United Church of Two Harbors

This quiz was originally played with our youth group. See how you do. When you are through click here to see the answers. The answers will be in red.

1) On which day is it traditional to make pancakes?
a. Maundy Thursday
b. Good Friday
c. Shrove Tuesday
d. April Fools Day

2) What are the 40 days before Easter known as?
a. Advent
b. Lent
c. Epiphany
d. Eastertide

3) Jesus was crucified on…
a. Palm Sunday
b. Easter Sunday
c. Good Friday
d. Maundy Thursday

4) Easter is celebrated on…
a. the fourth Sunday of March
b. the Sunday closest to the beginning of Spring
c. 100 days after Christmas
d. the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the Spring equinox

5) Jesus was betrayed for…
a. 30 pieces of silver
b. 30 pieces of gold
c. a colt and a donkey
d. an all expense paid trip to Rome

6) Gethsemane means…
a. place of the skull
b. press of oils
c. beautiful garden
d. get some more of these

7) What color was the cloak Jesus wore on the way to the cross?
a. green
b. black
c. red
d. purple

8) Who helped Jesus carry his cross?
a. Joseph of Arimathea
b. Simon of Cyrene
c. Simon the Zealot
d. Saul of Tarsus

9) What does Palm Sunday celebrate?
a. Jesus entering Jerusalem
b. Jesus entering Bethlehem
c. A traditional Jewish festival when people laid fresh palms in their homes on their floors
d. A traditional Roman festival when dates were eaten

10) Who rolled away the stone from the mouth of the grave in which Jesus had been placed?
a. an angel
b. a soldier
c. the gardener
d. Joseph of Arimathea

11) Easter gets its name from…
a. the direction of the rising sun
b. the Anglo-Saxon goddess of eggs and bunnies
c. the Latin word “astor” which means “rising”
d. the Greek word for “Passover”

12) What is burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday?
a. cedar wood
b. slips of paper on which prayers have been written
c. witches
d. palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday

13) Jesus was laid in the tomb of…
a. Joseph of Arimathea
b. Simon of Cyrene
c. Judas Iscariot
d. Nicodemus

14) What is celebrated forty days after Easter Sunday?
a. The Ascension
b. Pentecost
c. All Souls' Day
d. The Assumption

15) The day before Ash Wednesday is known as…
a. Fat Tuesday
b. Shrove Tuesday
c. Mardi Gras
d. All of the above

16) Mardi Gras literally means…
a. Fat Tuesday
b. Great Day
c. Throw me some beads
d. Day of the Geese

17) Lent is Latin for…
a. "Sorrow”
b. “Fasting”
c. “Spring”
d. none of the above

18) Pretzels…
a. were invented as a Lenten food
b. symbolize arms folded in prayer
c. were first made by German monks
d. all of the above

19) On Ash Wednesday ashes are placed…
a. on the forehead in the shape of a cross
b. in a box to be taken home and scattered on the garden
c. on the priest or pastor’s hands and feet to mark where Christ was crucified
d. on lily bulbs that will bloom on Easter

20) The color of Lent is…
a. green
b. purple
c. red
d. gray

21) At Christ's crucifixion what did the soldiers place on his head?
a. a wreath of laurels
b. a crown of thorns
c. a crown of jewels
d. a crown of thistles

22) The soldiers who crucified Jesus rolled dice for his…
a. Clothes
b. Jewels
c. Donkey
d. Cross

23) Judas betrayed Jesus by…
a. pointing at him
b. describing him to the authorities
c. kissing him
d. shaking his hand

24) Christ was led away to which high priest first?
a. Annas
b. Vitellius
c. Caiaphas
d. Josephus

25) Above Jesus on the cross was a sign which read…
a. Behold the man!
b. Thus always to tyrants
c. King of the Jews
d. Savior of the World

26) The sign above Jesus on the cross was written in…
a. Latin
b. Greek
c. Hebrew
d. all of the above

27) Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on…
a. a colt
b. a donkey
c. a white stallion
d. maybe a colt, maybe a donkey, maybe both

28) When Jesus died, for how long was there darkness over the land?
a. 3 days
b. 3 minutes
c. 3 hours
d. 3 weeks

29) While on the cross Jesus gave care of his mother to…
a. Peter
b. the "beloved disciple"
c. Mary Magdalene
d. Pontius Pilate

30) According to all four gospels the first person to see the resurrected Christ was…
a. Mary, the mother of Jesus
b. Mary Magdalene
c. Peter
d. accounts vary

31) Pilate offered the crowd to release Jesus or…
a. Jesse James
b. Barabbas
c. Paul
d. Barnabas

32) Jesus' side was pierced with a…
a. Sword
b. Knife
c. Spear
d. Axe

33) When Jesus said he was thirsty he was offered…
a. water from a waterskin
b. wine from a cup (the holy grail)
c. vinegar in a sponge
d. none of the above

34) When Jesus died…
a. darkness descended even though it was day
b. there was an earthquake
c. the shroud in the temple was torn in half
d. all of the above

35) Which disciple wanted to see the imprint of the nails before he would believe?
a. Andrew
b. Thomas
c. James
d. Bartholomew

36) After Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus he…
a. repented of his sin and rejoined the disciples
b. escaped to Egypt
c. hanged himself
d. became a Roman citizen

37) When Jesus was being arrested Peter…
a. wept
b. took out a sword and cut somebody’s ear off
c. ran away
d. none of the above

38) Golgotha means…
a. place of the skull
b. press of oils
c. beautiful garden
d. hill of the Goths

39) Jesus predicted this person would deny him before the rooster crowed three times...
a. Judas Iscariot
b. Pontius Pilate
c. Peter
d. Mary Magdalene

40) What is celebrated 50 days after Easter?
a. Trinity Sunday
b. Ascension Day
c. Memorial Day
d. Pentecost

Continue reading "Easter Quiz" »

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The United Church Youth went Candy Caning tonight and left candy canes randomly in people's door wreaths and decorations all around Two Harbors. Think of it as reverse trick or treating!

