Lent is a time of remembering what Jesus did for us in his life, death, and resurrection. We reflect on our own lives and repent of those things that hamper our walk with our Lord. People often ask a lot of questions about Lent. Many of them are posed in the "Lent Quiz" by Wilma W. Shortz, found below. Answer the question yourself and then see how well you did by checking with answers which follow on the back page. 1. What is the meaning of the word "Lent?" 2. When is the first day of Lent? 3. Why does Lent continue for 40 days? 4. Aren't there more than 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter? 5. What is the name of the last week in Lent? 6. What is the significance of Palm Sunday? 7. What happened on Maundy Thursday? 8. How many disciples were there? Can you name them? 9. Isn't there a famous painting of the Last Supper? 10. What happened on Good Friday? 11. Why was Ash Wednesday originally called "Beginning of the Fast?" 12. Is fasting still practiced? 13. Do Shrove Tuesday and pancake racing have something to do with Lent? 14. What worldwide celebration comes on the first Friday in March? HAVE FUN!
The early Christians met in small groups for worship and discipleship. The small group experience can be life-changing. Here is the testimony of one member:
"Small groups have played a major role in my life as long as I have been a Christian. In my opinion, there is no better way to study the Bible for personal growth. Thought-provoking questions in the study guides, and discussion with others in the group help me to understand what the scriptures mean for me personally.
Small groups also provide a safe place to share prayer needs with other Christians. Group members pray for one another and often become life long friends.
If you are looking for a way to grow in the Lord through Bible study, through prayer support from other Christians, and developing deep friendships, consider joining a small group."
Jennifer Ripley
Our adult education curriculum is entitled "Journey of Discipleship." The process of maturing in Christ is indeed, a journey. We invite you to journey together with other Christians in a 13 week study entitled "Lessons on Assurance" and "Lessons on Christian Living."The small group will be facilitated by Cynthia Swanson and meet weekly beginning in late March, early April. If you are interested, please call the church office at 358-3297 and give us your name and number. We will be in touch with you to inform you of the starting date and the time and place of meeting.
No matter when you worship with us on Sunday mornings, we have some exciting opportunities for Bible study and fellowship. Beginning March 3, at 9:00 in the Fireside Room, John and Betsy Guyer will be leading a study of the book of Ephesians. This supplements the Lenten sermon series on Paul's letter. Join John and Betsy for an in-depth look on this book which has been called, "the gospel of the church." At 10:30 a.m. in the Fireside Room, Teacher Lorie Pope Pauly is leading us through a study entitled "In the name of Jesus." Learn what authority we Christians have to use Jesus' name in doing business on His behalf.
QUESTIONS...STATEMENTS...discouragement... "What does the Mission Committee do?"... The congregation doesn't know what Menaul School is...Cook Theological and training school... the Stocks...Edics...Egans...African Enterprise...Medical Benevolence Fund... and on and on through the list of Missions we support. WE, all of us, OUR CONGREGATION. Yes, Jesus Christ said GO INTO ALL THE WORLD...AND THE WORLD is next door... family... our church... California... the Nation... Monrovia... ANYWHERE... EVERYWHERE. The Mission Study Yearbook has interesting, sad, fascinating, exciting, facts, stories, information about THIS EVERYWHERE. Take a copy if you haven't done so; leave a donation or not...in the Narthex... Ask us about these MISSIONS... Betty Wilson, Betsy Guyer, Anne Archer, Carol Densham, Nila Sadek, Malcolm & Bertha Graham, any of our many MISSIONARIES, Pastors, Session members. You may have read this in a bulletin about the Joy Offering. It tells a lot about Menaul. We'll try to bring you information about the other Missions we support in future Tower Times' editions. Asia Henderson graduated in 1995 from Menaul School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Asked why she came to Menaul, Asia responded. "In my sophomore year, I decided I wanted to be someone, TO BE A PART OF LIFE." In Los Angeles, I was just a number walking around. I lived a life of violence, of poverty, and I wanted a better life for myself. With the help of my grandparents, I was given the opportunity to attend Menaul School. I didn't know at the time that coming to Menaul School would be the best decision I could have made. Without Menaul, I would not be going to college. I probably would not be in school anymore. THE TEACHERS HERE MAKE SURE YOU ARE LEARNING, AND THEY WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN AND LOVING ARMS." Mission is EVERYONE'S commitment to Christ for EVERYWHERE. "GO" can Mean one step...
