FROM THE PASTOR’S CORNER
Lent comes earlier this year! February 17th, to be exact.
Lent is all about spiritual renewal. It is a sacred time of preparation for Easter (Sunday, April 4th) and a time to reflect on what God has done to redeem us and how we can live a whole and full life as a child of God.
Many of us see Lent as a season of penitence, fasting, service and contemplation — but at the top of our list should be a prayer for the acquisition of peace. Our Presbyterian Church has prepared a weekly series of devotionals which we will be sharing via social media to assist us in our journey to Easter. We invite you to reflect upon the gift of shalom, the Hebrew word with a host of meanings: peace, security, well-being, health, completeness. Our spiritual goal for our Lenten journey: exploring how can we receive this gift of shalom and, in turn, bestow it upon the world.
Will you join me on this journey?
David
SOUPER BOWL OF CARING
More than 20 years ago, the Souper Bowl of Caring began with a simple prayer from a single youth group: “Lord, as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us to be mindful of those without even a bowl of soup to eat.” On Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, Green Hill will take up our annual collection for the Souper Bowl of Caring. Financial donations and donations of non-perishable food will be collected in the Fellowship Hall. Everything donated will go to support our Green Hill Food Pantry.
IMPORTANT DAYS IN FEBRUARY
7th – Communion Sunday
14th – Transfiguration Sunday
17th – Ash Wednesday
21st – Boy Scouts of America Sunday
GOLD GARDEN PROJECT UPDATE
Progress on the Garden Project on the church’s front lawn is progressing. Kendall has been researching what plants will be best (look pretty, and be easy to care for) so that when the weather warms up we will be able to get them in the ground. She has been shopping for Butterfly Bushes and other plants that pollinators love. She is also working on an education lesson plan for youth that will spread the word about the importance of pollinators. To see the latest updates on her project, go to the church website (www.greenhillpc.com) and click on “Gold Garden Project” in the banner.
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES
Thank you to everyone who purchased Girl Scout cookies from the Green Hill Girl Scouts (Kendall, Makayla, and Emma). They have officially sold their goal and are done for this year. They set a really low goal, just enough to cover their registrations for next year, and thankfully it didn’t take long to reach it.
Don’t be sad that our three are done selling, because the Girl Scout Cookie sale in our area is still running for several more weeks! Every box sold in our area supports our local council, and we encourage you to continue your support of Girl Scouts by buying those amazing cookies.
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA SUNDAY
On Sunday, February 21, Green Hill will recognize BSA Sunday. BSA Sunday is designated as the day to commemorate the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910 and to recognize the contributions the members of BSA make to their churches and their communities. All local BSA members are invited to attend, and are encouraged to wear their uniforms.
BSA Sunday is usually recognized on the Sunday just prior to the official anniversary, February 8, but due to scheduling issues (Communion and a school holiday), Green Hill will hold the recognition on February 21.
Green Hill is the Chartered Organization for:
• Cub Scout Pack 150
• BSA Troop 150-B (Boy Troop)
• BSA Troop 150-G (Girl Troop)
• Venturing Crew 150
Girl Scout Sunday, for members of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), will be held on Sunday, March 14. March 21.
THE CHRISTIAN YEAR
The festivals and seasons of the Christian year (or liturgical calendar) offer a way to order the annual life of the church according to the life of Christ and the events of salvation history. The Revised Common Lectionary provides a set of Scripture readings from the Old and New Testaments that is both organized around the Christian year and attentive to the broad themes and narratives of the biblical story.
The Directory for Worship elaborates:
As God created and appointed days, God created a rhythm of time and appointed seasons for worship. In the Old Testament, people observed seasons of fasting and feasting as occasions for festival worship of God. Jesus kept these festivals. For the Church in the New Testament, the festivals were transformed in meaning and purpose by Jesus’ life and teaching, his death and resurrection, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return give meaning to the seasons which order the annual rhythm of worship and guide the selection of lessons to be read and proclaimed in the life of the Church. (W-1.3013)
Through two millennia of Christian worship, a certain cycle of festivals and seasons has emerged and is now recognized and observed throughout the ecumenical church. Some of these events (Pentecost, Holy Week and Epiphany, e.g.) can be traced to the earliest centuries of Christian practice; others (Trinity Sunday and Christ the King, e.g.) developed later in the history of the church. The Directory for Worship provides a helpful outline of these festivals and seasons:
God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ offers the Church a central pattern for ordering worship in relationship to significant occasions in the life of Jesus and of the people of God. (W-3.2002)
The liturgical colors in the Sanctuary always show the changing of the seasons in the Christian Year, but this year at Green Hill we will also indicate the changes with a “You Are Here” marker in the Narthex. So, the next time you enter the Sanctuary, take a moment to look at the bulletin board. You can see what is going on at Green Hill this week, this month, and where we are in the Christian Year.
A MESSAGE FROM TYLER W.
Christian Education – Green Hill Presbyterian Church
Greetings to you my brothers and sisters in Christ,
I am thankful for you and inspired by your faith daily, thank you. Our Christian Education theme this month is service to others.
As I considered service to others, 1 Peter 4:10 kept coming to mind, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Peter is imploring early Christians to see whatever they have as a gift from God and to be good stewards of these gifts. We would be wise to follow this advice! Giving generously of the gifts we have been given, whether those gifts are spiritual or temporal, in service to others is practicing good stewardship.
Christ recognizes the importance of service in the gospel of Matthew (23:11) stating, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” Greatness in the eyes of God is not the same as greatness in the eyes of men. God cares not what car we drive but cares a great deal how we treat the poor and how we speak to one another. As we go about our lives, we must focus more on serving our fellow man and not on pleasing ourselves. We must focus on building a longer table not a higher wall. We must focus on loving one another and not on topics of division.
I challenge you to consider and write down some of the gifts God has given you this week and how you can use these gifts to serve your brothers and sisters in Christ. Please take some time this week to pay someone a compliment, to call someone stuck at home, to look for those in need and to give of your gifts. Peace be with you brothers and sisters. In honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I will leave you with this quote:
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’
-Martin Luther King Jr.
ONLINE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND WORSHIP SERVICE
We are still living with COVID and in this “new normal” Green Hill is continuing to hold our Sunday School classes online and also to broadcast our worship service online. The classes and the services and bulletins can be accessed by going to the church website (www.greenhillpc.com) and clicking “Online Worship Services” in the banner.
Green Hill Presbyterian Church 