Join us for our Maundy Thursday Service
Pine City EFC, Lighthouse on April 1, 7:00 pm

“And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.”

Maundy Thursday is the day on which Christians remember the Last Supper. The word Maundy comes from the Latin word maundatum which means "command". Maundatum is from Jesus' words in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus’ new commandment, or mandatum, was that we love one another as He has loved us – which was to the point of death. Most people assume Jesus meant to love our neighbor in this passage, but Jesus is going deeper than that. He is also telling the disciples to love each other. He is establishing the Christian Church on earth and is telling them how they ought to behave towards one another. How fitting, then, that Christians observe Maundy Thursday to prepare their hearts for Tenabrae.

Tenabrae is a Latin term as well. It means, “darkening”, and this literally happened during Jesus’ Passion on the cross for several hours when God’s wrath was poured out on the innocent Son of God. Tenabrae, or Good Friday, as it is often called, is when seven candles are lit, in connection to the seven words that Jesus spoke from the cross in the Four Gospels. After each word is spoken, a candle is extinguished, and the sanctuary gets “darker”. Hence the term, Tenabrae.

The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story. This is not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy. The service has long scripture narratives, which are divided into seven, eight, or nine parts, each one assigned to a different reader. The service may include other parts, such as solemn hymns, a sermon, and communion, but the core of the Tenebrae service works like this: It starts out with the church in candlelight. There are as many candles as there are readings, plus a white Christ candle. The readers go up one at a time, read their assigned selections, and extinguish one of the candles, until only the Christ candle remains. Then someone reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross. Then the Christ candle is put out, leaving the congregation in near total darkness—and near total devastation. At this point, the service ends. There is no benediction and the people leave in silence.

The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn’t over… until Easter Day.

An invite to Easter Sunday….
Join with us on Easter Sunday to celebrate our risen Savior.
April 4, 10:30 am
Pine City EFC, Lighthouse

“If God Chooses Not to Heal Me,
God is still God and God is Still Good.”
-Zac Smith, New Spring Church

This video was shared with us during our worship gathering on Sunday and I want to share it with you. It will impact you greatly as it did to those who listened on Sunday.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Sixth Annual Men's Wild Game Feed

Pine City Evangelical Free Church is inviting all men, all ages to the 6th Annual Men’s Wild Game Feed on Friday, March 26, 6:30 pm, at Pine City EFC Lighthouse. This is a guys’ event so invite your father, sons, brothers, uncles, friends and neighbors. Plan on great food, fun, humor, and some male bonding! Dine on recipes using whatever the guys shot or caught! Let us know if you are bringing a dish when you make your reservation.

Speaker is Jim Kalkofen with JK Outdoors. He is a writer, Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee, Executive Director of In-Fisherman Pro-Walleye Trail, PR with Mercury Marine, Coordinator of MN Teen Challenge Fishing Tournament, and is a Muskie Anglers Circuit Master of Ceremonies.

Music by “Fishers of Men”, Gary Hawkinson, Mike Swan and crew.

Make your reservation by calling PCEFC office 629.2584 or email office@pcefc.com

Say, Cheese!

Final call for pictures! This week, Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday March 17, Olan Mills Photography will be at our church to take portraits for our new church directory. There are a few appointment times available. If you haven't signed up yet, tomorrow is your final chance. For those of you who have an appointment look forward to reminder calls on Sunday and Monday evenings. Looking forward to the end results... a new directory!

Losing The Hour, But Gaining The Spring



Time to spring ahead for daylight saving time, which marks the start of longer days and hints that spring is near. Remember to set your clocks one hour AHEAD this evening before you go to bed unless you want to be an hour late for church! Remember Spring Ahead tonight. Here is an interesting commentary on Daylight Saving Time from CBS.

“It's that time of year again, when reminders about changing our clocks pop up everywhere as the United States springs forward into daylight saving time. Most people love that extra daylight in the evening, but it's a change that comes with more than the catch of losing an hour of sleep Saturday night, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday. It's supposed to save energy- pushing daylight later in the day means fewer lights turned on at night. Benjamin Franklin, annoyed by an early sunrise in Paris, first came up with the idea. Congress made it law in 1918 during World War I to conserve energy.

But when the country jumps ahead an hour Sunday morning, that one little lost hour of sleep has a big impact. The number of serious heart attacks goes up 6 to 10 percent on the first three workdays after the time change. On Wall Street, economists say sleep-deprived traders often produce "large negative returns" on that following Monday, once estimated at $31 billion. ‘It turns out that it takes two to three days - sometimes even longer - to make up and to adjust to that extra hour lost,’ said Dr. Sonia Ancoli-Israel of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

Once we do make up for the hour, there's an upside: we're better drivers in daylight, reducing fatal car crashes and pedestrians getting hit.”

Movie and Dinner Night


Everyone is invited to a spaghetti dinner at 6:00 pm and a movie at 7:00 pm on Friday, March 5 at Pine City EFC, Lighhouse. The movie Facing the Giants will be shown. Come for dinner and the movie or just come for the movie... whatever fits your schedule.

Movie Details: In his six years of high school football, coach Grant Taylor has never led his Shiloh Eagles to a winning season. When faced with what seems to be insurmountable crises, the idea of giving up has never seemed easier. It’s only after an unexpected visitor challenges him, to trust in the power of faith that he discovers the strength to persevere. Daring to trust God to do the impossible, Coach Taylor and the Eagles discover how faith plays out on the field and off. With God, all things are possible