March & April Challenge:

The UU Conscious Consumers invite you to join the Lent for the Earth Challenge, a new movement led by UU Princeton that takes place this year between March 5 and April 17.

Fasting has been practiced in many religions for various reasons. In Hinduism, fasting is a way to purify the body and mind. Muslims fast the month of Ramadan to deepen their connection with God by demonstrating patience and self-discipline, and by showing empathy for the less fortunate. In Judaism, fasting is a means of spiritual reflection and remembrance of significant events in Jewish history. In Christianity, the Lenten tradition asks followers to give up some-thing for 40 days as a way of honoring Jesus’s time of trial in the desert in preparation for his public ministry. It is a time of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving that prepares Christians for Easter.

UU Lent for the Earth Challenge invites you to join many of your fellow congregants as they buckle down for a 40-day planet-friendly fast of their choice and, with great focus and intention, directly honor our faith’s commitment to uphold one of our seven UU principles: Interdependence: “We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice.” Learn more about a variety of UU Lent Challenges Skylights and on the uuprinceton.org homepage. We welcome you to support the interconnected web of life while also proving to yourself that you are stronger and more resourceful than you think, and that you can always find ways to adapt to new habits and adopt new choices.

Here are some Conscious Consumer facts to help you on your journey:

• Research suggests it can take between 18 and 254 days to fully establish a new habit, with an average of around 66 days.
• Don’t get discouraged by setbacks. Forming new habits takes time and effort!
• Rewarding yourself for achieving your new habit can help strengthen the behavior.