This quiz was originally played with our youth group. See how you do. When you are through click here to see the answers. The answers will be in red.

1) On which day is it traditional to make pancakes?
a. Maundy Thursday
b. Good Friday
c. Shrove Tuesday
d. April Fools Day

2) What are the 40 days before Easter known as?
a. Advent
b. Lent
c. Epiphany
d. Eastertide

3) Jesus was crucified on…
a. Palm Sunday
b. Easter Sunday
c. Good Friday
d. Maundy Thursday

4) Easter is celebrated on…
a. the fourth Sunday of March
b. the Sunday closest to the beginning of Spring
c. 100 days after Christmas
d. the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the Spring equinox

5) Jesus was betrayed for…
a. 30 pieces of silver
b. 30 pieces of gold
c. a colt and a donkey
d. an all expense paid trip to Rome

6) Gethsemane means…
a. place of the skull
b. press of oils
c. beautiful garden
d. get some more of these

7) What color was the cloak Jesus wore on the way to the cross?
a. green
b. black
c. red
d. purple

8) Who helped Jesus carry his cross?
a. Joseph of Arimathea
b. Simon of Cyrene
c. Simon the Zealot
d. Saul of Tarsus

9) What does Palm Sunday celebrate?
a. Jesus entering Jerusalem
b. Jesus entering Bethlehem
c. A traditional Jewish festival when people laid fresh palms in their homes on their floors
d. A traditional Roman festival when dates were eaten

10) Who rolled away the stone from the mouth of the grave in which Jesus had been placed?
a. an angel
b. a soldier
c. the gardener
d. Joseph of Arimathea

11) Easter gets its name from…
a. the direction of the rising sun
b. the Anglo-Saxon goddess of eggs and bunnies
c. the Latin word “astor” which means “rising”
d. the Greek word for “Passover”

12) What is burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday?
a. cedar wood
b. slips of paper on which prayers have been written
c. witches
d. palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday

13) Jesus was laid in the tomb of…
a. Joseph of Arimathea
b. Simon of Cyrene
c. Judas Iscariot
d. Nicodemus

14) What is celebrated forty days after Easter Sunday?
a. The Ascension
b. Pentecost
c. All Souls' Day
d. The Assumption

15) The day before Ash Wednesday is known as…
a. Fat Tuesday
b. Shrove Tuesday
c. Mardi Gras
d. All of the above

16) Mardi Gras literally means…
a. Fat Tuesday
b. Great Day
c. Throw me some beads
d. Day of the Geese

17) Lent is Latin for…
a. "Sorrow”
b. “Fasting”
c. “Spring”
d. none of the above

18) Pretzels…
a. were invented as a Lenten food
b. symbolize arms folded in prayer
c. were first made by German monks
d. all of the above

19) On Ash Wednesday ashes are placed…
a. on the forehead in the shape of a cross
b. in a box to be taken home and scattered on the garden
c. on the priest or pastor’s hands and feet to mark where Christ was crucified
d. on lily bulbs that will bloom on Easter

20) The color of Lent is…
a. green
b. purple
c. red
d. gray

21) At Christ's crucifixion what did the soldiers place on his head?
a. a wreath of laurels
b. a crown of thorns
c. a crown of jewels
d. a crown of thistles

22) The soldiers who crucified Jesus rolled dice for his…
a. Clothes
b. Jewels
c. Donkey
d. Cross

23) Judas betrayed Jesus by…
a. pointing at him
b. describing him to the authorities
c. kissing him
d. shaking his hand

24) Christ was led away to which high priest first?
a. Annas
b. Vitellius
c. Caiaphas
d. Josephus

25) Above Jesus on the cross was a sign which read…
a. Behold the man!
b. Thus always to tyrants
c. King of the Jews
d. Savior of the World

26) The sign above Jesus on the cross was written in…
a. Latin
b. Greek
c. Hebrew
d. all of the above

27) Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on…
a. a colt
b. a donkey
c. a white stallion
d. maybe a colt, maybe a donkey, maybe both

28) When Jesus died, for how long was there darkness over the land?
a. 3 days
b. 3 minutes
c. 3 hours
d. 3 weeks

29) While on the cross Jesus gave care of his mother to…
a. Peter
b. the "beloved disciple"
c. Mary Magdalene
d. Pontius Pilate

30) According to all four gospels the first person to see the resurrected Christ was…
a. Mary, the mother of Jesus
b. Mary Magdalene
c. Peter
d. accounts vary

31) Pilate offered the crowd to release Jesus or…
a. Jesse James
b. Barabbas
c. Paul
d. Barnabas

32) Jesus' side was pierced with a…
a. Sword
b. Knife
c. Spear
d. Axe

33) When Jesus said he was thirsty he was offered…
a. water from a waterskin
b. wine from a cup (the holy grail)
c. vinegar in a sponge
d. none of the above

34) When Jesus died…
a. darkness descended even though it was day
b. there was an earthquake
c. the shroud in the temple was torn in half
d. all of the above

35) Which disciple wanted to see the imprint of the nails before he would believe?
a. Andrew
b. Thomas
c. James
d. Bartholomew

36) After Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus he…
a. repented of his sin and rejoined the disciples
b. escaped to Egypt
c. hanged himself
d. became a Roman citizen

37) When Jesus was being arrested Peter…
a. wept
b. took out a sword and cut somebody’s ear off
c. ran away
d. none of the above

38) Golgotha means…
a. place of the skull
b. press of oils
c. beautiful garden
d. hill of the Goths

39) Jesus predicted this person would deny him before the rooster crowed three times...
a. Judas Iscariot
b. Pontius Pilate
c. Peter
d. Mary Magdalene

40) What is celebrated 50 days after Easter?
a. Trinity Sunday
b. Ascension Day
c. Memorial Day
d. Pentecost

Continue reading "Easter Quiz" »

Filed under Youth
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a very simple proposition... Give 10% of your Stimulus Check to United Church.

Starting in May people will begin to receive their Stimulus Checks from the Federal Government. These checks are being sent out to help stimulate the economy in a time of economic downturn. Well, your church is part of that economy and churches in general have been hurting. All I am asking is that when you receive that $600-$1200 in the next couple months is that you remember your church with a tithe.

The idea of tithing is an old Biblical idea that goes back to the story of Abraham. When he received an unexpected bounty he gave one tenth of it to the priest Melchizedek as a thanksgiving offering. (Genesis 14:18-20)

Many people set tithing (giving 10% of their earnings) as a standard for faithful giving. It is not mandated by scripture, but generosity in giving is always encouraged and hailed as a virtue.

The most recent statistics show that Presbyterians give, on average, 1.5% of their income to the church while United Methodists give 2.1%. Assemblies of God members are, on average, among the most generous givers with 5.25%.

The fact of the matter is that the church operates through your generosity and good will. Please remember United when your check arrives.

Filed under Essay
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Click to Enlarge]

"It is our tradition to recognize and all elders, deacons and clergy in the Presbytery of Northern Waters who have died in the past year at one of our Presbytery Meetings."

I've been to meetings so boring that I thought I was going to die, but not literally!

We get this letter every year for the annual Necrology Report and every year it makes me laugh. I've mentioned a few times that they may want to change the wording, but I'm kinda glad they don't.

Now, I'm sharing it with the world.

Filed under Presbyterian Church
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You've read Roger Anderson's Travel Log here, now you can read an interview with him in this week's Lake County News Chronicle.

Filed under Community
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 6:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our own Lee Campbell is featured in this on-line photo essay. She made the ice candles that decorated our steps this past Christmastide. Thanks, Lee!

Filed under Community
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is the tradition of the Pastor's Report to reflect on the year past. I want to break tradition with that and look ahead to the year before us. While there is much to celebrate in 2007 with new members, great Christian Education events, vital worship, new and revitalized Bible studies, wonderful fellowship, all of that can be dealt with in individual reports. I want to talk about our future.

