If you cannot make it to our Ash Wednesday service, you can watch the video here:
LENT
February 22 ~ April 7
Lent – a time when Christians around the world prepare for Easter by confronting the sin in their lives.
This year, Four Mile Church is participating in The Backyard Pilgrim – 40 days at Godspeed. This is not a devotional, but rather a pilgrimage involving videos, Scripture, prayer, walking, and engaging with others in your caravan. We will be handing out these books at our Ash Wednesday service on February 22 at 6pm.
This pilgrimage will be two-fold…personal and relational….keep scrolling to find out more!
The Backyard Pilgrim
Forty Days at Godspeed
The film GODSPEED ends where your pilgrimage begins. It is a pilgrimage not only to recover where you live and discover what God is already doing in your neighborhood, but also to learn to live there as God’s child.
This is a second birth into the childhood you never had, or once had – but lost. Paul Ricoeur speaks of our need, as Christians, for a “second naiveté.” May the next forty days slow you down enough to discover what it means to be God’s child again.
This guided pilgrimage follows 2 paths: one personal, one relational . . .
On the personal side, you will work through the Backyard Pilgrim book on your own, walking for at least 15 minutes each day, while reflecting on what you have read. Each Wednesday you are encouraged to fast from sun up to sun down (click here to learn more about fasting), with a focus on setting aside God’s gift of food so you can focus on the Giver through prayer and meditation. On the relational side, you will meet with a group of up to 8 people to break the fast each Wednesday at someone’s house, a restaurant, or an outside location where you will discuss the events of the previous week’s pilgrimage.
If you would like to participate in our online Backyard Pilgrim group, please email cammie@fourmile.org.
VIDEO LINKS + DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
February 22 – February 28
Personal Pilgrimage – follow the Backyard Pilgrim guide
Weekly Video – 
Caravan (group) Discussion Questions –
Open with Prayer
- What was most meaningful for you this week as you sojourned with God through the scriptures, as well as on your 15-minute pilgrim path?
- Pages 22-23 of Backyard Pilgrim call you to begin your pilgrimage in darkness and ask you to contemplate the question, “Could God’s silence be a kindness?” What do you think?
- Page 35 of Backyard Pilgrim asks you to consider this question: Have you ever imagined God as a relaxed, playful Father? Has Week 1 of Backyard Pilgrim changed the way you view God?
- Our video for Week 1 discusses the idea of learning to handle the new cultural situation we are in and realizing the points at which it is diminishing us. Eugene Peterson states that our job is not to complain, but to subvert the culture. What are some ways in which we can do this?
- The word “parish” comes up many times throughout the Godspeed film and this week’s video. What is a parish? Is a parish our geography or our relationships? What is the relation between the two?
Close with Prayer
March 1 – March 7
Personal Pilgrimage – follow the Backyard Pilgrim guide
Weekly Video – 
Caravan (group) Discussion Questions –
Open with Prayer
- What was most meaningful for you this week as you sojourned with God through the scriptures, as well as on your 15-minute pilgrim path?
- Pages 42-43 of Backyard Pilgrim discusses the idea of being rooted or grounded. Over your life, where is the place you have felt the most rooted and why?
- Did the content of Week 2 of Backyard Pilgrim change the way you view yourself as a child of God? How?
- The theme of Week Two’s video was being truly present with the people and in the places around us. Can you identify any things that are getting in the way of your ability to be present?
- What places are you already at (job, school, sports, neighborhood, church) that can call you into deeper relationships? To whom or what do you need to say Here I am?
Close with Prayer
March 8 – March 14
Personal Pilgrimage – follow the Backyard Pilgrim guide
Weekly Video – 
Caravan (group) Discussion Questions –
Open with prayer
- What was most meaningful for you this week as you sojourned with God through the scriptures, as well as on your 15-minute pilgrim path?
- Pages 68-69 of Backyard Pilgrim ask you to identify ways that you make coverings for yourself, similar to Adam and Eve’s coverings made from fig leaves. What are some ways that you camouflage yourself (avoid being known by others and by God)?
- What other insights into your behaviors has Week 3 offered you? Do you tend to doubt God’s goodness? Blame others when things go wrong? Hide from God?
- In this week’s video, N.T. Wright states that we are created or “hardwired to be connected – we damage ourselves if we don’t go at that pace.” What are some reasons why you may be disconnected from the place and people around you?
- What are things in your life that cannot be hurried? Is there a 3 MPH activity that you can embrace this week?
Close with prayer
March 15 – March 21
Personal Pilgrimage – follow the Backyard Pilgrim guide
Weekly Video – 
Caravan (group) Discussion Questions –
Open with prayer
- What was most meaningful for you this week as you sojourned with God through the scriptures, as well as on your 15-minute pilgrim path?
