Lenten Services will begin with Ash Wednesday on March 6, at 6:30 pm. Holy Communion will be served.

Lenten Services will continue every Wednesday night at 6:30 pm, for the next six weeks.

The Youth Club kids will sing during each service.

Annual Spring Rummage Sale
Did someone say Spring?!

It is that time of year again… Start cleaning your closets and get ready!!!

Our Annual Spring Rummage Sale is set for April 11-13.

You can start bringing your gently used items to the church April 7 to the side dining room. Items can be placed in the back Sunday School room (the old theater room) in the basement. If you have any questions, you can contact Pam Prouty or the church office.

Lenten Bible Study

Beginning Sunday, March 10, and going throughout Lent we will be having a Lenten Bible Study. Sunday evenings at 6 pm, we will study Being Reformed’s “Temptation in the Dessert”.

If you would like to join this Bible Study or if you have any questions, please contact Adrienne!

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday, in the Christian church, the first day of Lent, occurring 6 1/2 weeks before Easter (between February 4 and March 11, depending on the date of Easter). In the early Christian church, the length of the Lenten celebration varied, but eventually it began 6 weeks (42 days) before Easter. This provided only 36 days of fasting (excluding Sundays). In the 7th century, 4 days were added before the first Sunday in Lent in order to establish 40 fasting days, in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fast in the desert.

It was the practice in Rome for penitents to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth, and obliged to remain apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter. When these practices fell into disuse (8th–10th century), the beginning of the penitential season of Lent was symbolized by placing ashes on the heads of the entire congregation.

In the modern Roman Catholic Church, the ashes obtained by burning the palms used on the previous Palm Sunday are applied in the shape of a cross on the forehead of each worshipper on Ash Wednesday. Worship services are also held on Ash Wednesday in Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and some other Protestant churches. Eastern Orthodox churches begin Lent on a Monday and therefore do not observe Ash Wednesday.

Our Ash Wednesday Service will be Wednesday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. Holy Communion will be celebrated. We often have both the Chancel and Youth Choirs sing. The Rev. Pamela Prouty will be leading worship at this service. Everyone is welcome to attend. 

The Season of Lent

The season of Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and self-examination in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord at Easter. It is a period of 40 days — like the flood of Genesis, Moses’ sojourn at Mount Sinai, Elijah’s journey to Mount Horeb, Jonah’s call to Ninevah to repent and Jesus’ time of testing in the wilderness. (The Sundays in Lent are not counted in this reckoning of the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, as every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.)

In the early church, Lent was a time of preparation for the celebration of baptism at the Easter Vigil. In many communities of faith it remains a time to equip and nurture candidates for baptism and confirmation and to reflect deeply on the theme of baptismal discipleship.

The Paschal Mystery

An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003 110-111)

What we hear during Lent is the power and possibility of the paschal mystery, and that the way of the cross, the way to Easter, is through death. To appropriate the new life that is beyond the power of death means we must die with Christ who was raised for us. To live for Christ, we must die with him. New life requires a daily surrendering of the old life, letting go of the present order, so that we may embrace the new humanity. “I die every day!” asserts Paul (1 Corinthians 15:31). Resurrection necessitates death as a preceding act. The church’s peculiar Lenten claim is that in dying we live, that all who are baptized into Christ are baptized into his death. To be raised with Christ means one must also die with Christ. In order to embrace the resurrection, we must experience the passion of Jesus. The way of the cross, the way to Easter, is through death of the “old self.” In dying, we live.

Therefore, at the beginning of Lent, we are reminded that our possessions, our rulers, our empires, our projects, our families and even our lives do not last forever. “You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). The liturgies throughout Lent try to pry loose our fingers, one by one, from presumed securities and plunge us into unknown baptismal waters, waters that turn out to be not only our death tomb but surprisingly our womb of life. Rather than falling back into nothingness, we fall back on everlasting arms. Death? How can we fear what we have already undergone in baptism?

It is the power of the resurrection on the horizon ahead that draws us into repentance toward the cross and tomb. Through the intervention of God’s gracious resurrection, lifelong changes in our values and behavior become possible. By turning from the end of the “old self” in us, Lenten repentance makes it possible for us to affirm joyfully, “Death is no more!” and to aim toward the landscape of the new age. Faithfully adhering to the Lenten journey of “prayer, fasting and almsgiving” leads to the destination of Easter.

During the final week, Holy Week, we hear the fullness of Christ’s passion, his death, and resurrection. From Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and on to the Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday), all of Holy Week focuses on the passion. As his followers, we travel Christ’s path of servanthood through the Lord’s Supper and the suffering of the cross toward the glory of Easter, all of which underscores the inseparable link between the death and resurrection of Jesus.

St. Patrick’s Day

Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, “the Day of the Festival of Patrick”), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, cèilidhs, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians who belong to liturgical denominations also attend church services and historically the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday’s tradition of alcohol consumption.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival. Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. In recent years, there has been criticism of Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations for having become too commercialized and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish people.

150th Anniversary History Tidbit Booklet

Janean McKay put together a years worth of history tidbits for our 150th Anniversary!

Janean’s History Booklet 2018

It is a Celebration!

2018 marks 15 years for The Piecemakers!

We had our first meeting on May 21, 2003, and have spent the last 15 years cutting, pinning, tying and sewing. We have shared coffee/treats and stories while putting together quilts for many different occasions. We have had the privilege to make quits many of you have purchased for yourselves or loved ones. We are also humbled to have made many quilts for those sick, hospitalized or just in need of something warm to snuggle.

In honor of 15 wonderful years we are going to raffle a quilt! Chances ($1) will be available to purchase starting March 25. You can purchase them from Char, Marlys or Tina in the office. The quilt will be on display in the Narthex until May 20!

Thank you to all those who have helped us along the way both in your talents! We wouldn’t have had so much fun over the past years without each of you!

The First 150 Years (1867-2017)

We are celebrating our 150th Anniversary all year round but our actual anniversary date is being celebrated on March 26, 10:15 am. Come join us as we are greeted by the Transitional Executive Presbyter of Minnesota Valleys Presbytery, the Rev. Rick Carus of Willmar, the Synod Executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, Ruling Elder Elona Street Stewart of Eagan and the Stated Clerk of General Assembly, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson of Louisville, Kentucky.
Our Parish Associate, the Rev. Pamela Prouty, who is both the Stated Clerk of Minnesota Valleys Presbytery and the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, our Seminary Student Intern Amy Levinski, our Clerk of Session, Ruling Elder Adrienne Danielson, and Ruling Elder Deb Hess, who is Moderator of Minnesota Valleys Presbytery and I will all be leading morning worship.

We will start worship by having the children, choir and worship leaders proceed into the Sanctuary, the children will sing the introit. The Chancel Choir will be singing later in the service. We will honor those that have been members of our church for fifty years or longer. The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson will give the morning message. He is known to be one of the best preachers in our denomination. Following worship we will take a group photo in the sanctuary. Following the picture, we will have a catered roast beef dinner by Baune’s Cafe at 12:15 pm. The dinner is being paid for funds given by a church member for the anniversary celebration. Please sign up for the meal by March 20, so we have enough food on hand. Following the meal we will have a cake reception from 1:30-3:30 pm, for the public. If able please stay around to have fellowship and greet visitors.

In Christ’s love, Pastor Scott Prouty