What’s Happenin’ in March?...

4 – Blanket Sunday

7 – Executive Committee, 6:00 pm

Prayer & Praise, 7:00 pm

11 - Daylight Savings Time Begins!

2-cents-a-meal collection

Loose offering to RDF

Evening of Contemporary Music

Worship with Brian Lago & Greg

Heath

14 – St. Elizabeth Guild, 12:00 noon

Vestry meeting, 7:00 pm

16 – Corned Beef Dinner, 5:00-7:00

18 – Deadline for Epistle news for

April

Food Pantry collection

27 – Evening Guild, 7:00 pm

Wonder what he meant?

Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary use words.

~ St. Francis of Assisi ~

Who’s Cookin’ Breakfast ?...

4 – Roger Smith Group

11 – Grotto Group

18 – Nelson/Clayman

25 – Youth Group

St. Patrick’s 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 religious 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 parade 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 19^th 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 in communities across North America.

~ from Editor’s Clip Sheets ~

Speaking of St. Patrick’s Day…

Our famous Corned Beef Dinner will be held this year on Friday, the 16^th of March from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

In addition to the delicious meat, cabbage & potatoes, there will be hot dogs, chips and juice. Seems there are lots of kids of all ages who prefer this to the corned beef (or maybe it’s the cabbage?).

Desserts will also be available.

All this for the great price of $5.00 for adults and $2.50 for children under 12 years of age.

An Evening of Contemporary Music Worship…

St. Peter’s will be offering a special evening of contemporary worship music featuring our own music director Brian Lago and Greg Heath, worship leader at St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Madison. Brian and Greg have been singing together at retreats, coffee houses, and Sunday services for over twenty years.

The purpose of this event is to offer the people of St. Peter’s the opportunity to participate in a more intimate form of worship. It is our hope that this will be a time of spiritual refreshment and renewal.

So, come one – come all, and join in the spirit.

Brr! It’s cold, & you can help…

Blanket Sunday is almost here!

On Sunday, March 4, 20007, we will be collecting donations to send to Church World Services for the purchase of blankets for people who are in dire need of our help in providing these most needed items.

Thank you in advance for you generous contributions.

~ Ernestine Bush ~

Feed My Sheep…

St. Peter’s Church hosted a group of twenty-seven students from Chestnut Elementary School on February 1, 2007. These students are a part of the Discovery Program of the Ashtabula Area City Schools.

A nutritious meal was prepared by Roger Smith and a group of other volunteers.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their home-cooked meal and were happy to take home a bag of school supplies when the meal was concluded.

Many thanks to all who helped to make this “feeding” possible.

~ Karen Flack ~

The Easter Flowers…

Lists for Easter flowers need to be in the office by March 28. Flower envelopes will be in the Easter Letter in March and in the narthex.

Laura Peyton Roberts said it…

“Sometimes when I pray, it feels like God is all around me – so close, that when I’m done, I almost hate to say amen. Saying amen – in a way, that’s almost like ending a call…like hanging up, you know? It feels like God just evaporates out of the room. So that made me think…wouldn’t it be great if we could leave a prayer off the hook?

Just leave it off the hook forever. Then whenever we stopped to listen, God would be right there breathing.

And it overflowed!...

If you weren’t at the Cake & Dessert Auction on Sunday, February 11, you really missed a happy, fun & successful afternoon. Planned and carried out by Julie Clayman and Debra Nelson, it was an afternoon of great delight. With Roger Smith as auctioneer, there was much hilarity and many bidding wars, with everyone going home pleased and looking forward to partaking of some mighty good looking desserts and cakes.

Julie and Debra are happy to report that a total of $1,735.00 was raised for St. Peter Church, and they want to thank everyone for all the help rendered in this undertaking.

Thank YOU Julie & Debra for a back-breaking job very well done.

