Lenten Edition

Uh, Jesus… we have a few questions…

An Explanation about our Anniversary and Mission Awareness

The congregation of Blytheswood Presbyterian Church - the parent congregation of Knox Leamington - was organized by the Presbytery of London on May 4, 1857. Nineteen years later on May 8, 1876, a group of Presbyterians first met in Leamington to form a congregation here and that congregation was officially created by the Presbytery of Chatham a few months later. Because of these two significant dates in early May, we have always celebrated our congregational anniversary on the first Sunday in May.

But this year that longstanding tradition will be altered. The Presbyterian Church in Canada has organized a special conference called "The Emmaus Project" this year from April 29 to May 2 for the purpose of transforming, recharging and refreshing presbyteries within our denomination. This event will be led by some of the leading thinkers on renewing the church in North America: William Easum, Diana Butler Bass and Don Posterski. (Google them - they've written some remarkable books.) Our Presbytery (which has changed its name from Chatham to Essex-Kent since 1876) has applied and been approved to participate. But the leadership of the Presbytery insisted that, in order to bring back real benefits for the whole presbytery, the presbytery needed to send our minister, Scott McAndless along with the team. Because of this request from Presbytery, the Session has graciously agreed to move our congregational anniversary service to April 25 so that our minister can be present both for our Anniversary and the Emmaus Project..

This change has also led to another change because it means that we are now celebrating our anniversary on what is usually Mission Awareness Sunday and so that has now been moved to May 2. We are working on arranging a special speaker for that Sunday who will be able to report to us on a recent trip to Malawi where she visited one of our missionaries in one of the very important mission fields of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Important Information about the Turkey Dinner

The Ladies Aid met recently to discuss the turkey dinner. Over the past few years it has been increasingly difficult to get enough help-especially on the Saturday prior to the dinner and on the Thursday morning after the dinner.

We have agreed to do the dinner on October 27th this year but next year will depend on what happens with this dinner.

We will need help with the following: Saturday morning prior to the dinner putting down cardboard on all the carpets. Supplies (electric roasters, coffee pots, etc.) brought up to the kitchen. Tables from lower hall need to be taken to Knox Hall. Help with making stuffing (recipe provided). This can be made ahead and put in the freezer in the lower hall. More volunteers to roast a turkey. Help with turnip. Do you have a pressure cooker and would be able to assist in cooking some of the turnip at home on the Tuesday evening. We need men and ladies to help slice turkey on the day of the dinner. Thursday morning after the dinner tables and supplies need to be put away. Some of our members who have been so faithful over the years are unable to do this heavy work and we need more volunteers from the congregation to give us some assistance.

Please give this project your careful consideration and if you can offer your help with the items noted above please speak to Louise Bryon as soon as possible.

Do young people really understand the language we use at church?

Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt." Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about. He said "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."

Will the Church Eventually Cease to Exist?

Out of the 16 sermon topics that were proposed last year, only four were selected to be preached upon in February. The fourth most popular ("How can we believe in what we don't see") garnered 41 votes and just behind it, with 35 votes was this one: "Will the church eventually cease to exist?" It was rather a shame to have to leave that topic out of the selection but there was only room for four in February. Fortunately, however, we now have a rather unique opportunity to pick it up again. On Sunday, April 18, at 3:00 pm our minister has been asked to preach at a decommissioning service for Duart Presbyterian Church. Since 1870, Duart has been a small congregation in a rural village just outside of Ridgetown. Late last year they decided that they had reached the end of their life as a congregation. In many ways you might think that this decision (which is certainly not unique in the church today) is an answer to the above: yes, the church will cease to exist. But, looking at this particular congregation and what they have gone through in recent years and how they have made their decision actually suggests that the answer to that question might be a little bit different. Therefore our minister will prepare one sermon to be preached on April 18 - one sermon that can be adapted to two different congregations in the morning and the afternoon. Both sermons, however, will explore that tough question: "Will the church eventually cease to exist?"

 

Email Subscriptions

At the annual meeting it was suggested that some people would be willing to receive congregational mailings (like this newsletter) electronically to save paper and mailing costs. A number of people have already signed up to do this. It is also possible to sign up to have weekly bulletins, sermons (text or mp3 recordings) and special prayer requests emailed to you. If you would like to receive any of these things, you may sign up on a sheet at the back of the sanctuary or email your request to scottmcandless@sympatico.ca
Please note that, as these are sent out as mass mailings, your internet service provider might see them as "spam" and you may need to add this address to your "safe list."

Of course, all of this information (apart from prayer requests) is also posted weekly at www.knoxknotes.com

Three blondes died and met with St. Peter at the pearly gates of Heaven. St. Peter decides to test their knowledge before they enter and so he asks them one simple question. St. Peter asks the first blonde, "What is Easter?" The blonde replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in October when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful..." "Wrong!" replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second blonde the same question, "What is Easter?" The second blonde replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus." St. Peter looks at the second blonde, shakes his head in disgust, tells her she's wrong, and then peers over his glasses at the third blonde and asks, "What is Easter?"

The third blonde smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, "I know what Easter is." "Oh?" says St. Peter, incredulously. "Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and Jesus was later deceived and turned over to the Romans by one of his disciples. The Romans took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. The third blonde continues, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out... and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter."

Easter Reflections With our eyes we see The beauty of Easter As the earth awakens once more. With our ears we hear The birds sing sweetly To tell us spring again is here. With our hands we pick The golden daffodils And the fragrant hyacinths. But only with our hearts Can we feel the miracle of God's love Which redeems all men. And only with our soul Can we make our 'pilgrimage to God' And inherit His Easter Gift of eternal life. Helen Steiner Rice

 

Events to Put on Your Calendar

An Easter Crossword

Across	Down
1. Told Mary Jesus was alive 3. this disciple said he didn't know Jesus 6. he rose on which day 10. He was hung on this 12. Jesus was the ____________ for our sins 13. this disappeared for awhile after Jesus died 14. He died for us	2. Jesus' father 4. Jesus told this man he would meet him in paradise 6. The women went to the tomb to put this on Jesus' body 7. He took care of Jesus' body when he died 8. His crown was made of this 9. These were put in Jesus' hands and feet 11. He died to pay for our _____ 12. this was put in front of the tomb