We think Lent 2021 is a great time to come together and do something different: stay siLENT. 

Silence is an important part of our Christian tradition. It allows us time and space to pray, reflect and listen. Silence can also be deafening. When communities and nations stop on Remembrance Sunday, the two-minute silence rings loud. Imagine a normally noisy House of Commons staying silent to listen to young people. Or a Sunday homily, filled with silence for reflection on how young people are not heard. That sort of silence, that amplifies the voices that aren’t usually heard, can be powerful. 

Pope Francis reminds us that: “…Only if we are prepared to listen, do we have the freedom to set aside our own partial or insufficient ideas… In this way, we become truly open to accepting a call that can shatter our security but lead us to a better life. It is not enough that everything be calm and peaceful. God may be offering us something more, but in our comfortable inadvertence, we do not recognize it” (Christus Vivit).

Our champion Abbot Fr Christopher Jamison OSB explains: “Staying silent may seem a strange way of giving voice to an opinion but we are drawing attention to the fact that there are many young people who are effectively voiceless. Some have been abandoned, others overlooked, and they find themselves without any sense of purpose in life… We will draw attention to them by being a powerful expression of their voicelessness. By remaining silent together, we find that we are giving voice to young people’s silence. Secondly, we will raise money for initiatives and projects that help young people to find a voice.”

By staying siLENT this Lent you are making a stand to show that young people have the power to change the world.

HELP REACH A MILLION

A ‘Million Minutes of Silence’ is a simple idea - each minute is sponsored to raise money for social action projects supporting young people. Throughout Lent schools, parishes, and individuals will help clock up a million minutes! We want this year to be the biggest year yet, to show our collective support for young people, and to raise at least a million pennies (which is £10,000!) to help young people restore our world.

IDEAS OF HOW TO TAKE PART

  • Give up your phone – and spend some time reading the Papal encyclical ‘Christus Vivit’ or spend some time in meditation.

  • A collective silence in school/groups - e.g. a silent assembly, or an hour for the whole school

  • A Silent Relay - commit to staying silent in a ‘relay’. e.g.  you could stay silent for the whole school day and ‘pass’ the silence on person to person.

  • Hold a silent meal with your family or a silent disco at home.

  • Meditate and pray – Use our resource to find some inner quiet during your day.

  • Give up social media for 24 hours! Instead of spending all those hours online, give it up for Lent, and then spend just half an hour a day in silence (and an hour on Good Friday and Holy Saturday). It adds up to 24 hours.

  • Try staying silent for 24 hours straight. Choose a date in Lent (17 Feb- 3 April 2021), and start getting sponsored.

We’re sure there are other innovative ways in which you can carve out some time for silence this Lent.
Whatever you decide to do, don’t forget to get in touch with us, share your fundraising page or social media posts with us, so that we can amplify your voice!

Explore our resource page here.

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At Million Minutes we’re inspired and challenged by Catholic social teaching (CST). It lies at the heart of what we’re trying to do. At its centre is the basic concept of The dignity and equality of each human person.