By Thea Jarvis

In order to properly celebrate Lent and Easter, the contemporary Christian should:

a. give up alcoholic beverages, ice cream and purple jelly beans

b. buy new clothes and arrange for a big Easter dinner

c. fill Easter baskets with enough candy to last till Pentecost

d. watch a television special on the year the Easter bunny forgot to deliver his eggs

e. all of the above

If you picked letter “e,” you are a prime candidate for Lenten/Easter overkill. This holiday syndrome is characterized by knock-down, drag-out battles in the Sears girls’ department (“But Mom, I don’t like that dress!”) and a mad dash for the Russell Stover counter on Holy Saturday afternoon.

If you chose any other letter, you might consider the “Alternatives” approach to the Christian season of Lent and Easter.

Alternatives, a national, non-profit resources center for simpler lifestyles with headquarters in Forest Park, views celebrations as starting points for clearing away the debris that can clutter up our holiday/holyday feasting.

“As our manner of celebrating both symbolizes and embodies our lifestyles, changing the ways we celebrate can be the beginning for changing those lifestyles…the development of personal, family and institutional lifestyles is what Alternatives is all about,” according to the attractively concise brochure that defines the eight-year-old organization’s goals and purposes.

The Alternatives network views Easter as a time to celebrate the fact that “love is more powerful than evil and violence” and that “in loving God and serving humanity a person overcomes the power of death.”

Alternatives remains wary of the “second Christmas” approach to the Easter season and realizes the difficulty in keeping the real purpose of the celebration in perspective when retailers vie for first place in the spring marketplace.

For those willing to stem the commercial tide, however, Alternatives suggests that “dropping out” of the Easter parade might be the start for a simpler season.

“Wearing common work clothes on Easter Sunday would be a truer expression of a commitment to follow the example of Jesus and His ministry to the poor and oppressed” says Milo Shannon-Thornberry, an ordained Methodist minister and executive director of Alternatives.

He and his small staff at the Alternatives center in Forest Park offer catalogues, calendars and books that include a wide variety of ideas for simplifying the Lenten/Easter experience while enhancing a sense of true celebration.

Some Alternatives approaches might appeal to the contemporary Christian this Lent and Easter season:

NEW CLOTHES – Instead of buying new clothes, divert this money to a worthwhile charity or social justice movement.

EASTER EGGS – Blow out Easter eggs (scramble the innards) and insert a slip of paper that describes a gift of self – spending time with someone, reading a story, volunteering a few hours to a neighbor in need or a charitable group.

EASTER DINNER – Substitute a potluck picnic for that big meal on Easter Sunday. Gather with friends at a park, lake or backyard. Share food, hunt eggs, play ball, sing some songs.

EASTER BASKETS – If your family likes to decorate eggs, teach them about the “new life” symbolism of the Easter egg: the Resurrection of Jesus and our call to new life in Him. Fill Easter baskets with seeds and plants and make a celebration out of starting a garden or seed flats.

FOOT WASHING – If you have a Lenten or Easter gathering, include a footwashing as part of the festivities, following the Last Supper example of Jesus. This is a good ritual demonstration of humility and love for others.

NEW THINGS – Since spring is a time of new life and new growth, introduce a friend or family member to something new. Teach someone to sprout seeds for eating. Loan some of your favorite books. Plant vegetables or flowers for a friend who can’t do it.

EASTER CARDS – Make your own, using scraps of paper and a little creativity. Share the task with others. Money diverted from commercial cards could be put into a social action project.

EASTER ECOLOGY – A church or civic group might sponsor an environmental fair followed by a massive cleanup of a park, a stream, or a particular section of a city or town.

LENTEN FAST – The traditional Lenten fast (two light meals and one full meat meal per day; nothing between meals and no meat on Fridays) can be a joyful way to grow and sacrifice in the Lord and emphasize issues of world hunger and poverty.

CHILDREN’S CELEBRATIONS – Plan alternative celebrations for children, without the Easter bunny and candy. Emphasize Christian beliefs in the Easter events and values.

PALM SUNDAY PREPARATION – Share “peace cakes” with others as a preparation for the Good Friday message of forgiveness and the Easter message of peace. A homemade bun or sweet cake might be given to those with whom communication has been broken.

PALM SUNDAY PICKUP – “Prepare the way of the Lord” with a cleanup afternoon on Palm Sunday. Spruce up a neighborhood area that has suffered from winter littering – old bottles, cans, etc.

CHRISTIAN SEDER – The Jewish feast of Passover is integrally linked to our Easter celebration. Hold a Christian seder supper with family and/or friends. (Christian seder manuals can be found at parish centers or religious bookstores).

For more ideas on simplifying the season – or an entire lifestyle – visit the Alternatives Resource Center in Forest Park. Take 285 to the Hapeville exit. Follow Old Georgia Highway 19 toward Forest Park. Bear left for Main Street and follow through the business district. The Center is just past the fifth traffic light on the left in the Hartman Realty Building.