- Pages 88-89 of Backyard Pilgrim state that God doesn’t promise to deliver us from our fears, but through them. Is there a fear you need to face? Does the idea of God delivering you through your fear make it easier for you to respond “Here I am…not running away,” when God asks, “Where are you?”
- How does Mary’s response to the angel (“Here I am…greatly troubled, asking good questions, and believing God’s unprecedented answers.”) encourage and/or challenge you? What might a similar response look like in your own life?
- Much of this week’s video focuses on this idea: the foundation for a Christian life is starting with God’s love, not earning it. Although we know that we were initially saved by God’s love, why do we often find ourselves trying to earn His approval – and that of others as well?
- Over your life, does your living out of the gospel reflect an awareness of being a slave/servant or a beloved child of the Father?
Close with prayer
March 22 – March 28
Personal Pilgrimage – follow the Backyard Pilgrim guide
Weekly Video – 
Caravan (group) Discussion Questions –
Open with prayer
- What was most meaningful for you this week as you sojourned with God through the scriptures, as well as on your 15-minute pilgrim path?
- Pages 112-115 of Backyard Pilgrim discuss temptation and the dangers of trying to prove oneself rather than believing in God’s unconditional love for His children. What voices are sabotaging your identity as God’s child? How does the devil tempt you to prove your identity?
- Has this week’s reading changed the way you view Jesus or your perception of what His life on earth was like?
- What images first come to mind when you think of spiritual maturity? Does your ideal of spiritual maturity involve others – why or why not?
- This week’s video mentions that we often tend to avoid intimacy and honesty in the context of our daily relationships. Consider some things, habits, or attitudes that can keep you feeling disconnected or unknown. How can you move away from these things and grow closer to people, places and habits that have the potential to keep you connected?
Close with prayer
March 29 – April 4
Personal Pilgrimage – follow the Backyard Pilgrim guide
Weekly Video – 
Caravan (group) Discussion Questions –
Open with prayer
- What was most meaningful for you this week as you sojourned with God through the scriptures, as well as on your 15-minute pilgrim path?
- Pages 124-125 of Backyard Pilgrim identify these elements in Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: honesty, humility, and affection. Is this how you talk to God? Which of these elements is least represented in your prayer life?
- Page 136 reminds us that Jesus was fully dependent on God and He freely confessed, “I can do nothing without my Father.” Can you identify an area in your life where you struggle to fully depend on God? How can you become more reliant on Him?
- The theme of this week’s video is names. Why does the Bible make such a big deal about names – place names, pages of genealogies, tribal names? Why would God make sure these are included in the biblical story?
- What is an area in your life (church, family, work, parish, technology) that you could focus on moving from impersonal relationships to personal relationships? What does this way of moving from impersonal to personal have to do with evangelism? With being a Christian? Or as God first intended in Genesis, with being human?
Close with prayer
FAQ's
Q: So, when does Lent start?
A: Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, which falls on February 22, 2023. That night, we will have a service here at the church at 6pm, which will include communion and a viewing of the film, Godspeed.
Q: Where and when do I get a Backyard Pilgrim book?
A: The books will be handed out at the Ash Wednesday service.
Q: What if I can’t come to the Ash Wednesday service, but I still want to get a book and be in a caravan?
A: We are more than happy to make sure you get a book and find a caravan! Just communicate with us ahead of time, so that we can make sure it happens!
Q: What’s a caravan?!
A: A caravan is a group of up to 8 people who will commit to meeting together every Wednesday. You can meet at someone’s home, a restaurant, outside…or you can even come to the church if you need to!
Q: How do I get in a caravan?
A: You can form a group on your own, or you can come on Ash Wednesday, and we’d be happy to assign you to a group for your 6-week journey together.
Q: Can I do this online?
A: Absolutely! We will provide a link to an e-book on our website, and we will also host an online group. Just email cammie@fourmile.org, and we’ll make sure that you’re connected to an online group.
Q: Do I have to fast?
A. While we are encouraging everyone to fast from sunup to sundown every Wednesday, that is certainly not a requirement. If you are unable to fast, you can still engage fully in the Backyard Pilgrim journey! For those who do choose to fast, you can plan to break it together when you meet.
Q: What exactly do I do during the week?
A: That’s where the Backyard Pilgrim book comes in! It is not a devotional, as much as it is simply a tool to guide you through some Scripture and prayer each day as you walk for 15 minutes in your neighborhood or somewhere else in your surrounding community. You will also watch a short video at your leisure, which can be found on the corresponding week above.
Q: What if I am unable to meet on Wednesdays?
A: You are more than welcome to meet with your caravan on another day of the week!
PHONE WALLPAPER
Set yourself a constant reminder to stay the course!
