In this E-pistle:

DON’T BELIEVE THE THERMOMETER
THE COLOR PURPLE
A JAR OF SOUP, A DAY OF COLLEGE
SOMETHING NEW A PARKCHURCH.ORG

The forecasters are calling for temperatures in the mid-60’s tomorrow. Crocuses are blooming in sunny places and daffodils are thinking about it. But don’t believe the thermometer, we’ve got ten more days of winter – and this is Western Pennsylvania. What better way to say farewell to winter than lacing up your skates, taking to the ice and falling flat on your whatever? The youth group is inviting ALL Park members AND THEIR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS to an end-of winter skating time at the Brady’s Run Ice Arena. You need to be at the Arena at 3:30 to pay the group rate of only $2.50 + $.50 for skate rental. Come to skate, come to visit, come to enjoy the last days of winter!

Someone asked me this week about the purple drape on the cross during the Lenten season. It’s a relatively recent tradition here at Park, but in the world wide church it is an ancient practice whose beginnings are shrouded in the long ago.

The word Lent itself comes from the Latin word for spring, but it Lent itself has nothing to do with seasonal change. Lent has always been a time of preparation. In the early church, Easter was the great baptism Sunday and the candidates or “catechumens” prepared for baptism during the forty days (not including Sundays!) prior to Easter. Eventually Lent became a season of preparation for the whole church. “Self-examination, study, fasting, prayer and works of love are disciplines historically associated with Lent. Conversion—literally, the “turning around” or reorientation of our lives towards God—is the theme of Lent. Both as individuals and as a community, we look inward and reflect on our readiness to follow Jesus in his journey towards the cross. The forty days of Lent correspond to the forty-day temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and the forty-year journey of Israel from slavery to a new community.” (from the United Church of Christ website)

Purple is used during Lent to symbolize pain, suffering, mourning and penitence. It is also the color of royalty and anticipates Christ’s coming Kingdom.

This Sunday when you look at that purple draped cross, ask the question, “Am I ready to follow Him?”

You’ve heard the phrase over and over again: A jar of soup, a day of college. Every time someone buys a jar of our Sopa Domingo, another one of our Brazilian partners is able to attend another day of classes at one of the colleges in Belo Horizonte. The math is only slightly more complicated than that, but the picture this phrase paints is 100% accurate. When the Sopa Domingo crew brews and bottles their monthly creation almost all the ingredients have been donated and the labor is a gift of generous love. This Sunday Cindy and her soup group will distribute over 160 jars of soup, that is 160 days of college. As you enjoy a warm bowl of soup this week, join Ivan, Leandro, Angelita, Nilcéia, Cristina, Juliana, Lucinete and James in giving thanks to God for his gracious provision for all of our needs.

Park’s website has a brand new look and structure; check it out at http://www.parkchurchbeaver.org. The new design will make it easier to maintain and keep current and looks more up-to-date. There are still a number of pages to change over, though, and some details yet to be ironed out. The old pages are still online; they will be removed as they are updated. Thanks for your patience as all of this is smoothed out. Your comments on the “new” site are welcome; look for the contact link at the lower right.

And what do crabs, skunks, turtles and porcupines have in common with the human heart? Join us in worship to find out.

See you Sunday