a note from rev. sharon

It’s safe to say, most folks don’t greet the season of Lent with the same enthusiasm as Christmas or Easter or even Advent. But Lent needn’t be all gloom and doom. We can embrace it as a quiet time to reflect on our lives and our values and what God is calling us to do. It can be a time of discovery and learning. It even can be fun.
Fun?
Really! Just check out lentmadness.org
A colleague of mine created Lent Madness about a decade ago as a fun way to teach people about the individuals on the Episcopal saints calendar, from the well-known to the obscure. He arranged them in competitive brackets – like the college basketball March Madness brackets.
Each day of the tournament, participants vote for their favorite saint based on biographies and other information about them posted on the website. Over the course of Lent, the competition heats up, saints advance, and the ultimate winner receives the coveted Golden Halo.
Anyone can participate. You can sign up on the website for e-mail reminders about when to vote, or just visit the website each day. If you forget to vote, there’s no penalty. The only sin is attempting to vote twice!

Special project
On a more serious note, St. John’s will be raising awareness, providing education and exploring the spiritual dimensions of the addiction crisis in this country. Please read the attachment to this email to learn more, and let me know if you would like to participate.

Save the dates!
 

• Sunday, March 12, our annual meeting will be held after the 10 a.m. worship service. Please let Rev. Sharon or one of the wardens or vestry members know asap if you are interested in serving as a vestry member or diocesan convention deputy or alternate deputy.
• Saturday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m., the Peace Islands Institute will provide an iftar dinner and informative program about the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan for us in the parish hall. Stay tuned for more details.

Wishing everyone a holy Lent.
 
Rev. Sharon