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Excerpts from The New Outlook
Mid February 2007
Ash Wednesday Service
On February 21 at 7 p.m., Second Baptist Church will offer an Ash
Wednesday service to begin the season of Lent.
Many churches keep alive the ancient tradition of imposing
ashes on the foreheads or wrists of believers, using the words “Remember you are
dust, and to dust you will return.” This reminds us of our own mortality and
frailty. The ashes used, by tradition, were made by keeping and drying the palm
fronds from the previous Palm Sunday, and burning them. We won’t be using ashes
during our service. It will, however, be a time of quiet prayer, scripture,
reflection, and of sharing in Holy Communion. It will be a meaningful, quiet,
intimate service of worship, which will help prepare us for greater spiritual
growth in the months ahead. Please come and join us.
Michael E. Dixon
Lenten Series Begins February 25
For five Sunday evenings during Lent, beginning February 25 and ending March 25,
Pastor Michael Dixon will lead us in a Lenten Bible study, Through the Fire.
We will gather in Fellowship Hall at 5:00 p.m. for a light supper and begin the
program at 5:45, ending by 7:00.
Look for a sample copy of Through the Fire on the
table in the narthex. You can purchase a copy for $5.25 by signing up on the
sheet on the table by February 18. Feel free to come to the series even if you
don’t have the booklet. Also, there’s a sign-up sheet on the table for bringing
soup (or another main dish), salad, dessert, or making the coffee and punch.
Through the Fire explores a variety of Old and New
Testament texts as witness that God’s love is still with us, even in the worst
times, offering answers to such difficult questions as:
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In the midst of pain, how can we find strength and
endurance to cope? |
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How do we deal with the death of someone we love? When
life seems hollow and meaningless, how can we experience God's presence in our
lives? |
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How do we see the crucifixion of Christ as anything
other than death and defeat—and what does it really mean for us to
take up the cross? |
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What is hope, and how do we keep the faith when we are
suffering? |
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What does the Bible tell us about the greatest victory of
all—the resurrection of Jesus? |
Through the Fire was edited by our own Michael
Dixon. Its author, Christine Hershberger Miner, was an ordained minister in the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), who served in several local pastorates
and as an editor at Christian Board of Publication. Christine, with courage and
good humor, lived through many chronic illnesses and experienced loss of job and
health. These experiences gave her unique insights as a “wounded healer,” so she
could write this study as one who had “been there.” She died of cancer in 2003.
More Special Lenten Events
On Palm Sunday, April 1, we will celebrate Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.
On Maundy Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m., we will gather for
an ecumenical communion service with our brothers and sisters from Faith Des
Peres Presbyterian Church and Samuel United Church of Christ in the Samuel UCC
sanctuary.
The Sanctuary of the Beatitudes will be open for silent
meditation on Good Friday.
Easter, April 8, brings the joy of celebrating Christ’s
resurrection!
Lenten Devotionals
We invite you to engage in a Lenten spiritual discipline of prayer and
scripture reading. “Words of Faith” is a brief Lenten devotional prepared by
your pastor, to be used as a starting point for your own daily prayers. It gives
a Biblical word for each week of Lent, and Bible verses for each day of the week
that include that word. You can read the verse for the day prayerfully, reflect
upon it (and the word of the week), be aware of new insights that may come, and
pray for God’s guidance in your own life, and pray for someone else. The words
are: Repent, Seek, Faithful, Mercy, Peace, Grace, and Blessed.
You can find the Words of Faith devotionals in the bulletin
on February 18 and on the table in the narthex. If you are unable to come to
church and would like a copy mailed to you, please contact the church office at
(314) 991-3424.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game!
Linda Marks has 18 tickets left for Second Baptist members and friends to watch
the Cardinals play the Kansas City Royals on June 20. She started out with 40
tickets, so they’re going fast. Sign up for yours on the sheet in the
narthex. The tickets are $22 each (regularly $33) for both adults
and children, to be paid sometime in April when the tickets come. The seats are
in section 335 of the "Outfield Terrace Reserve Boxes" between first base and
the right field foul pole. Come and root for our World Champion Team!
Opportunities around the Community
Missouri Baptist Hospital is offering a series of Saturday seminars on March 10,
17, and 24, from 8:30 a.m. until noon, for people interested in offering
spiritual help to others during difficult times. The topics are:
March 10 Introduction to Hospital Ministry
Listening/Spiritual Assessments
March 17 Spiritual Care for the Grieving
Multi-Cultural Grief and Dying in America
March 24 End of Life Issues
Use of Scripture and Prayer in Pastoral Care
Seminars will meet in Room 100 of the Clinical Nursing
Institute Building near the new emergency entrance to the hospital. Call (314)
996-5105 by March 1 to register, and you will be sent more information and a
map.