The Mission Committee of Arcadia Presbyterian Church is sponsoring a work party to Sitka, Alaska, July 28 through August 4, 1996. They are looking for a "few good men" or couples. If you are interested please pick up a pamphlet in the office or call Dot Qua at 355-7542 for further information.
Women are invited to work on emotional pain and relationship issues in a caring Christian setting.
Saturday morning, April 20 to June 15, (8 meetings) 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Therapist Pat DeVorss, M.S., M.A., Marriage, Family and Child Counselor Intern will be leading this counseling opportunity in Room 206. Group size is limited to 10 women so reservations are a must. The fee for these groups is $10.00 per session, scholarships are available. For more information leave a message for Pat at 358-0155 (L.I.F.E. Counseling). Please leave several times when Pat can call you back. "...the breakup of a family is the destruction of a small civilization" Dr. Billy Graham once said that if every church or synagogue took in 10 families we could abolish welfare. Following this challenge, if members of our County religious community would become foster parents or adoptive parents, we could find homes for our 60,000 children. For additional information on this vital need, please contact Mr. Mark Middaugh at (213) 351-5748.
Born out of a vision to symbolically and intentionally create an environment for racial reconciliation through Christ, Rev. Greg Douglass has invited the community of Monrovia to come together as the Body of Christ. Our prayer is that this time of worship will offer healing and hope to our broken world. Let us each commit to join our brothers and sisters for this worship service.
On Saturday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. in our Sanctuary the Fellowship Mass Choir of Monrovia will host a concert of the best of Gospel Music. Also participating will be three soloists and a special appearance of the Prosperity Gospel Choir of Los Angeles. This concert is free to the public. Don't miss it!
Suggested Gift of $6.00 Send Check to Church Office by Monday, March 25th Make Checks Payable to First Presbyterian Church & Designate it "Easter Memorial". Indicate one of the following categories you would like your donation placed under, and give the name(s) you wish to honor by your donation: "In Loving Memory Of":___________________________________________ "In Appreciation Of":____________________________________________ "In Honor Of":___________________________________________________ [ ] Please Distribute to Shut-ins or Hospital [ ] I Will Pick Up Easter Sunday
Soon after arriving here, Kent Fillmore created an internet website for our church, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. The website contains a picture of the church, our Purpose Statement, information about services, events and the Tower Times. If you have a computer, a modem and internet access, you can view the website at the following (URL) address: http://www.urly.com/urly2day/Monrovia/1stPres/1stPres.html
We love to come to Coffee Break. It's wonderful to share, The love of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, With others gathered there. We bask in Christian fellowship, While listening to each other. We learn lessons from the Bible, And how to serve our brother. We're welcomed with warm hugs, By each person that we greet. We're bathed with friendly smiles, As we savor some yummy treat. It's a lovely way to start, As we launch into our day. Expressing our concerns, With those we know will pray, For guidance from Father God, Our Creator, our best Friend. We stand in awe and reverence, For His blessings never end! We thank Him for His Grace, He sends freely from above, But most of all we thank Him, For His everlasting Love!! We thank Him much for Coffee Break. Opportunities to share, The love of Jesus Christ Our Lord, With those assembled there. Copyright, January 24, 1996 By Lorie Pope Pauly
Thank you for your prayers for our children. "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). In the last two weeks five children in Lee Moberg's 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class asked Jesus to come into their hearts. We celebrate with joy and say, "Thank you, Lord, for drawing the little ones to Yourself." Please continue to lift up in prayer our Sunday School teachers and helpers, and our children.
We're starting on a busy month, getting ready for a joyous Easter season! Our regularly scheduled practices will be on March 6th and 20th, but we may need to practice a little more this month to be really good for Easterówe'll send a letter home to let you parents know. Thank you so very much for all the offerings of food for the children. We decided the best way to organize our snack schedule is to have a sign-up sheet to bring snacks (crackers, cookies, or fruit and a drink) like the chancel choir does. Our sign-up sheet will be next to theirs in the choir room. Thanks again! In God's Love
Kathee and Debbie
Just a little note
Dear Church Family -
Thank you for your prayers, cards and flowers during this time of our family bereavement.
Your thoughtfulness and caring has meant so much to us!
