Shrove Tuesday
You might be asking what in the world is Shrove Tuesday (March 4th) and why do people eat pancakes on that day? Maybe you are not asking that question, but I want to answer it anyway. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins. Lent is the forty day season before Easter that is typically marked by some type of fasting or abstinence. Traditionally, people would empty their cupboards or the things that they were not going to eat during Lent. Often these were sugars, fats, eggs, etc. The goal on Tuesday was to eat up the groceries that had already been purchased before Lent began on Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is the English name for this day but many of you may have heard of the French name “Fat Tuesday.” These are both the same day.
I wanted to lift it up this year especially because we are partnering with University UMC (at the TU campus) to host a Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner. University is the church across the street from the TU Wesley Foundation. A Wesley Foundation is a college student ministry by the UMC that helps students with support, care, food and faith development while they are students on campus. I first met Jonathon (our Contemporary Music director) when he was a student at the OU Wesley foundation and he volunteered to lead music at Youth Camp for us. I also know Rachel Lampi met her husband by while both of them were involved in the Wesley foundation. Many of the pastors I know received their call into ministry while participating in a college campus ministry. When I was an undergraduate student at Southern Methodist University, we did not have a Wesley Foundation and I wished we did because I felt so disconnected from the church that had raised me. I am happy to say that they do have one now and I gave money to help it get started.
Kurt Lampi has been asked to lead the volunteers who will be creating the food and we all know how great Kurt’s pancakes are. Our Faith Bixby launch team is providing the sausage as a donation for the dinner. This pancake dinner will be raising funds for the TU Wesley Foundation. One of the victims of disaffliation that no one expected was the Wesley Foundations. Many of the churches who gave money to support these ministries have disaffiliated and stopped supporting our college ministries. Our TU Wesley was impacted greatly because not only did those churches give money but they also controlled the Board of Directors. It was discovered that there was not one United Methodist on the Board. Since that time, they have changed directors, reorganized and restarted. Faith has a new board member in Charlotte Langley. We have tickets for sale at the church for the pancake dinner. Presales are $10 each for adults and $5 for kids. They open at 5 pm, serving until 7 pm and the address is 2915 E. 5th Street, Tulsa, 74104. You can still come without tickets but it will cost you more! The price goes up $5 each.
I love how this is a connectional ministry that binds us together with other churches to do some good. I hope to see you there!
