OLIVE BRANCH

March 2018

Mount Olive Lutheran Church

2350 – 148th Street, Surrey, B.C. 604-536-8527 mountolive@telus.net

www.mountolivelutheran.ca

Pastor Peter Hanson Worship & Sunday School 10:15 am

Everyone is Welcome

A Prayer for Lent

From: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann

A Reading for Lent

You can’t conceive, my child, nor can I or anyone, the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.

Graham Greene

Dorothy Sayers writes that to make the Easter story into something that neither startles,

shocks, terrifies, nor excites is “to crucify the Son of God afresh.” Certainly that would

have been unthinkable for Jesus’ first followers, who experienced it firsthand: the heady

excitement of his entry into Jerusalem, the traitorous cunning of Judas and the guilty

recognition of their own cowardice, the terror of his slow suffocation, and finally the

disarming wonder of an empty grave and a living body resurrected from the dead.

As for us, his latter-day disciples, few would deny the magnitude or drama of these

events. But how many of us embrace their pain and promise? How many of us, even at

Easter, give Christ’s death and resurrection any more attention that the weather?

To observe Lent is to strike at the root of such complacency. Lent (literally “springtime”)

is a time of preparation, a time to return to the desert where Jesus spent forty trying days

readying for his ministry. He allowed himself to be tested, and if we are serious about

following him, we will do the same.

First popularized in the fourth century, Lent is traditionally associated with penitence,

fasting, alms-giving, and prayer. It is a time for “giving things up” balanced by “giving to”

those in need. Yet whatever else it may be, Lent should never be morose - an annual

ordeal during which we begrudgingly forgo a handful of pleasures. Instead we ought to

approach Lent as an opportunity, not a requirement. After all, it is meant to be the

church’s springtime, a time when, out of the darkness of sin’s winter, a repentant,

empowered people emerges. No wonder one liturgy refers to it as “this joyful season.”

Put another way, Lent is the season in which we ought to be surprised by joy. Our self-

sacrifices serve no purpose unless, by laying aside this or that desire, we are able to focus

on our heart’s deepest longing: unity with Christ. In him – in his suffering and death, his

resurrection and triumph – we find our truest joy.

Continued

Such joy is costly, however. It arises from the horror of our sin, which crucifies Christ. This

is why Meister Eckhart points out that those who have the hardest time with Lent are

“the good people.” Most of us are willing to give up a thing or two; we may also admit

our need for renewal. But to die with Christ?

Spiritual masters often refer to a kind of “dread,” the nagging sense that we have missed

something important and have been somehow untrue – to ourselves, to others, to God.

Lent is a good time to confront the source of that feeling. It is a time to let go of excuses

for failings and shortcomings; a time to stop hanging on to whatever shreds of goodness

we perceive in ourselves; a time to ask God to show us what we really look like. Finally, it

is a time to face up to the personal role each of us plays in prolonging Christ’s agony at

Golgotha. As Richard John Neuhaus (paraphrasing John Donne) advises, “Send not to

know by whom the nails were driven; they were driven by you, by me.”

And yet our need for repentance cannot erase the good news that Christ overcame all sin.

His resurrection frees us from ourselves. His empty tomb turns our attention away from

all that is wrong with us and with the world, and spurs us on to experience the abundant

life he promises.

“Christ must increase, and I must decrease,” the apostle John declares. Here is the

challenge we face: to discover Christ – the scarred God, the weak and wretched God, the

crucified, dying God of blood and despair – amid the alluring gods of our feel-good age.

He reveals the appalling strangeness of divine mercy, and the Love from which it springs.

Such Love could not stay imprisoned in a cold tomb. Nor need be, if we truly surrender

our lives to it.”

From: Bread and Wine

Holy Week at Mount OliVE

Passion / Palm Sunday March 25 at 10:15 a.m.

Maundy Thursday March 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Good Friday March 30 at 10:15 a.m.

Easter Sunday April 1 at 10:15 a.m.

Potluck Breakfast at 9:15 a.m.

Lent at Mount Olive

Lenten Services at Mount Olive

Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m.

March 1, 8, 15, and 22.

Lenten Lunches

Thursdays at Noon as follows:

March 1st - Peninsula United Churches (at St. Mark’s Anglican)

March 8th - Star of the Sea

March 15 - St. John’s Presbyterian (at St. Mark’s Anglican)

March 22 - St. Mark’s Anglican

St. Mark’s Anglican - 12953 20th Avenue, Surrey

Star of the Sea Center – 15262 Pacific Avenue White Rock

Men’s Breakfast

Saturday March 3rd from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Net proceeds will benefit SUMS

Fellowship Turkey Pies

Coming Up! Orders for Turkey Pies will be taken on Sunday March 4 and March 11

Fellowship Potluck Ethnic Dinner Friday March 16th at 5:30 p.m.

Bring your favorite ethnic dish!

You are invited to wear ethnic garb.

All are Welcome to Attend!

World Day of Prayer

Friday March 2, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.

Held at St. John’s Presbyterian Church,

1480 George St., White Rock

This year’s theme is “All God’s Creation is Very Good!”

Written by women in Suriname, South America.

It is interesting to note that this world-wide event was initiated by Women’s Inter-

Church Council of Canada in 1918! Now the event is held in 170 countries.

We have held services yearly in our area since 1953.

Offerings provide grants for projects that benefit women

touched by injustice in various countries.