The Story of the Pine Trees…

Last April on Sunday we took one of our “nowhere” drives. My husband was quietly driving a back road. I was occupied in the front passenger seat watching the scenery.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my husband was straining to look out my window. This startled me since his eyes should be on the road in front of him. I asked him what he was looking at out the windows, and he quietly replied, “Nothing.” His eyes went back to the road in front of him.

After a few minutes, I looked over at my husband and noticed a tear running down his cheek. I asked him what was wrong. This time he told me, “I was just thinking about Pop and a story he had once told me.”

Of course, if it had to do with his Pop I wanted to know the story, so I asked him to share it with me.

He said, “When I was about eight years old, Pop and I were out fishing and that’s when he told me that the pine trees know when it is Easter.”

I had no idea what he meant by that, so I pressed him for more information.

He continued on, “The pine trees start their new growth in the weeks before Easter – if you look at the tops of the pine trees two weeks before, you will see the yellow shoots. As the days get closer to Easter Sunday, the tallest shoot will branch off and form a cross. By the time Easter Sunday comes around, you will see that most of the pine trees will have small yellow crosses on all of the tallest shoots.”

I turned to look out the window and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a week before Easter, and you could see all of the trees with the tall yellow shoots stretching to Heaven.

The tallest ones shone in the sunlight like rows of tiny golden crosses.

~ from Wanda’s mailing list; Wanda’s Country Home ~

The Gospel According to

St. Titleist…

Man blames fate for all other accidents, but feels personally responsible when he makes a hole-in-one. Bishop Sheen

The only time my prayers are never answered is playing golf. Billy Graham

If I hit it right, it’s a slice. If I hit it left, it’s a hook. If I hit it straight, it’s a miracle. All us Hackers

Ben Hogan: May thy ball lie in green pastures, and not in still waters.

The Meaning of the Snowman…

~ from the newsletter of Trinity Presbyterian Church (& author unkown) and we hope, our parting shot to winter!

The white snow stands for the purity of souls filled with God’s grace.

The circular snowballs represent God’s everlasting love.

The pieces of coal used to make the eyes, mouth and buttons symbolize God’s almighty power.

The carrot nose reminds us that God gives us everything we need to live and grow.

The scarf suggests the warmth of God’s tender care.

The top hat reminds us always to keep faith our top priority.

The arms are outstretched to us, as God’s always are.

The broom made of straw and wood signifies that Jesus was born and died to cleanse us of sin.

May your heart be ever warmed by the good new of God’s great love for you!

“Hi, Mom!”…

A five-year-old boy was fed up with his mother. The angry child ran up to his room, found a suitcase, packed it, and came stomping down the stairs, sputtering threats and saying how wonderful it would be to get away from home. The gentle mother told her son goodbye and closed the front door.

From a window she watched her distressed boy trudging down the street with the old suitcase bumping his leg. Now and then, the youngster would stop and look back. At last, he turned in at a neighbor’s house and walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. As if she had been cued for her role in the drama, the gracious housewife invited him in and gave him cookies and fruit juice. Meanwhile, the boy’s mother telephoned the neighbor to explain what had transpired.

Toward evening, the lad thanked the neighbor for a pleasant visit and went bouncing home with his suit case as if nothing had happened. Slamming the front door behind him, he exclaimed, “Hi, Mom!”

After dinner and their nightly ritual, the tired son went to bed. Curious to see what the son had taken on his trip, the mother opened the suitcase and found his favorite cowboy hat and toy pistol, some bubblegum, a toothbrush, and his pack of church envelopes.

~ 500 Illustrations – Stories from

Life for Preaching & Teaching by G. Curtis Jones & Paul H. Jones. Used with permission.

A Prayer…

~ written by th EFM group of Christ

Episcopal Church in Geneva (and lifted to share with you) ~

God is the Giver of free will and the world is full of difficult choices. We ask for wisdom & guidance on behalf of ourselves and others. We confess that we have not always chosen wisely, we give thanks for the many opportunities to choose. We come together in awe and wonder at your grace when we fall so that we are reassured by your love in the name of the Holy Spirit that touches us all.

AMEN.