Greetings from Breathe,
A special welcome if you’re one of the 100 or so people who have joined us in the last few weeks – come on in, the water’s lovely!
Each month we share, in different ways, encouragement and inspiration to live more simply, more generously and more sustainably. This is no easy thing in a consumer culture, but step by step we’re making progress. Below you’ll find the latest on Breathe and some more stuff to chew on, if you like.
The Story so Far
Since Breathe began in the summer of 2005, we’ve joined together in two London conferences (2008 and 2009) and a series of regional events last year. Breathe now connects over 900 of us who want to go on this journey together. Last year we launched the Conspiracy of Freedom videos (www.conspiracyoffreedom.org) to get people discussing with friends how to make changes to their lives. And this year the book Consumer Detox has been released in the UK and in the States. Watch out for the viral email for this next week – if you can forward it to others without getting your emails blocked, please do!
The Gathering – 8-9th October
Please think about clearing space on 8-9th October this year for our first ever ‘gathering’, run jointly with A Rocha’s Living Lightly group. We want to go deeper than a normal conference format allows so we’re planning a night (or two) away. More details coming soon...
Lent
Lent is our season, of course. There’s no rules about how to play this, but it’s amazing to see the power of simplicity rippling through people’s lives as we seek to grow in gratitude, discipline and most importantly, grow closer to God. The other day someone sent Breathe an encouraging message – when we replied we got a fascinating answer:
Hello, and thank you for your email.
From Wednesday, March 9th through Saturday, April 23rd, I am practicing a 'Technology Fast' in observance of Lent 2011. I will only check email on Sundays, and will only reply to those considered "response-required". Please feel free to contact me by traditional mail or call by telephone.
For more information and some reflections on fasting from technology, visit these links: http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Fasting-from-Technology-Tim-Muldoon-03-08-2011.html; http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/post-93.html
That’s the spirit!
Other highlights
Ten reasons to give up your car by Jeremy Williams
Hold a street party for the Royal Wedding (this site has all sorts of helpful advice on it) or on Big Lunch day – Sunday 5th June
Let us know your stories at editor@breathenetwork.org
Have a blessed Lent,
Breathe
