Good morning,
This coming Sunday is Saint Patrick’s Day. Although in our country the holiday is mainly centered around drinking alcohol and wearing green, Saint Patrick’s Day was founded around the ideas of spiritual renewal and thanksgiving. So, just who is Saint Patrick, why is there a holiday named after him, and should Christians celebrate it? And what’s the deal with the snakes?
Saint Patrick, The Man – Saint Patrick technically isn’t a saint, wasn’t Irish, and Patrick wasn’t even his original name! There are several different biographical sources for Patrick, and they often disagree. Historians generally agree that Patrick was born Maewyn Succat in the late 300s. His exact birthplace isn’t known, but it was somewhere in England (and definitely not Ireland). Some historical sources suggest he was born in Scotland and others suggest Wales. Young Maewyn was taken to Ireland as a teenager as part of the slave trade. He escaped back to England and spent some time studying in a monastery. He was ordained as a priest and took the name Patrick, perhaps to identify with his new life in Christ (he only ever refers to himself by that name in his writings). Then Patrick believed God called him to return to Ireland as a missionary, where he had a very fruitful ministry. The number of converts to Christianity that occur through His work is hard to pin down, but it is often said that Patrick planted around 300 churches and led over 135,000 people to Christ.
Saint Patrick’s Day – Patrick is believed to have died on March 17, 461. The Catholic Church began to commemorate his life and ministry with the Feast of Saint Patrick in the 17th Century. It is a national holiday in Ireland and several other countries and is often observed through worship services in churches, not through drinking in bars! Historically the Catholic Lenten traditions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day. Unfortunately, many of the activities that are done on Saint Patrick’s Day in our country only serve to reinforce the negative stereotypes that many people have about the Irish.
Our Americanized version of Irish culture also lacks some authenticity. Wearing green clothes is actually considered unlucky in Ireland because green clothes are associated with leprechauns, who aren’t beloved creatures. They are considered more cunning than caring and some of them seek to steal children away from their parents! Corned beef and cabbage is an Americanized version of the traditional Irish meal of lamb and cabbage or bacon and cabbage. The poor Irish immigrants substituted corned beef after coming to America because it was less expensive.
Saint Patrick, The Myth – Much of what people believe about Saint Patrick is more legend and myth than it is fact. Patrick was never officially canonized as a Saint by a Pope, but he is largely considered a saint of the church and is the Patron Saint of Ireland. It is commonly said that Patrick used the 3 leaf shamrock as means of presenting the Trinity to the people of Ireland, but that can’t really be verified with a high degree of certainty. The earliest known written version of this claim dates to the 1680s, some 1200 years after his death. Patrick definitely did NOT drive all the snakes from Ireland. There weren’t any snakes there to begin with as the climate isn’t favorable for snakes to survive!
Should Christians Celebrate Saint Patrick? – Well, neither Saint Patrick nor Saint Patrick’s Day is mentioned in the Scriptures, of course. I would certainly caution against the celebrations of excess that mark this holiday, and I would disagree with old Patrick on a number of theological points. Outside of that, however, I don’t see any harm in enjoying a Shamrock Shake or a good meal of corned beef during this time of year. Perhaps we can even use this holiday to talk to people about Patrick’s missionary work!
One final note – the Flag of Ireland consists of 3 vertical bars of equal size with a green bar on the left, a white bar in the middle, and an orange bar on the right. The green bar represents Catholics, the orange bar represents Protestants (that’s us), and the white bar represents peace between the two groups!
Here’s what’s happening:
- Kendall Keeler will be with us on Sunday to give an update on the work of ServeNow. He will also be giving the morning message.
- The sign up sheet for our Holy Week 24-hour prayer vigil is in the lobby. Please consider signing up for a slot. I will have a prayer guide available next Sunday.
- This Sunday is the last Sunday to bring in cereal for Oxford Neighborhood Services.
- This Wednesday (3/20) will be our last Lenten Prayer Meeting at the church at 6:30 pm.
- Spring Clean Up/Work Day at the church on Saturday, 3/23 starting at 9am. See Gary Barrett if you’d like to help with inside work and Gerald Rohrer you are more of an outside work kind of person.
- Because of Easter, Men’s Breakfast will also be on the 23rd, starting at 7:45. Come eat some eggs and then head to church.
- The youth are attending the production of “Newsies Jr.” at West Fallowfield Christian School this Saturday at 3 pm. See the youth leaders for more details.
- Good Friday Communion Service at the church on 3/29 at 7 pm.
- Easter Morning – Sunrise Service at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am and our regular worship service at 10 am. If you are planning to come to breakfast the kitchen committee asks that you bring a breakfast casserole and either fruit or pastries if you are able. I ask that you bring peanut butter eggs, but I suppose that’s optional. 😊
- We have invitations printed up for our Easter morning celebrations. They are located by the mailboxes. Please take one and invite a friend to join us!
Hope to see you on Sunday. Enjoy the warm weather for the next couple days!
Scott