While continuing to Shelter-in-Place, we created a guide book to be used during Lent. The Guide Book is designed to be interactive, adaptive, intergenerational, and user-friendly. It is also a companion for a prayer installation we set up in the sanctuary (to be shared soon).
With each Guide Book, a packet of ashes for Ash Wednesday and a succulent stamp was included. As participants finished selected activities, they could use the stamp to mark completion.
You can download the Guide Book to adapt or use.
The activities are divided into four categories: Walking in the Wilderness, Knowing the Wilderness, Listening to the Wilderness, and Cultivating the Wilderness. We couldn’t fit all the details to some of the activities in the Guide Book, so we created a link for people to check out. Below are the details to some of the activities in the Guide Book.
Walking the wilderness
VISIT THE BOTANICAL GARDENS.
Surround yourself with peace & beauty at the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park! It’s always free for SF residents.
SEE THE SAN FRANCISCO CROSSES.
Our city has two landmark crosses: Golden Gate Park (with a white supremacist past) and Mount Davidson (commemorating the Armenian Genocide). Learn more about these crosses:
WALK A LABYRINTH.
San Francisco has many labyrinths all over the city, including Land’s End, Grace Cathedral, and Duboce Triangle.
WALK WITH THE NIGHT MINISTRY.
Join the SF Night Ministry in mid-March for an evening walk at 10pm in one of the city’s vulnerable neighborhoods. Training will be provided.
listening to the wilderness
PRAY WITH SCRIPTURE.
Lectio divina (divine reading) is an ancient tradition of meditating with scripture. Select a favorite passage or use Luke 4.
- Take a deep breath. Exhale. Invite God to be with you during this meditation time.
- Read a passage aloud or silently. Listen for a word or phrase that sticks out to you as you read. Pause for a minute and repeat it to yourself.
- Read the passage again. Pause for a minute and think about why that word or phrase has connected with you.
- Read the passage one final time. Pause for a minute and pray & ask what God is calling out of you.
- Take a deep breath. Exhale. Offer gratitude to God.
knowing the wilderness
PLAY COMMUNITY BINGO.
Take a walk around your neighborhood (bring the family along too!) and get it know it better by playing Community Bingo.
READ THE LATEST “STREET SHEET.”
“Street Sheet” is a newspaper produced and distributed by unhoused & low-income San Francisco residents and front-line staff fighting for justice.
CATCH UP ON LOCAL NEWS.
What stories are happening in your community? How is God speaking through those stories? Take a day to read news from our city & your neighborhood.
- San Francisco Chronicle
- SF Examiner
- Richmond Review + Sunset Beacon
- SFist
- Bay Area Reporter (LGBTQ News)
- Bay Times (LGBTQ News)
- Hoodline (Neighborhood News)
READ THE SF HOMELESS PROJECT.
For the past five years, the San Francisco Chronicle has examined the evolving issue of homelessness in our city.
cultivating the wilderness
DONATE FOOD ITEMS.
We are collecting ready-to-eat food items for vulnerable & unhoused neighbors who come to our building for support, including:
- Granola bars
- Fruit snacks & dried fruit
- Jerky
- Nuts
- Crackers
- Trail mix
- Anything pre-packaged and ready-to-eat.
Bring these to the sanctuary any Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 12-7pm.
BUY A PERSONAL CARE ITEM.
We are also collecting personal care items for vulnerable & unhoused neighbors who come to us for support, including:
- Toothbrushes, toothpaste, and mouthwash
- Socks
- Blankets and sleeping bags
- Tissues
- Lotion
- Hand wipes
Bring these to the sanctuary any Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 12-7pm.
DYE EASTER EGGS.
Add a little color to the wilderness! Dye some colorful easter eggs with our easy, at-home “recipes”
CONSIDER YOUR LAND.
SF exists on Ohlone land. In an act of healing the legacy of colonization, consider giving to a trust that facilitates the return of the land to Indigenous people.
Still Waters 
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