ELW WINTER BIBLE STUDY PROGAM

We invite all women to come to our monthly Bible Studies that are held on the third

Tuesday of the month at 1:00 pm. We use excellent Bible Studies that are published in

the Gather Magazine, published by Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in

America.

MULTIPLE MEANINGS: LEARNING FROM OTHER INTERPRETATIONS

This winter, a four session Bible Study is offered. Author Mark Allen Powell explores what

Biblical stories mean to people around the world.

Next Session

March 20, 2018

Session 3: The Good Samaritan: Luke 10: 30-37

This session explores how two of the best known stories in the Bible have impacted

culture, including different cultures than our own.

April 17, 2018

Session 4: The Prodigal Son: Luke 15: 11-20

In this session we consider how the story of the Prodigal son is understood by

believers---indeed by Lutheran believers---in different parts of the world.

ANNUAL INTERGENERATIONAL STUDY

May 15, 2018: Welcome and hospitality for all.

Food Safe Course Level 1

Thursday April 5th from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Mount Olive

Our Fellowship Committee has organized a one day Food Safe course.

Cost: $50.00 per person

Maximum: 25 participants

The course is for anyone interested.

Bring your own lunch.

Please confirm your participation with Brenda Singbeil as soon as possible.

The Library Corner

Book Reviews

The Scarlet Thread is the first book in the Francine Rivers’ Contemporary Collection. Rivers follows the faith journey and marriages of two families two centuries apart. She begins with the marriage of Sierra Chanton and Alex Madrid. Fourteen years into their marriage Alex decides to change his work and move the family to Los Angeles. Sierra is heart-broken and angry. Sierra’s mother gives her daughter a tattered journal written by her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray. Mary Kathryn has been married to James Farr for a number of years when he decides to leave Illinois and take his family on the arduous journey to Oregon. Mary Kathryn is angry about the decision. The two families are “joined by the tattered journal as they contend with God, husbands, and themselves, until they fall into the arms of the One who loves them unconditionally.” Forgiveness, fear and trust are themes in this story. Rivers says ”she uses her writing to draw closer to the Lord, that through her work she might worship and praise Jesus for all He has done and is doing in her life.”

Leota’s Garden is the second book in Francine Rivers’ Contemporary Collection. The story starts when student Corban Solskek receives a B for his sociology proposal, but it is missing the “human element”. To raise his grade he must do one case study. An organization suggests he offer his assistance to the 84 year old senior, Leota Reinhardt. Granddaughter Anne-Lynn, who believes deeply in God, is struggling for independence from her mother, Nora. After moving away to go to an Art School, she feels she must visit her grandmother. Anne loves her and learns more about her and from her with each visit. Corban is gradually getting better ideas from his visits, and considers Leota to be a friend. The visits have become special for Leota, particularly because they have brought life back to her garden. Her faith is strong and she aches to be rejoined to her children, Nora and George, and see them turn to God. The problems, however, have not been resolved, because they began when the children were small, while they lived with her in-laws. When Leota’s health fails, Anne and Corban stay with her and look after her.

Reviews by: Eleanor Phillips

Library Group: Eleanor Phillips, Sandie Schaffer, Joan Piller

Word on the Street

News from Surrey Urban Mission Society sumsplace.com

Such weather we're having! I wonder how much of the conversation on the street in Whalley

is about the weather. In times of extreme weather, the faces of the SUMS guests tell the

story well.

Please consider starting your spring cleaning a bit early with an eye for warm casual men's

and women's clothing or purchase a pair of warm socks to help keep feet dry. The SUMS

donation box in our church coat closet is there for your clean and bagged kind offerings.

Thank you!

The next SUMS Supper will take place on Sunday, March 18th. In early March a volunteer

sign up board will be set up for those wishing to serve or supply the March 18th SUMS

Supper. Blessings abound for all, as you help provide.

SUMS is now publishing a monthly newsletter to share the stories and ministry of the

Mission. Each edition will be posted on the SUMS bulletin board in the Multi-Purpose

Room. Please take some time to read about this area of outreach.

This month the impactful story of Shayne, a long time staff member at SUMS is highlighted.

We’re grateful for his ministry at SUMS and we bless him and his wife and pray for them

as they begin their life together.

Shayne Lawson has been a staple at Surrey Urban Mission for the past 9 years. You will

find him cutting guests' hair, organizing staff, fixing anything that falls apart, ferrying guests

to appointments, keeping the peace, and constantly loving the people around him.

20 years ago he was dealing drugs on these same streets but found both sobriety and the

Lord and has committed his life to giving back. He has been the Shelter Coordinator here

for the past 2 years and works tirelessly with our team to create an atmosphere that is both

caring and safe.

Last year he married Claudette and together they have decided to move their new chapter

together over to Vancouver Island. Claudette will be working at a local senior’s center as

the Activities Director and Shayne will be working on their new home while spending some

time resting and praying about God's will in these next steps of his life. He says, "Starting

life and ministry with my new wife is something I truly look forward to". Shayne has some

very big shoes to fill and will be incredibly missed.

Surrey Urban Mission Society

10776 King George Blvd. Surrey, BC V3T 2X7

604-581-5172. sums@telus.net

Patricia Jessen 604-786-4711

SUMS Liaison at Mount Olive Lutheran Church

Day Light Savings Time Starts

Turn your clocks Forward one hour on Saturday evening March 10th

Day Light Savings Starts at 2:00 a.m. Sunday March 11