If you received a candy cane and stopped by to say "hi" just leave a message in the comments section! As long as you're here stop by and try your hand at our Christmas Quiz. All are welcome to attend our Christmas Eve Services.

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night the Youth Group did this quiz as "Who Wants a lot of Christmas Candy?" with two teams competing for more and more Christmas candy. They did pretty well. Now let's see how you do. The answers are in the extended entry.

1. Christmas has been celebrated on December 25 since –
a) Jesus was born
b) Pope Pius III declared it in 1781
c) The 4th century
d) Charles Dickens established the date in “A Christmas Carol”

2. Joseph was from
a) Bethlehem
b) Jerusalem
c) Nazereth
d) Detroit

3. Joseph & Mary traveled to Bethlehem with a
a) Camel
b) Donkey
c) Trade caravan
d) Who knows?

4. A manger is a
a) stable for domestic animals
b) wooden hay storage bin
c) feeding trough
d) barn

5. Which animals were present at Jesus’ birth?
a) cows, sheep, goats
b) cows, donkeys, sheep
c) lions, tigers, bears
d) Who knows?

6. Who saw the star in the east?
a) Shepherds
b) Mary and Joseph
c) Three Kings
d) None of the above

7. The angels who appeared to the shepherds sang –
a) “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come”
b) “My Sweet Lord”
c) “Glory to God in the Highest”
d) “Unto us a child is born”

8. The baby Jesus cried
a) When the doctor slapped him on his behind
b) When the little drummer boy started banging on his drum
c) He never cried
d) Who knows?

9. Frankincense is
a) a precious metal
b) a precious fabric
c) a precious incense
d) a mad scientist who made a monster

10. Myrrh is
a) an easily shaped metal
b) a spice used for burying people
c) a drink
d) the name of Mary’s midwife

11. How many wise men came to see Jesus?
a) 3
b) 4 (but one got lost)
c) 22
d) Who knows?

12. The wise men were
a) doctors
b) eastern kings
c) astrologers
d) tourists

13. The wise men found Jesus in a
a) manger
b) inn
c) house
d) trailer park

14. The story of Jesus’ birth can be found in
a) Hebrews and Acts
b) Mark and John
c) Matthew and Luke
d) Genesis and Exodus

15. When Mary & Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant they
a) got married
b) Joseph wanted to break off the engagement and Mary left town for 3 months
c) Went to Bethlehem
d) Sought premarital counseling

16. Who told Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?
a) an angel in a dream
b) Mary’s mother
c) Some wise men
d) Caesar Augustus

17. Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to Egypt to
a) see the pyramids
b) escape Herod’s wrath because of a warning in a dream
c) put Jesus in a basket in the reeds by the river
d) They never went to Egypt.

18. This gospel speaks of Joseph being visited in dreams by angels
a) Matthew
b) Mark
c) Luke
d) John

19. Mary, when she finds out she’s pregnant goes to visit
a) her mother, Anna
b) her cousin, Elizabeth
c) her midwife, Obstretica
d) Santa Clause

20. Jesus is born in
a) Jerusalem
b) Nazareth
c) Bethlehem
d) Duluth

21. King Herod found out about the birth of Jesus
a) by visiting astrologers
b) by reading the Jerusalem newspaper
c) by his wise advisors
d) by a dream

22. The wise men brought a gift of
a) frankincense
b) myrrh
c) gold
d) all of the above

23. When the wise men didn’t return to King Herod he
a) went to look for Jesus by himself
b) had all of the baby boys in Bethlehem killed
c) cried
d) proclaimed a day of celebration for the birth of a new king

24. Jesus’ first visitors, after his birth, were
a) talking animals
b) shepherds
c) wise men with gifts
d) tax collectors

25. The name “Jesus” means
a) God’s chosen
b) God saves
c) Son of Jesse
d) Nothing

26. The 12 days of Christmas are
a) December 14-25
b) December 25-January 5
c) The 12 Sundays after Christmas
d) The time it took for Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem

Continue reading "Christmas Quiz" »

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We recognized our 2007 graduates today.

Miranda McDannold (pictured left) - Two Harbors High School
Krag Anderson - Frenchtown High School (Montana)
Sarah Baldes - Gustavus Adolphus College - Philosophy
Maren Anderson - Gustavus Adolphus College
Molly Ray - University of Wisconsin Superior - Double Health Major
Christina Rossetter (pictured right) - Hameline University - International Management

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Youth Group packed boxes at Northern Lakes Second Harvest Food Bank tonight. We packed 70 boxes of assorted food. Thanks, Mike, for bringing along your cameraphone so we could get these photos!

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday the United Youth went out Candy Caning Christmas Wreaths. Don't know what Candy Caning is? Think of it as reverse Trick or Treating. We wandered around Two Harbors finding Christmas Wreaths and then stuck candy canes in them with little handmade notes. We got the idea from an episode of Rocketboom. It seemed like a good idea and we had a lot of fun doing it. The best, I think, was sticking a candy cane in the wreath of a dentist.

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)