We just got back from a fundraiser happy hour for Loaves and Fishes, a meal program for homeless people that my cousin's girlfriend is very involved with at her church. She mentioned that her priest had encouraged people to attend in the service on Sunday, encouraging it as a first act of charity for the season of Lent.
It was funny, because going to a happy hour where the bar is donating part of the proceeds to charity is really far from more traditional penitential, ascetic type observances (fasting, giving up chocolate, etc). It also, as charity goes, didn't feel burdensome. I do think (perhaps it's obvious?) that a very wide range of things fall into the category of valid and meaningful ways to observe Lent.
But I'm thinking about two questions: in the spiritual aspect of service, is what you give up to do something good as significant as the impact of the good you do? And, there are so many potential partnerships like this where everyone (the bar, the organization, the people who came to Happy Hour) walks away feeling good about themselves... how can we make them happen more often?
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