REFRESHMENT SUNDAY

About halfway through Lent, there is a pause in the regimen of fasting and discipline. The fourth Sunday in Lent is known as "Refreshment Sunday," or, in England, "Mothering Sunday." Some of you who grew up in a liturgical tradition might remember pink vestments for this date. In old England, live-in servants and apprentices were given the day off to go home to visit their mothers. Some say it was also a day to honor "Mother Church," and to make a pilgrimage back to the church of one's childhood. There were games and festivities, and a special cake called "Simnel Cake."

This year St. John's will observe Mothering Sunday by serving Simnel Cake at the coffee hour on March 10. This is also "Pretzel Sunday" and, at the 9:00 service, the Rite of Affirmation for our 8th graders. Please join in the refreshing pause in the middle of Lent by honoring your mother, praying for the nurture of our 8th graders as a vital part of "Mother Church", and eating Simnel Cake!

- Lydia Huttar Brown