Rev. Todd Fennell, Pastor of St. Paul's

Pastor's Corner

Most of us know the words. Many of us played the game as children. It goes like this: “Ring around the Rosie,” a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes we all fall down.” What an interesting game that was to play. In fact most often we got right back up and began playing it all over again.

Do you know the origin of that game? As tradition has it the game “Ring around the Rosie” was developed as a game of hope in the midst of hopeless times, when the Black Death swept through Europe and people were falling down and dying everywhere.

“Ring around the Rosie” was a game that made fun of death. It attempted to help children, and I suspect adults, to confront, to deal with, and to laugh at the plague. It was an opportunity to face the worst that life had to offer and then see that beyond that worst fear and problem of death was hope to stand up and cheer once again.

As we ring around the Word and Table this coming Lenten Season we hear two sets of words. We hear the words that remind us of our mortality. We are reminded that we all have fallen down and are in need of being raised up. We also hear the words of hope that beyond our ashes there is new life; that beyond fasting there is feasting; that beyond prayer there is the embracing presence of God; that beyond works of love there is living in love forever.

See you on Sunday!

Pastor Todd