Prayer and Fasting

 Link for this week's live-streamed service is here

Lovely to see the sun this week reflected in the brilliant daffodils Dorothy brought to church on Sunday. 

Last weekend I was pruning fruit trees and got chased inside by the hail -- and a cat that was really annoyed at being out in that weather. This weekend I finished the job while enjoying the sun on my back.  Let's hope the return of better weather means a return to fewer public health restrictions. 

Also, lovely to see Gladys back at church and walking without a walker. Welcome home, Gladys. And welcome in to the newcomers who have appeared in our midst these last few weeks. There is a hymn by James Manley that starts "Come in, come in and sit down, --you are a part of the family."  Consider this your invitation to be a part of the family at Saanich Peninsula Presbyterian Church.

As we are now in the season of Lent our congregation has received a challenge to share. 

"Each day remove 1 item from your closet that you no longer need or wear and put it into a bag. At the end of the 40 days, donate the items to a place than can share them with someone who can really use them."

 Please don't consider this an exercise in de-cluttering, rather, give up each item with an offering of prayer that it may enrich the life of someone else.

Bible Study resumes on Wed. March 16. We will be talking about fasting. In our modern world most people undertake a fast for health reasons, but fasting in the Biblical sense is rare. Yet, this past week I caught the tale end of an announcement on the radio that used the words "fast and pray." On Ash Wednesday, various religious leaders including Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury called for all Christians to "fast and pray" for Ukraine. 

The phrase brought to mind Esther, who, at a time of great national danger, sent for "all the Jews in Susa to fast and pray." Esther 4:16 Tomorrow is International Women's Day, so it seems fitting to remember a strong woman from the Bible who found the courage to disobey the king, and with prayer and fasting, save her people.   

For all the women of Ukraine, may God hear our prayer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

SHROVE TUESDAY

By Janet Smith

Shrove Tuesday- Pancake Day

When I was asked to do a write up for the blog I thought I would refer to the internet to see what it had to say about Shrove Tuesday and so the following is some of the many details that I found.

Shrove Tuesday is an ancient religious festival day, dating back to the early Christian times.  

The name Shrove comes from the old word, "shrive," which means to confess and from the custom of ringing the "shriving" bell to summon the people to church to be "shriven"  -- that is, to confess their sins at the beginning of Lent.

Shrove Tuesday is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday and is therefore the final day before the commencement of Lent, a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday (Easter Day).

  Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9.  Shrove Tuesday is 47 days and not 41 days before Easter because Sundays are always a day of celebration in the Christian church and so they cannot be included in the 40 fast days of Lent. 

     At this time, certain foods are given up for the duration of Lent, such as eggs, milk, meat and rich buttery dishes.  On Shrove Tuesday, families eat up all the rich foods left in their pantries.  One way they use up the eggs, milk and fats in the house is to add flour and make special pancakes!

    

So, in keeping with this tradition, some 60 people at SPPC enjoyed 

a wonderful supper of pancakes, smothered in maple syrup and

butter along with sausages, bacon and fruit, with ice cream cones

to round off the meal.  Was it ever good!  Our thanks to the cooks 

and all those who helped make this such a great meal.

Mmmm... good

   By the way, this is our second pancake supper and hopefully we'll have another one next year on March 4, 2014, and we'd love

to see you there.  If you want pancakes but don't feel like cooking them, come and enjoy the fellowship with us.

Ed. Note:  Thanks to Janet for sharing her pictures as well as her words.  To enlarge the photos, simply hover the cursor over them and click.

Lenten Devotional

    The word lent comes from a twelfth century Old English word meaning spring.  Since our March lion shows no signs of turning to a spring lamb, it could be difficult to consider lent to mean spring this year, but there is another meaning, dating from the fourteenth century, referring to the forty days before Easter.   Even then the term is confusing because the forty days does not include Sundays.

     What is not confusing, is the devotional series held at 9:00 am weekday mornings in the sanctuary at SPPC.  The devotional time is very informal, two or three or six or eight or ten people gather to read from the Gospel of Matthew and the commentary in "The Story of the Cross" by Rev. Dr. Cecil Kirk.
      Lent has been less celebrated in the reformed and evangelical churches than in the "high" churches in Canada, but there is a growing observance of the season among protestants, and rightly so.  The death and resurrection of Jesus lies at the very heart of our faith.  What better way to prepare for Easter than by setting aside forty days for prayer, reflection, study, or other spiritual discipline?

      In checking the etymology of lent, I stumbled upon the expression lenten-faced, meaning lean and dismal.  The reference was dated in the sixteenth century and no doubt refers to a time woshippers were expected to be sober, sombre, and scowling, particularly during the time of lent.   Then is not now.  The folk who gather for a time of devotion at SPPC follow the account of Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion with sorrow and gratitude, not with frowns and scolding.
       Even the full title of Dr. Kirk's study, "A Series of Daily bible Readings for Lent and Easter," reminds us that we know the rest of the story.  Lent is a period of preparation, not an end in itself.  Our season of darkness ends at the cross, then bursts into light with the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
      We follow Christ to the cross, but we also follow the women to the tomb and find the stone is rolled away, we hear the angel proclaim that Jesus is risen and we are with them when they meet the risen Lord.  With the disciples we receive the great commission to "Go and make disciples of all nations," and the reassurance that "lo, I am with you always, even unto the ends of the earth."

For other Holy Week and Easter services check the church calendar

Stretch into Spring

S-T-R-E-T-C-H into spring with Gladys.

Commencing March 3rd at 9 a.m., and continuing each Thursday morning until Easter, Gladys will once again offer a stretching class, to limber us up for the gardening (or golf) season.  This is a series of gentle stretch exercises - head to toe, suitable for any age. 

Exercise is important for people of all ages, including seniors.  Research shows us that exercise can improve function in four areas that are important for staying healthy and independent: strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance.  There is also evidence that an active lifestyle improves cognitive function, elevates mood and may even help to ward off dementia.

 Men­tal fit­ness seems to depend on a large part on being con­nected with other peo­ple. One study pub­lished in 2008 showed that social­iz­ing and men­tal exer­cises have very sim­i­lar effects in terms of improv­ing brain functions.  It follows then, that physical exercise done in company with others will have added benefits.

The Bible makes many references to our physical health and tells us to look after our bodies, i.e. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. Similar ideas are found in 1 Corinthians 3:16 & 17;  2 Corinthians 6:16. It seems fitting, then that S-T-R-E-T-C-H into Spring will take place at SPPC during Lent, the season when we reflect and take stock of our spiritual lives, often by using a physical discipline to keep us on track.

So there it is, Thursday mornings at SPPC, an opportunity to honour God in body, mind and spirit.

Gladys is not the cat at the top of this blog.   She is a member of SPPC, a one-time competetive water-skier and an avid golfer.  Recently she learned to play the ukulele