Submitted photo

Another week with little news however I will note the April/Easter schedule of services at the Church: April 3 is the first Sunday of the month and we will celebrate Communion as we do each first Sunday; Palm Sunday is on April 10; April 14 is Holy Thursday with Vespers and Candle Lighting Service at 5 p.m.; and April 17 is Easter, with hopefully a visible sunrise, service in Stowell’s field on the west side overlooking the lake and Mt. Blue as the sun rises at dawn (7:15 a.m.), followed at 9 a.m. by the Easter service in the Church for those whom are not early risers or don’t want to brave the early morning cold! Please do not bring Easter lilies into the church either Easter Sunday or prior to as Pastor Susan is highly allergic!!

I know this is the day “after” St. Patrick’s Day, but these were cute Hallmark cards I got 30 years ago and I thought I’d share them with you, about the Shamrock and one of Ireland’s favorite folklore characters the Leprechaun!

St. Patrick chasing the snakes out of Ireland. Submitted photo

The Legend of the Shamrock. There is an honored legend from Ireland’s ancient lore of how St. Patrick drove the snakes from Erin’s lovely shore. The wee folk were in danger from the serpents all around that hid beneath the rocks and always moved without a sound. But when good St. Patrick came to preach and labor there, he brought the shamrock with him which he planted everywhere.

And as the shamrocks flourished, all the snakes began to flee until they reached the shore, where they were swallowed by the sea. Sure an’ the wee folk marveled, and they asked St. Patrick why. “The shamrock represents the Trinity,” was his reply. “Just as three shamrock leaves are joined onto a single stem, the Trinity is three in one, and God is all of them. The serpents learned its sacred power in Eden long ago and cannot bear to stay here now because they fear it so.” And ever since St. Patrick drove the serpents all away, they’ve ne’er come back to Ireland’s shores, not to this very day.

The legend of the Leprechaun. ‘Twas on a bright St. Patrick’s morn in Irish days of yore, a lad beheld a tiny man outside his cottage door. Arrayed in clothes of emerald green, beside a crock of gold, he stood not half the youngster’s size, but looked ten times as old. The wee man bowed politely as he introduced himself – “a Leprechaun is what I be, first cousin of the elf. The sun’s my faithful guardian, each flower is my friend, my home lies over yonder just beyond the rainbow’s end.”

And then for hours the little man regaled the lad with tales of Leprechauns who played in mountain glens and forest vales. “But you’ll not find us there,” he said, “because ‘tis meant to be that from this day no human eyes shall see the likes o’ me. Though sure ‘tis true if you believe in luck and love and joy, if you believe in hopes and dreams, I’ll be with you, my boy.” Then in a flash he disappeared – yet in his magic way he visits Irish hearts again each new St. Patrick’s Day! Photo of leprechaun and gold.

St. Patrick’s Day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.