Common Ground Christian Church

20-Day Fast
As a church community, we invite you to participate in a 20-day fast during the early weeks of Lent (March 10-29, 2025). This is a tangible way to respond to our recent sermon series, The Lord is Near (Isaiah), as we seek to experience God's nearness and pray for:

• Awakening to God’s presence (Isaiah 52:1)

• Freedom from unhealthy attachments (Isaiah 52:2)

• Satisfaction in the Lord (Isaiah 55:1-6)

• A prophetic voice for justice (Isaiah 1:16-17, 58)

Fasting is not about earning God’s favor—we are already His beloved. Rather, it is a way to draw closer to Him. Whether you fast for a meal or multiple days, the goal is to seek God with sincerity and dependence. As you set aside distractions, lean into His presence and trust that the Spirit will sustain and satisfy you.

As a church community, we will end our fast with a celebration on Sunday, March 30th, during our “Fifth Sunday Fellowship.” More details about the time and how we will celebrate will be provided soon.

Types of Fasting We Recommend
Fasting may be a new practice for some at CG Midtown, and we recognize that different factors can influence your decision to participate. There is no single "right" or "more spiritual" way to fast. To help guide you, we’ve outlined several options, each rooted in biblical/historical examples of fasting and centered around abstaining from food. We believe that when we set aside intentional time to draw near to God, He meets us in powerful ways. However you choose to participate, we invite you to join us in this season of seeking God together.

• Complete Fast: This type of fast involves drinking only liquids, typically water with light juices as an option. 

• Selective Fast: This type of fast involves removing specific elements from your diet. One example of a selective fast is where meat, sweets, and bread are removed from the diet, and water and juice are consumed for fluids, along with fruits and vegetables for food.

• Partial Fast: This fast involves abstaining from eating any type of food in the morning and afternoon. This can either correlate to specific times of the day, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunup to sundown.

• Stationary Fast: According to Scot McKnight, a "stationary fast" was an ancient Christian practice—prior to the Reformation—where all believers (except those with health concerns) were expected to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. The term station comes from the Latin statio, meaning a military cohort, symbolizing a communal commitment to fasting. While the specific days are not essential, consider choosing two days each week to fast.

*While we believe biblical fasting is primarily focused on food, we also recognize with great care that, due to past struggles or current health conditions, a food fast may not be beneficial for some individuals. Your story and journey matter to us! If this is true for you, we encourage you to consider abstaining from something other than food during these 20 days as we seek the Lord together.

How to Implement Fasting with Your Family
While fasting from food is not recommended for children, there are other ways to fast as a family during our 20-day fast. Consider fasting from treats, sodas, video games, or TV—perhaps just for one day each week. Changing your family's habits during Lent can spark meaningful conversations about what’s most important in your lives as Christians, helping you evaluate the clutter together.

Have more questions? Click here to download a PDF of our complete fasting guide this Lenten season.

The Fruit of the Fast
As mentioned, Lent has traditionally been a time for fasting, prayer, and generosity. Through the practice of generosity, we are reminded of those who lack the daily provisions we often take for granted.

This year, however you choose to fast, we invite you to set aside the money you would typically spend on those meals. On Sundays, we will highlight this giving during our stewardship time. These donations will be given to Migros Aid to support the immigrants and refugees they serve.

If you prefer, you may give your gift via our online giving page. Click here to make a donation to Migros Aid now. Please be sure to deselect “General - Midtown” and instead select “Migros Aid” in the drop-down menu under “Give” so your gift goes to the correct place.

Migros Aid’s Mission
As a Christian organization, Migros Aid believes in building bridges for relationships to empower the immigrant and refugee communities, which is a means of living out biblical hospitality. They believe in a holistic strategy that impacts all areas of life including family, fitness, future, faith, finances, fun, and friendships. They follow the model and life of Jesus Christ who said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

Prayer Hands Creative Response
Throughout Lent,one way we are entering into our fasting is through offering our prayers and intentions through a creative response that our youth at CG Midtown have participated in at a few of their camps called Prayer Hands. They found that there is something powerful about declaring your prayer in written form (whether that is words or a drawing) and inviting others to lock hands with you in prayer anonymously. When students struggle to know what to pray, it can be helpful to join in the prayers of others by placing your hand over theirs (figuratively) and presenting their requests before God. We believe this is a great activity to both declare your heart before God and intercede on behalf of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Starting Ash Wednesday, we invite you to join us by tracing your hand on the paper wall in the foyer with your prayer and intention for Lent written on it, then spend time in prayer over others’ prayers as well. This is a practice of anonymous intercession that we pray will edify our entire church community and beyond!