10 Things You
Might Not Have Known
1. It used to be called Mothering Sunday
Ever heard Mother's Day called
Mothering Sunday? Well, that's what it used to be called.
In the UK during the 1600s Mother's Day fell on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Most children worked away from home from the tender age of 11 years back then but they would be allowed to return to their families on this day. They'd pick flowers for their mum on the way and present them to her on Mothering Sunday.
2. The USA do it a little differently
Believe it or not,
Mother's Day in America has a different history to that of ours. A young woman (who wasn't a mother) named Anna Jarvis fought for the day to become a national holiday as a continuance of her mother's work.
While the traditions and celebrations associate with Mother's Day have their own unique histories, the actual custom of celebrating mothers and motherhood stems from Ancient Greece (doesn't everything?). They held a festival to their Mother of Gods Rhea with the Romans adopting a similar ceremony for their equivalent deity: Magna Mater or "Great Mother."
4. It's not the same all over the world
Although a
global celebration, Mother's Day is not the same in every corner of the world. While the UK celebrates it in March, many other countries hold their celebrations in May while Yugoslavia marks the occasion in December! In total, 50 different countries celebrate the day.
In nearly all countries and all languages, the word 'mother' or 'mum' begins with the letter 'm'.
6. Carnations are the most popular flower given
The most common flower given to our mums on Mother's Day is the
carnation - but why? According to religion, these flowers began to grow from the ground which was marked by the tears of Mary, Mother of Jesus, during his crucifixion and have been associated with motherhood ever since.
If you want to give your mum
carnations this Mother's Day then red and pink are the traditional colour choices which represent love and adoration. White carnations are used by those unlucky enough to no longer have their mums with them.
The date for Mother's Day celebrations in Bolivia is not based on Lent or taken from other cultures but actually coincides with the day that women first participated in battle in the country. The wider meaning of the day is therefore to celebrate women in general as well as mothers.
8. Hitler loved Mother's Day
A man who is now known for a number of atrocities, it's strange to think that Adolf Hitler loved Mother's Day. When he was in power he placed great emphasis on celebrating the mothers of Germany but don't let that put you off. The day is still an important occasion to celebrate.
9. Up north they call it "Carlin(g) Sunday"
During the 17th
Century, the north of England and Scotland referred to Mothering Sunday as
Carling Sunday or Carlin Sunday because pancakes made from steeped carlin peas fried in butter were traditionally served on that day.
Yes, Mother's Day even beats Valentine's Day for the number of bouquets bought as the number of orders placed rises by 40% around Mothering Sunday - well, mums do love a bunch of flowers!
Mother's Day is also one the busiest times for eating out as a family, with restaurants in the UK often fully booked on this day.
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Pacific Church Network
May Newsletter 2016
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Taught by Mom
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Me and my mom, with the siblings.
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My mother comes from a strong German background and couldn't speak English until she went to kindergarten in upstate New York. She certainly lived up to the stereotypical German characteristics of hard work, efficiency and discipline. Like all of us, she is far from perfect, but she taught me and my crazy siblings plenty of good things.
Hard work. While growing up, when she told me and my siblings to vacuum the living room, that meant the curtains, the baseboards, then both sides of the cushions of each piece of furniture, vacuum the carpet under each piece of furniture and then vacuum the carpet. I learned how to clean a house. I made my kids vacuum as well, but maybe not so extreme every time. Honesty. My mom was a registered nurse, so I had to be really sick, with a high temperature to be sick. No fake sick days for us. Cleanliness. It may possibly be next to godliness. Once my brother and sister got into a fight and some blood spilled onto the carpet. It really didn't matter that an artery was punctured, they quickly teamed up to clean the carpet before mom came home. They survived. Responsibility. We had to do the dishes. Afterwards, they were checked and if they weren't clean, we had to wash them again. It was our fault how long we spent in the kitchen. I could go on, but it seems that some of those things stuck with me. I like a clean office and home, made my kids do chores around the house, and can accept a challenge. Unbeknownst to me, I caught more than I thought.
My mom would definitely agree with Paul's exhortation; "Dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don't follow the tradition they receive from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you." 1 Thess 3:6-8
People often learn more from watching than listening. I know I learned some important things from my mom (and dad) while growing up that have benefited me my whole life. Live your life in such a way that when people imitate you, it's a good thing. Thanks mom.
Happy Mother's Day.
Jim Smith
President
Pacific Church Network
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Leadership Lessons: Beyond Oikos
You might have heard how God has been using High Desert Church, Victorville, in many great ways over the last 30 years. Transformation Ministries has invited PCN members to join them for this free event on Thursday, May 5, as they hear Tom Mercer (Lead Pastor), Jack Hamilton (Executive Pastor), and George Beardsley (Chief of Staff) download their best leadership axioms. Don't miss this candid leadership conversation. This event is planned for
medium-sized churches.
Please RSVP so they can plan for lunch. If interested, please call
Elenna Poppin at 626-408-3878 or email her at epoppin@transmin.org by May 2.
more information |
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"One of the Best You've Done"
On Monday, April 11, 88 people gathered at Pacific Coast Church to hear Dr. Larry Osborne share from his heart about leading as a shepherd and practical ministry tools that have been helpful over the years. The event concluded with a great Q&A session. Comments were: "One of the best you've done (PCN)," to "precious minutes of learning," and "stunningly helpful." Pacific Church Network loves to encourage and equip our churches!