Sincerely,
Geneva Zook and family
To my family at First Pres -
I want to say how blessed I feel knowing that I have so many praying for me. I am encouraged and strengthened every day by your prayers. God has blessed me with so much over the years and His greatest gift of all is my family at First Prres. May God continue to poor out His blessings over all of you.
In His Name - with love and gratitude,
Ruben D. Miranda
1. It is believed the word comes from the Anglo Saxon word "Lengten" - when the days lengthen. Springtime. It has no religious meaning. 2. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 days until Easter. Pope Urban II gave it the name of "Lent" in 1099. Before that it was known as "Beginning of the Fast." 3. There are several possible reasons to commemorate the 40 days Moses spent on Mount Sinai, the Israelites' 40 years of wandering in the desert, the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, or the 40 hours in the tomb. 4. Yes, but Sundays are considered feast days and the six Sundays are not counted, only weekdays. 5. Holy Week. It is a week of mourning, to (commemorate) the last days of Jesus' earthly life. 6. Palm Sunday is the day Jesus entered Jerusalem and people put palm branches in his path as a sign of welcome. 7. Maundy Thursday marks the Last Supper, served on the eve of Passover, which Jesus shared with his disciples in a friend's home. After supper Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The name "Maundy" is believed to come from the Latin mandatum, meaning "command" or "mandate." Jesus said to the disciples, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another." 8. Twelve. Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew, Bartholomew, Judas Iscariot, Philip, Simon the Zealot, James son of Alphaeus, Thomas, and Thadaeus. 9. There are several. The most famous was painted by Leonardo de Vinci on a wall of the Santa Maria della Gracie Church in Milan, Italy, where it may still be seen today. 10. Jesus was crucified. 11. Ash Wednesday was called "Beginning of the Fast" because in the middle ages fasting during Lent was common in many parts of the world. Pope Saint Gregory the Great declared: "We abstain from flesh meat and from all things that come from the flesh as milk, cheese, eggs, butter." It was the custom also for women to wear mourning colors during Lent. 12. Yes, by people in many countries, but not to the same extent and often for shorter periods. Roman Catholics now need fast only on two days during Lentó Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting rules of the Greek Orthodox Church are still very strict. Some people nowadays simply deny themselves something they like as a sign of penance and sorrow. 13. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. The story goes back to the year 1445. Fats and eggs had to be used before the Lenten fast, so the practice was to make them into pancakes the day before Lent began. A housewife in Olney, England, heard the summons to church while making pancakes so she ran to church carrying the half-cooked pancakes in a frying pan. That amused people and started pancake racing. In 1950 the race was revived by women in Liberal, Kansas, who later challenged the women in Olney. A race between the two towns occurs on Shrove Tuesday. 14. World Day of Prayer is observed on the first Friday in March. This day began in 1955 with a call to women all over the world to join in a Day of Prayer. The same worship service is used worldwide, the prayers being written by women of a different country each year. A national day of prayer was proposed in 1887 by the Presbyterian Church in the United States and other denominations soon followed suit. (from Creative Ideas for Lent, Volume 2 edited by Robert & Linda Davidson, Educational Ministries, INC. 1989, Prescott, AZ)
The Session met for their monthly meeting following the service on Ash Wednesday. Among the items reported by the Clerk were the baptism of Stephen Nolin, son of Bob and Traci Nolin, the death of Charles Hagaman, and the reception into membership of Bernice Hoegee MacLeod of Royal Oaks Manor. A report was received from seminary student Hugh Yates and the Session voted to continue financial support for Hugh for the spring and summer terms. During the committee reports, it was agreed that Rev. Dr. Keith Phillips, Executive Director of World Impact will be invited to preach at both services on Mission Emphasis Sunday, April 28. Membership chair Bob Risher presented the names of six people for membership. Tom Bascom, Kent Fillmore, Katherine Salomone, Michael Salomone, Kathleen Willetts, and Richard Willetts will be joining our congregation on March 3. The Administration and Facilities Committee proposed, and the Session agreed, that Ruben Miranda be permitted to live in the vacant apartment of the Dawes House in return for working 40 hours a month at the church. It was also decided to purchase a laptop computer to run the graphics at the contemporary service. This is currently being done with a computer belonging to a member of the Worship Team. As always, the meeting was closed in prayer. Because of the Community Lenten Services, the next Session meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 19.