I believe in the power of church. Of course I believe in the creative power of God, the saving power of Jesus, and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit, but I also believe in the power of being church. There is no other institution like the church in our society.

I believe in a place where you can sing in public regardless of your natural aptitude.

I believe in a place where you can mingle with the generations.

I believe in a place where you can sit down at a table over a cup of coffee and talk with a total stranger.

I believe in a place that is genuinely concerned with the plight of someone living hundreds or thousands of miles away.

I believe in a place where scripture is read and heard and studied and acted upon.

I believe in a place which values beauty and truth for their own sake and not simply for how we can profit from it.

I believe in a place where people are being perfected in love, not expected to be perfect already.

And United is and can continue to be that place. But we cannot be complacent. We cannot fall into the trap of being a preservation society. The mission of the church is not to preserve itself.

We are not here to preserve a building. The mission of the church is larger than that.

We are not here to preserve our way of worship. The mission of the church is larger than that.

We are not here to preserve our values and way of life. The mission of the church is larger than that.

We are not here to preserve our lives. The mission of the church is larger than that.

My hope for 2008 is that we will not simply exist, but that we will thrive. And I believe what will make us thrive is a renewed sense of mission. A nun was reflecting about the lack of new initiates and, taking the long view, she said that when this country was young and there were still untamed places we needed hospitals and universities and her order did that. Now that stage of the mission is over, so it's natural to be in decline.

I do not believe our mission is over, but it may be in flux. The church will not thrive on sentimental support. It will, at best, linger on in a half existence and victimized by low expectations.

So I'm going to ask some dangerous questions. What difference does United Church make? What difference can we make? What would you miss if our congregation disappeared tomorrow?

We need to be engaging these questions directly in the year to come. We cannot afford to drift because the honest truth is that complacency in our mission will mean that we will either have to radically reconsider our staffing resources or our physical resources or both because our current direction is not sustainable. We might be able to make it as we are for a few years. Maybe even ten. But not long term. And, personally, I want to leave our congregation better than I found it. I hope you do too.

So in the year ahead, expect to be challenged. Expect to give of yourself. Expect to think. Expect to be asked hard questions. Expect to be asked to sacrifice. And, most of all, expect joy.

May God bless us in our journey.

Filed under Administration
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During Lent at United we are observing periods of extended silence during worship. Silence can be intimidating for many people. If you feel uncomfortable with it, you are not alone. Here are some things you might want to consider doing during the periods of silence in worship or your own silent prayer practice.

Wrestle with your "Monkey Mind"
This is what some people call the chattering part of your brain that is always trying to get your attention. It's the part of your mind that is filled with to do lists, nagging thoughts, and other urgent nothings. Let these wash over you as much as possible. If they really can't be ignored, write them down and pray over them. Clearly if your mind is bringing them up they must be of some importance, so use these things as a springboard for prayer.

Focus on your Breathing
Sometimes the silence is deafening and you can't even form a coherent thought or concentrate. When this happens people often find it helpful to focus on their breath. Breathing is involuntary and necessary. Remember that every breath is a gift from God. A simple prayer can be formed by simply slowing down your breath and as you exhale think of releasing your spirit to God, giving your life back to God, acknowledging your total dependence on God. As you inhale give thanks for all the gifts that you receive from God's hand, the beauty of the world around you, the very gift of life that we so often take for granted.

Reread the Scripture for the Day
Take the time to reread the scripture readings for the day and enter into them. Don't be afraid to take a pencil or pen and highlight passages that speak to you, even if you don't know why. Find one sentence or even a phrase and roll it over in your mind.

Consider Prayer Concerns
Make a list, either mental or physical, of events or people that weigh on your heart. These could be anything from world events to things happening in your own community or family. After you list them let your spirit rest on them and pray for God's will to be done.

Filed under Worship
Posted by Lawrence Lee at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)