend my reflections to call to our common human experience.

8. Three ways to prepare...

* Read about Jesus’ time in the wilderness. You can find the account at the start of Luke 4.

* Think about how you can make some space for yourself. Can you give something up? How can you make the most of the resulting room in your life?

* Pray that the next 40 days will be significant. You don’t have to use words. Perhaps you could start just by trying to be still.

Enough already...

From here on in, we’ll keep it short, simple, and hopefully sweet. Less is more, after all.

And so: may these next 40 days be precious, and timely, and transformational.

And may we be a gift to each other, as we gather together for this little while.

Bring it on.

Best wishes,

Brian Draper