We need your help!!! If you are interested in helping to organize our church library, please come to a brief meeting Sunday, March 3 after the second service in Cynthia's office. If you are interested, but unable to attend this meeting, call the church and speak with Cynthia regarding your willingness to help. Thank you!!!
What do we do after a retreat? What do we do when we come down from the mountain and face the realism that was waiting for us here in Monrovia? What is the next step? I want to hold on to that closeness I felt to our God ó can I still feel that way here amongst all that I have to do? Is God here when I'm doing laundry? Can He hear me praying while I'm driving my children to soccer practice? While I'm cooking a meal? Is He here now or does He stay up there on the mountain? If you are feeling a little "let down" since our wonderful experience on the PWC retreat - I have a solution for you. Come, join in once a month with the other women in your Circle. Let the fellowship lift you back up and feed you. Pamper yourself and be with women who are on a "mini" evening retreat from the hectic schedules. It feels so wonderful to share with other women, to pray with Sisters in Christ, to slow down for a minute and to feel God's presence in a powerful way. If you are not sure which circle you are in, please call the church office and we'll be glad to help you out. There are two circles that meet during the day and one evening group. Come and be fed! Jackie Campbell Moderator
Have we got a treat for you! Mariners are sponsoring a fund raiser at Glendale Centre Theatre on March 13th. The musical is ready-made for us, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat". The play starts at 8:00, but we will have a church bus leave the parking lot at 6:30, so nobody has to drive if they don't care to. Price of tickets - $12, Ride on bus - $2. We hope to have many from the congregation in addition to Mariners in attendance. For more information call Mary Lou Kropke at 358-8489.
Work Day Saturday, March 23 8 a.m. - 12 noon Please come and help get our church into shape for the spring!
Thanks for all of your efforts for Menaul School! The end of January, I mailed 1,871 labels to them for their van. If enough other churches did the same they should be able to make it this year. Stay tuned.
I'm sure they will have another project for the coming school year, so please continue saving your labels. There is a list on the small table in the corner of the Narthex if you are not sure what brands and what parts of the labels to save. Please take one.
There is now a space in the message boxes behind the office where you can put your labels any time you are at the church. And, of course, I'll always be glad to receive them from you.
Betsy Guyer
The Church: God's New Society March 03: "No Longer Strangers" Ephesians 2:11-22 March 10: "Fostering a Family Resemblance" Ephesians 3 March 17: "No Spare Parts" Ephesians 4:1-16 March 24: "Walking in the Light" Ephesians 4:17-5:20 March 31: "Behold! The Bridegroom Comes!" Ephesians 5:21-30 Weekly study guides for this series are available in the Narthex. Guides will be available one week in advance.
You are invited to attend the annual Lenten and Easter season services to be held at the locations listed below. The services begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Once again we are excited about gathering together as the family of God during this Holy Season!
Wed., Feb. 28: 1st Baptist (223 S. Encinitas);
Pastor John Mastrogiovanni
Wed., Mar. 6: All Nations S.D.A. (1948 S. Peck);
Pastor David Buckell
Wed., Mar. 13: 1st Presbyterian (101 E. Foothill);
Pastor Donnie Williams
Wed., Mar. 20: Grace Community (528 W. Duarte);
Pastor Bob Spurgeon
Wed., Mar. 27: Bethel AME (148 W. Lime);
Pastor Helen McCall
Fri., Apr. 5:: St. Paul's Lutheran (625 W. Foothill);
Pastor Bill Ripley (12:00 noon)
Sun., Apr. 7: Library Park;
Pastor Greg Douglass (7:00 a.m.)
Therapist Pat DeVorss, M.S., M.A., Marriage, Family and Child Counselor Intern will be holding two different programs for counseling opportunity in Room 206. Group size is limited so reservations are a must. The fee for these groups is $5.00 per session, scholarships are available. For more information leave a message for Pat at 358-0155 (L.I.F.E. Counseling).
Feeling lonely and overwhelmed with the responsibilities of single parenting?
Join others in a caring Christian therapy group
Eight Sessions, Wednesdays, beginning on August 2nd 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
In a safe Christian therapy group, explore how the painful experiences of childhood have affected who you are today Learn how to
Eight Sessions, Wednesdays, beginning on August 2nd 7:45 - 9:15 p.m.
© 1996 URLy Sylke All Rights Reserved CREDITS