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Packed Out Breakfast Event
On Saturday, April 16, 146 women packed out the Hispanic Women's Breakfast held at Calvary Baptist in Santa Barbara. Many of these women got up super early to make the journey to Santa Barbara to hear guest speaker Betty Meza and to network with other Pacific Church Network churches. The event and the message were greatly appreciated by those attending. PCN is dedicated to helping our churches grow and be encouraged. Thanks to Patsy Mazariegos, Norma Bustos, Mali Reguerin and all the other great volunteers for doing so much work to make this a fantastic event.
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Holy Land Tour Filling Up
Pacific Church Network has reserved three tour buses for our
December 1-10, 2016 trip to Israel. Thanks to those who have made inquiries and confirmed your place on the trip in recent weeks. Full payment is due by August 3, 2016. Pastors Rick Koole and Jim Smith are looking forward to having you on our trip.
Click here for registration and more information.
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Community Library Church Outreach
A small church in Seeley, CA is filling a community need through their church. The town of Seeley, 7 miles west of El Centro, does not have a library. Pastor Patrick Harris decided that his church could help. He contacted the town officials to see if they could host the library. After getting an enthusiastic approval, Seeley Community Church started collecting books and now has about 20 people come twice a week to their church to check out library books! They also get grant money from some organizations that want to help the church as they provide a community service to the town. As a result, more people know about the church and more have started attending. PCN is also helping Seeley Community (a member in the Pacific Church Network) reach out further into the community by starting a Spanish-language ministry. We appreciate the diligent work of Pastor Patrick and his Associate Pastor, Gill
Rapoza
. Pastor Patrick is also a chaplain for some of the prisons in the area.
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Inspiring Retreat
We only had space for 50, and a group of 50 women filled the small room at Murrieta Hot Springs Conference Center for a weekend in Philippians--
how to be happy, no matter what! Vicki Smith spoke, and then many of the women enjoyed the natural hot springs scattered throughout the conference center grounds. Emily Greenwood did a wonderful job leading the women in worship. Look for next year's dates to be announced soon.
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Growing Healthy Congregations
On Tuesday, August 23, come hear Dr. Paul Borden at our next PCN training event. As a professor of homiletics, i
nternational consultant, judicatory leader and former large church pastor,
Dr. Paul Borden knows both what is required to transform congregations and how to do it. He is in demand nationally as a church consultant and speaker. His books, including Hit the Bullseye, have been used by over 50 denominations in leading change.
This event is free for Pacific Church Network, Transformation Ministries and ACTS 29 member churches and includes lunch. $25 for non-members
This event includes lunch. Time: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at
San Antonio Heights Community Church in Upland, CA.
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Free Resource Webinar
On Wednesday, May 18, hear Lance Witt share about building a strong ministry team. Lance has served for over 30 years as a pastor, 20 as a senior pastor. He also served as an executive and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church. Lance helped develop and lead the 40 Days of Purpose and 40 Days of Community campaigns. Whether your ministry team is all volunteer, all paid, or a mix, it should operate in an environment that is healthy spiritually and conducive to leading the church in a healthy way. Sometimes as leaders, we forget how important it is for us to be proactive about caring for our team's spiritual well-being. We thank Cornerstone Pastor's Network, a good friend of PCN, for offering this monthly resource to us.
register here.
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PCN Retirement Plan Opportunity
During our workshop in April, Guidestone representative, Shawn Dorrough, shared how pastors of Pacific Church Network can set up a 403(b)(9) retirement account with Guidestone which is a defined contribution plan specifically designed for the unique needs of evangelical churches or church organizations. In addition, 403(b)(9) plans offer retired ministers the ability to have retirement distributions designated as housing allowance. This is a great offering to our PCN pastors, and we would encourage you to get involved by signing up or rolling over with Guidestone. Contact Guidestone (tell them you are a part of the CBAmerica group) or our office for more information.
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Moving the Seminary Library
 PCN now oversees a seminary. Director of PCN Spanish Ministries, and now our PCN Director of Bible Seminary of the Americas, Emilio Nuñez takes a well deserved break on moving day. During the third week of April, PCN staff packed up the Seminary library and moved it to our new host church for the library, Montebello Christian Fellowship. Pacific Church Network acquired the seminary this year and will host new classes at several locations in Southern California and the Phoenix area. Students may receive certificates or diplomas through our Seminary which holds classes in Spanish, but may expand to include some classes held in English. Spring classes are nearing completion and graduation is scheduled for the end of June. Pacific Church Network is excited about the new possibilities this acquisition will give us!!
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Seminary Needs Video Projector
 Pacific Church Network's Bible Seminary of the Americas has several locations that it uses to teach its classes. One class that has already started in Montebello needs a video projector. If you have a old, unused or new video projector that you would like to donate to the seminary, please contact PCN at 909.944.5900 or email us at info@pacificchurchnetwork.com. Thank you!
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So How Is That Working For You?
 Chaplain Bill Brown, senior chaplain of the J.R. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego county shares an interesting story of life transformation through Jesus Christ.
"One day, after praying for the Holy Spirit to guide and use him, he went outside and looked around. He saw a man by himself, and it seemed like the Holy Spirit said to share with him. So, he went up to him, smiled and held out the track, saying, "I'd like to give you this track."
The response was a grunt, followed by a question: "What's that?" He replied, "It's a track that tells about Jesus." The man grunted again and said, "I'm a Satanist," and Jose replied immediately, "So, how's that working for you?"
The man responded, "What do you mean?" And, Jose replied, "Jesus died for my sins, and gave me forgiveness, he gave me a new life, he restored my relationships with my sister, my mom and my dad, and he has given me a reason for living and a hope for the future. What has Satan done for you?"
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Thanks for reading our newsletter. We appreciate you. If you hear of a good story, let me know, perhaps we will include it here.
Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Jim Smith
Pacific Church Network
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