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The Mainsail

St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church February, 2016

Lent – A chance to remember the dark before the dawn, the sin that Jesus took to the cross.

Lent is the season of Bright Sadness because it is a time of both celebration and mourning. Lent helps us experience our part in the Passion (suffering) of Jesus. We face our humanity during Lent: we learn that sin still dwells in us, that we still carry darkness. We learn that we, like his disciples, would likely have fallen asleep as Jesus prayed for deliverance in the garden, and, also, that we would likely have denied knowing him as he silently accepted his death sentence.

Lent begins on February 10 with Ash Wednesday. Services are at Noon and 6:00 p.m.

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Rector’s Corner:

Here it is, February 1, 2016. We are already 1/12 of the way through the New Year. If that is not startling enough,

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, is early this year so Lent begins in just 9 days.

It is interesting to note that the season of Lent is not biblical and did not emerge in the church for several centuries.

Ash Wednesday did not come into existence until much later in about the sixth century and then it was instituted

in part to give an official start to the penitential practices of Lent and part to remind us of our mortality.

When you come to receive the imposition of ashes they are given on the forehead in the sign of a cross. This

signifies that when your death happens you will return to your Lord. It also is reminiscent of the cross that was

made on your forehead at your baptism. That cross, which is made using a blessed oil known as Chrism, is what

I often refer to as the “holy tattoo” and is how you are “sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as

Christ’s own forever.”

Because Lent is a penitential season, many - perhaps most - of us take up some sort of discipline for the 40 days.

Some of us “give up” a vice or take on a new spiritual practice and these are all well and good because the idea

is that we will recognize our imperfections, sins and helps us to grow closer to God. What we need to remember

however, is that we are already marked as Christ’s own forever.

The penitential practices of Lent are for us not for God. Of course God is always pleased to have us work to

improve our relationship, but his love is not ever contingent on this, or anything else. God loves you, just as you

are, as you were and as you will be.

There is great comfort in God’s steadfast love because we need not ever worry whether or not we have done

enough; still a Lenten discipline is a great idea. Growing your love and knowledge of God pays dividends in your

life in ways you are sure to appreciate. I urge you to pray about what you might do, or change about how you

live your life during the Lenten season. How might you deepen your spirituality? I promise it will be worth the

effort.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Mollie+

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Children’s Sunday School - 11:00 until 11:30 a.m. Adult Spiritual Formation Class - “Not In God’s Name” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Come join us in the Garden Room!

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EYC:

Events for February: EYC activities will resume on January 13.

During Lent, beginning after the 6:00 Ash Wednesday Service, we will have our Lenten series and soup suppers. The study series will take place over 6 weeks beginning February 10. Supper consists of a simple soup, salad and bread meal. We will read and discuss the book: Near the Cross, A Lenten Journey of Prayer by Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. We need folks to sign up to provide supper, our EfM group has volunteered to make the first night's meal. The other five weeks the evening will begin with supper at 6:00 pm. Please plan to join the fun and consider signing up to provide one of the meals.

Come for a "Fat Tuesday" Pancake

Supper offered to you by our Youth

Group proceeds to benefit their

projects. Supper is from 6:00 to 7:30.

February 9

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Fellowship Hour: This is the Plan:

Birthday Sunday/Social Sunday: (1) Someone brings a birthday cake (Separate from food volunteer) (2) Volunteer(s) provide “luncheon like” food All Other Sunday: (1) Simple and inexpensive refreshments, i.e., Cookies, donuts, or chips and dip, etc. The church will provide coffee and lemonade. Because the food offerings for the Fellowship Hour have become, in some cases, more like providing a meal, many people are not interested in volunteering to host. The hope is that those who enjoy doing the big “spread” will volunteer for the 12 Social Sundays and those more comfortable with simple refreshments will volunteer for the other 40 Sundays. Fellowship is a special time. It provides time to visit, chat, and catch up on what is going on in the lives of fellow parishioners. The new plan is a trial. Please let Mother Mollie know what you think. Sign up sheets are on the kitchen door.

Outreach/Ministry Update: So you think those little outreach efforts do not make that much difference or impact that many people….

NOT SO. In the year 2015 the Beans and Rice Ministry gave out 303 bags of rice and beans (2 lbs rice/2 lbs beans) which equals 1,212 total pounds of food. Calculating the servings at one half cup per serving (rice 22 servings per pound and beans 24 per pound), 4,848 servings were generated from those bags of beans and rice or approximately 100 pounds of food or a little over 400 servings per month on average. Just rice and beans…..what a blessing.

Do you need prayer or do you know someone who does? The Prayer Chain (or Prayer Guild) is active and committed to praying for others. It is time to update the list of “prayer warriors”. If you would like to be a part of the Prayer Guild please email Adonis Fisher at juneafisher@gmail.com . If you are already active please email Adonis anyway so she knows to include you on the new list..

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Iona Scotland

Anyone interested in a trip to Scotland and other historical sites? Plans are being made for a trip –

September 24 to October 3, 2016 Mother Mollie has the details and will be happy to send them to you electronically or print a hard copy for you.

Iona: The island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland,

is the symbolic centre of Scottish Christianity. Through 1400 years of history its fortunes have fluctuated, from its heights as one of the greatest centres of learning in Dark Age Europe, to its lows as a crumbling ruin. However, thanks to the fame of its monastic founder, St Columba, the island has always been revered as a holy place, and, over the centuries, Iona has continually been re-invented and reconstructed as a centre for pilgrimage. Iona's fame began in 563 AD when Columba, with thirteen followers, landed at the south end of the island, at St Columba's Bay, to establish a monastery.

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Did You Know?: If you missed or would enjoy hearing one of Mother Mollie’s sermon again, they are

available on the St. Simon Peter website. You can access them from your PC, IPad, or smart phone. Share this information with your friends and family.

stsimonpeter.org - Worship - Sermons

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February Calendar Feb 7 Social Sunday (Special Prayers for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries in February) 9 Shrove Tuesday – Pancake Supper

10 Ash Wednesday – Services: Noon and 6:00 p.m. – Dinner Following 6:00 p.m. Service 11 Episco-Chicks –Marge Fricker Hosting - 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Notice change of date and time) 20 Men’s Group, DOK, Beans and Rice Note: Regularly Scheduled Weekly Activities Are: Tuesday: Cursillo – 10:30 a.m. - EfM (Education for Ministry) 5:30 p.m. Wednesday: Holy Eucharist – 10:00 a.m. (Holy Eucharist will be at Noon on February 10) Needlework Guild – 11:00 a.m. Chair Yoga – Noon Thursday: Choir Practice

February Birthdays: 2 Russell Brown 14 Caitlynn Darby 4 Doug Blankenship 16 Dianne DeShazer 7 Billie Cardwell 18 Anna Shaddix 7 Shirley Goodman 21 Trudy Stewart

9 Nancy Kilgroe 22 Locke Donaldson 9 Jan Canoles 26 Glynn Grant 14 Margaret Sims 28 Larkin Powell

St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church “Our Mission as the Body of Christ” To know our faith…. To live in truth and love….. To serve the needs of all people.

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