A Trinity Challenge (Thanks, Oprah!)

If you’ve been around me for very long you know that I am an Oprah fan. I watch her show whenever I have the chance – and on Monday, still recovering from an upset stomach and with 4 inches of snow outside my window – I had the chance!

Her program was on a relevant topic – how to scale back in these tough economic times. Two families took an “Oprah challenge” that involved reductions in spending, time spent on the computer or in front of the television and driving. As I watched, I couldn’t help but think how a challenge like this would be good for everyone – and wondered if as a church we might engage ourselves in a similar challenge for the Lenten season.

Here is what Oprah proposed:

One day without spending.
One week without using your credit card
One month without going out to eat or ordering take out.

Additionally, her families had other restrictions involving prohibitions on electronics (TV and computer) and for some, giving away “excesses” to charities.

What would it be like to take the Oprah challenge? Could we come up with out own “Trinity Challenge” for Lent or could we offer each other the choice of taking the Oprah challenge or accepting our own challenge tailored to our congregation? I’d like to propose the following:

One day when we give an equal amount to the church or a charity what we spend on ourselves.
(Choose the day ahead of time – if it’s Thursday, then you will need to keep track of all your expenditures on that day so you know what to donate.)

An “E-Sabbath” when you turn off all electronic devices for at least 24 hours – no Blackberry, no personal computer, no email, no cell phone, no television, no DVD or VCR, no Gameboys or other handheld electronics. (Exceptions can be made for those who use a computer at work… this is about your PERSONAL use of these items)

One week without going out to eat or ordering take out – and in addition, making an effort to “eat local” by avoiding all foods that have been grown in far-away places and shipped, trucked or railed to us. Eating local means shopping at a local farmers market and reading the labels about where you food comes from when you buy it at the grocery store.

Donate what you don’t need and what you can live without: Go through your closet and remove “duplicate” items. Do you have 4 cans of baked beans? 6 bottles of detergent? Are there clothes in your closet with the tags still on them that you haven’t worn? Do you have 8 pair of the same kind of shoes? Make some tough decisions! Donate those items to the rummage sale or to some other charity – or give them to a friend or family member who has less than you do.

Lastly, think of what else might belong on this list. Contact me in the next week and we can make decisions about the “Trinity Challenge”. Perhaps one week before Easter we can make some changes in our lives and the lives of others by doing some rather simple things.

I’ll wait to hear from you!