Celebration Lutheran Church

WORSHIP SERVICES:
Every Sunday
8 am & 10:30 am

Christian Education:
Every Sunday
9:15 am (all ages)

Our Ministries:

March 2010
Thought of the Month	Quote of the Month	Table Grace
Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. - Henry J. Kaiser	Let us be united, let us be filled with hope, let us be those who respect one another. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu	Gracious God, Thank you for the food before us, the friends around us, the love between us, and your presence among us. Amen.
Birthdays & Anniversary
If you name does not appear this month, and it’s your birthday or anniversary, please e-mail Suzi.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!		HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
3/02 Karen D. 3/03 Diane M. 3/03 Bob B. 3/09 Matt J. 3/12 Jacob J. 3/14 Ashley W. 3/18 Glenn J. 3/18 Kassandra M.	3/20 Joshua M. 3/20 Noah A. 3/21 Amie J. 3/21 Clair A. 3/22 Allen C. 3/24 Barton S. 3/28 Jan T. 3/28 Craig H.	3/29/02 Steve & Karen D. 3/08/85 Bob & Karen B. 3/20/71 Jesse & Cheryl O. 3/29/59 George & Helen C.
St. Patricks Day
Arguably one of the most famous of Christian saints is St. Patrick. His feast day, March 17, has become a major secular holiday complete with parties, parades, and greeting cards in North America and elsewhere. By contrast, in Ireland where Patrick is the patron saint this day has, until recently, been primarily a religous observance. It would include church services and then a feast in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the eating of meat would generally be waived for this occasion. The practice of a St. Patrick’s Day began in New York in 1762 as an opportunity for Irish members of the English army to proclaim their solidarity and national pride. The parade took on greater significance in the 19th century when waves of Irish immigrants were generally looked down upon as second-class citizens. The parade gave a much-needed boost to cultural morale and began to be replicated
Holy Week	Bibles, Bibles, & Bibles
Holy week begins on March 28 with Palm Sunday and continues until Easter Sunday a week later. This is a good time to read the story about events in Jesus’ life that last week. Because this year we read from the Gospel of Luke in the lectionary you might want to read Luke 22:14—23:56. You can also find the story of this special time in almost any Bible storybook. Each of the Gospel writers includes a few different details from the others. This does not mean that some of the stories are not true; just that different authors heard the story differently or chose to emphasize different things. If you know the story in another version – such as Matthew, Mark, or John – you might look for the differences in Luke’s version. As a family, you might choose to read a little every night during the week. You can also see if your church – or another one close by – is having worship on Maundy/Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or Easter Vigil and try to attend those special services. When we get to know the story about Jesus’ death it helps us to really be able to celebrate Easter.	Arguably the book with the greatest influence on modern English is the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. Since its appearance in 1611 this book has set a standard for the use of numerous English words and phrases. For over three centuries it has been far and above the most popular and familiar version of the Bible. Even people who have never been to church can often recite portions of this renowned volume. Contrary to an often-held opinion, it was not the first English translation. Some 900 years earlier, portions of scripture were trans-lated into Old English, and later translations were also done in Middle English. The key thing about the King James Version, however, was its ready availability. It was the only English language Bible to be printed and made available to huge numbers of people. Dozens of different translations followed over the next several hundred years. The next major step in translation was the American Standard Version in	1901 and then the Revised Standard Version in 1952. Both of these were editions of the KJV that had been updated for modern English. They also took advantage of the discovery of hundreds of ancient manuscripts that simply were not available to the KJV’s translation team. In more recent years numerous translations have appeared such as the Good News Bible, New Revised Standard Version, and Today’s New International Version, as well as the popular paraphrase The Message by Eugene Peterson. There are lots of ways to read, experience, and celebrate God’s word. Try one soon!
Together in Mission
Along with the rest of things around us recently, Mission of the Month will be undergoing change. The monthly support seems to be dwindling and coming up with something different monthly is a big challenge. So after consulting others who rigorously support the cause, we conclueded that a quarterly cause makes more sense. Food for the poor is coming again in February so that will be our first quarterly cause makes more sense. Serving others in our community such as the food bank, the water drive in April and our extremely successful sharing Christmas with head start families are milestones for Mission of the month. Anyone who might be interested in taking on this awareness area would be welcomed by all.
Calendar Notes - a Movable Feast
Ever wonder why the date of Easter changes from year to year? There is a logic to it, and it goes back to ancient times. Unlike Christmas, which always falls on a certain date (December 25), Easter by its very nature always falls on a Sunday. And, because the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection occured in the context of the Jewish passover festival (remember, Jesus and the disciples were Jewish), the date is chosen in conjuntion with the lunar calendar, because Jewish calendar is lunar. So, Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21 - The vernal equinox. Thus Easter can fall anywhere in between March 22 and April 25. This year, Easter is April 4. In 2008, it was the earliest ever - March 23. In 2011, it will be the latest it has ever been in several hundreds years: April 24.
Something to Laugh About	Serving in March
	Attention To All Those Serving! Thanks for serving! If you are unable to serve, PLEASE FIND SOMEONE TO TAKE YOUR PLACE. Also let Barbara & Suzi know the changes have been made. If you see an “open” spot and are able to serve, pleae let the church office know. To find out who is serving: Click Celebration Chronicle & enter password. If you don't know the password, Contact the office.
Something for the Kids

Have a Blessed March!

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