The Church of St. Michael and St. George is offering a
Quiet Morning entitled “Christ Within, Christ Without,” on Saturday, February
24, from 8:30 until noon. The guest speaker is Frederica Matthewes-Green, author
of a number of books on spirituality. She has also written for the Washington
Post and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications, and has
been interviewed on Prime Time News, PBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News. The Church of
St. Michael and St. George is an Episcopal church, located at 6345 Wydown. Call
them at 721-1502 to register.
The Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road, has invited us to
join them for a screening of Bill Moyers’ seven-part PBS special, Faith and
Reason, on Wednesday nights in their auditorium. The first one was February
7, but we can still catch the others on February 21, March 7, March 21, April 4,
April 11, and April 25. Each segment is about one hour long. A discussion will
follow. See the table in the narthex for more information.
Men's Breakfast
Men’s Breakfast will be at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, February 17, at Delmar Baptist.
Upcoming Youth Events
Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders will meet Saturday, February 24, 8:30
– 11:30 a.m., at Samuel UCC and carpool to Friedens UCC for a service project.
Contact Shari Nelson-Faulkner for more information.
The next event for third, fourth, and fifth graders will be
March 9, 6 – 8 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church.
Book Group to Discuss
Dakota
The book group will meet in the Community Room on Monday, March 12, at 2:00
to discuss the book Dakota, by Kathleen Norris.
From the Pastor
During Lent we take a spiritual journey, modeled after the journey that Jesus
took when he went to Jerusalem to face the cross. It is a journey inward, as we
re-examine our own motives and attitudes, and offer them up to God, knowing that
God loves us as we are. It is a journey outward, as we seek to find ways of
loving others and loving God more authentically. It is a journey of growth, as
we seek to deepen our faith through Bible reading and prayer. Our Roman
Catholic brothers and sisters have often practiced “giving up” something for
Lent, maybe sweets, or smoking, or some other less-than-healthful activity. I
would invite us to “take up” something for Lent, to intentionally do something
that will help us grow in faith and service. Here are some ideas.
| Use the “Words of Faith” devotional guide mentioned
earlier in the newsletter. |
| Read a Gospel. If you have a block of time (say, we get
snowed in again), you may even try reading Mark, the shortest Gospel, straight
through in one setting. Or, read a chapter a day, or even half a chapter a
day. |
| Send a caring or thank-you note each week to someone
carrying special burdens, or to someone who helped you carry yours. |
| Give a special offering to help those in need. Along
with your regular offering to the church, add another check for the America
for Christ offering, the Pastor’s Emergency Fund, Northside Team Ministries,
St. Patrick’s Center, Murrow Indian Foundation, Church World Service, or other
ministry supported by our church. |
| Help a neighbor. Shovel a sidewalk, bake cookies, or
just be a good listener to someone who lives nearby, who may be less able than
you. |
| Encourage a child. Send a note, read a story aloud, or
tell a child you know why you are proud of him or her. |
| Explore a Bible passage. Find a passage that speaks to
you, or that you have questions about, and dig into it. Maybe find a
commentary in the church library, or type the reference into your search
engine on the internet. |
| Be more disciplined about prayer. If your prayer life is
erratic or hit-and-miss, set a specific time each day, perhaps in the morning,
at a meal, or before bedtime, and find a way to remind yourself to pray at
that time. Pray for your church, pray for peace, pray for people in need and
people at risk. |
Grace and peace,
Mike
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Mon 7:00 p.m. Obsessive-Compulsive Group in Community Room
Tue 10:00 a.m. American Baptist Women's
Ministries, 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
Tue 6:30 p.m. Adult Children of Alcoholics Group in Community Room
Wed 7:00 p.m. Choir practice
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Feb 17 Men's breakfast, Delmar Baptist, 7:30 a.m.
Feb 21 Ash Wednesday service, 7:00 p.m.
Feb 24 YYC 6th-8th graders, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.; meet at Samuel to
carpool to service project
Feb 25 Begin Lenten Bible Study; 5:00 p.m. supper, 5:45 study
Feb 26 Prostate Cancer Support Group, 7:00 p.m.
Feb 28 NO adult choir practice
Mar 4 Lenten Bible Study; 5:00 p.m. supper, 5:45 study
Mar 9 YYC 3rd - 5th graders, First Presbyterian
Mar 10 Area 5 Annual Meeting, Third Baptist Church, St. Louis
Mar 11 Daylight Savings Time begins
Lenten Bible
Study; 5:00 p.m. supper, 5:45 study
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