Norwich Central Baptist Church pastor Mark Fairweather-Tall has been living on Jobseekers' Allowance during Lent as a way of reflecting on his use of money. For the last six weeks he has been living on £59.15 per week and promised to donate the money saved from his salary between two good causes: a Bulgarian orphanage and a church trip to South Africa planned for later this year.

Mark has found the effort to live on Jobseekers' Allowance challenging and has learnt practical ways to live more cheaply and efficiently, for example by cycling and walking wherever possible and by preparing meals from scratch. More unexpected for Mark was the impact this experiment had on his friendships - he couldn't afford the same social life he was used to or be as generous as he might like to be. "Every time I said "no" to someone because I couldn't afford to join in and every time I went shopping and saw the things I couldn't buy, it reminded me about temptation. This experiment has brought greater discipline to my life and in my commitment to God."

Mark has donated £500 towards a Bulgarian orphanage and the church mission to South Africa .
You can read about Mark's Lent experience on his blog by clicking "Pastor Blog" in the menu above.