Introduction

Invite the women to dress like a pirate (pirate shirt, pirate hat, flashy jewelry, rags for scarves). Encourage them to talk like a pirate with each other by recalling dialog from TV and movies. Consider inviting boys and girls of Character Building groups or children and grandchildren of the women to join the fun for this program.

History of Pirate Day

Two friends, John Bauer and Mark Summer, while playing racquetball at the YMCA, started “Talk Like a Pirate Day” in the summer of 1995. However, it was not until 2002, when humorist Dave Barry supported it by featuring it in his column in the Miami Herald, that it was really launched. “Talk Like a Pirate Day” is observed annually on September 19th nationwide. This “yo–ho-ho” holiday gives every swashbuckler the opportunity to wear that eye patch, put the stuffed parrot on their shoulder, wear a peg leg or hook and yell “Arrrrrr”! To find a pirate event in your area, check the community calendar or websites for listings.

Decorations and Games

Create a pirate atmosphere with treasure maps, treasure chests, coins, gold and silver beads, anchors, parrots and ships. Many ideas are available on the Internet and at Pinterest. Place photos of pirates on the tables. See how many the women can identify and tell what movies they were in. For example: Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean or Black Beard or Captain James T. Hook from Peter Pan.

Games

• Put the eye patch on the pirate (similar to pin the tail on the donkey)
• Dig in a treasure chest to find hidden treasure
• Name that pirate movie
• Give words that pirates may use

A lot of this information is on the Internet. Using Google search on the words “talk like a pirate.”

Other Program Ideas

• Teach the women a pirate jig
• Read a children’s pirate books
• Watch a pirate movie if time permits or select clips from it
• Hold a contest to see who sounds most like a pirate

Menu Ideas

Identify the food items with tags giving the pirate names.

Polly Crackers	Crackers of Choice
Shark Bait	Cheese
Golden Nuggets	Chicken Nuggets
Fish ‘n Chips	Goldfish and Chips
Sea Dogs	Hot Dogs
Cannon Balls	Meatballs
Sea Water	Bottled Water
Pirate Jewels	Fresh Fruit
Seaweed Dip	Spinach Dip
Peg Legs	Stick Pretzels or Pickles

Pirate Phrases

Ask the women to explain the meaning of these pirate words.

Ahoy!	Hello!
Ahoy, Matey!	Hello, my friend!
Ahoy, me hearties!	Hello, my friends!
All hand hoay!	a call to action for the ship’s crew for all hands to be on deck
Buccaneer	a pirate
Bucko	a buccaneer
Crow’s nest	small platform atop the mast where the lookout stands
Heave ho	give it some muscle and push it
Jacob’s ladder	the rope ladder one uses to climb aboard a sloop
Lad, lass, lassie	a younger person
Old Salt	an experienced sailor
Shipshape	cleaned up and under control
Thar she blows!	whale sighting
Yo ho ho	cheerful exhortation to demand attention

God Uses Imperfect People

Read Jonah 2:1–9.

Have you ever thought about imperfect things or people? When we have a bowl or plate that is not perfect, most of us still use it. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful. But often we look at people and expect them to be perfect. We just read the Scripture about Jonah. Did you ever think about why he fled from the Lord? Has the Lord ever asked you to do something and you ran as fast as you could the other way?

We all know the story: God called Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against the wickedness of the people. But Jonah resisted and tried to run away to Tarshish to get away from the Lord. I believe that often the Lord asks us to do things and we, like Jonah, try to run away ignore what we think the Lord is asking of us.

In the story, God called up a big storm at sea and the ship’s crew threw Jonah overboard in an attempt to stop the storm. A great fish, sent by God, swallowed Jonah. For three days and three nights Jonah was inside the large fish’s belly. Jonah prayed, repented of his disobedience and thanked God for His mercy. Have you ever been in a situation where you prayed for deliverance from a situation? In Jonah, God spoke to the fish, which spit Jonah out safely on dry land. As with Jonah, God delivers us in His time.

As we know from the Scriptures, Jonah was rescued and then obeyed the call to prophesy against Nineveh, causing the people of the city to repent and God to forgive them. In Chapter 4 we read that Jonah was furious and told God that this is the reason he fled from Him. He tells God that he knew Him to be a merciful God. Jonah then asked God to kill him, a request that is denied. Have you been in a situation where you did not get the answer you were hoping for, causing you to be unhappy with God? Maybe sometime later you realized why you were given that answer. You may feel like you are imperfect, like that imperfect piece of china, yet to God you are still very useful and greatly loved. You may be the answer that someone else may need, even though you may feel imperfect. God can use us with all of our imperfections for His kingdom.

Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh as God instructed. But when he did he became one of the most effective prophets of God. As a result of his preaching, the entire population of Nineveh repented and was spared destruction. In the same way, God can use us. We can still be used for the kingdom of God and while striving to be more like Christ. Know that God can use you, even if you are imperfect in your eyes. Today, be who you are and the person God wants you to be.