Dear Church:
Sunday is the day! Resurrection begins before the light of day Sunday morning, and we will celebrate in Easter Worship beginning at 10:30 AM. This is the perfect day to return to church bringing your praises. This is the perfect day to invite a friend to come with you and share the joy of the day. This is the day children are invited to come in anticipation of all of the Alleluias that will be ready to burst forth! This is the perfect way to celebrate resurrection.
But what do we do with resurrection? Among us are skeptics and those of us still waiting for a sign that resurrection is near. Resurrection offers hope into that which we cannot see, hope beyond the grave where love shines forth in eternal glory. Easter is the reminder that even when we cannot see, and even if we cannot believe, there is hope that in its season, the New Life will begin.
Salvation is the gift of love, offered to those of us hoping for something more and something new. On Easter we who are still struggling with life will hear Christ call us by name, calling us into life.
I look forward to celebrating with you all Sunday morning. It's Friday today, but there is so much still coming!
Grace and Peace to you!
Pastor Katie
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 4/17:
9:00 a.m.: Chancel Choir
10:30 a.m.: Easter Sunday Worship with Holy Communion
Tuesday, 4/19:
6:00 p.m.: Handbell Rehearsal
Sunday, 4/24:
9:00 a.m.: Chancel Choir
10:30 a.m.: 1st Sunday of Easter
It is Finished
by Rev. Sarah Speed
One day,
one day
we will say,
“It is finished”
and not in reference to
the suffering that took place
in a school shooting,
in a police raid,
in a boat of immigrants
packed too tightly.
One day we will say,
“It is finished,”
but not in reference to
a fight against addiction,
another catastrophic storm,
a broken marriage that got
lost along the way.
One day,
one day
we will say,
“It is finished”
and only mean the
book we just read,
the cake we just baked,
the song that made us sing,
the meal around the table,
the familiar drive back home.
Until then
I will say,
“I am thirsty,”
but I still believe
in one day.
One day.
New Life is Right Here
by Rev. Sarah Speed
Maybe today
we can take a moment.
Maybe today
we can silence the inner critic.
Maybe today
we can leave perfection at the door.
Maybe today we can allow ourselves to be
here.
Maybe that’s all that matters.
Maybe this sunrise is for us.
Maybe these Hallelujahs are for us.
Maybe the hope blooming in my chest
is for us.
Maybe the resurrection was not just about God’s body,
but is about our body.
Maybe this new life reaches all the way to the edges.
Maybe we are free to live in a new way
where love is the currency and we are enough.
Maybe that’s what this is all about—
not a relentless pursuit of more
but God’s relentless pursuit of me.
New life
is right here.
Like the women—say it out loud.
Like Peter—run that way.
Prepared
by Hannah Garrity | Inspired by Luke 24:1-12
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.” (Luke 24:1-3, NRSV)
I recently read Art and Faith2 by Makoto Fujimura. Fujimura speaks of the beauty in particular moments in scripture: when the women enter the tomb, and when Mary, sister of Martha, pours oil over Jesus before his journey to the cross. Fujimura draws attention to these texts to anchor a discussion of the importance of beauty in faithful practice. God placed beautiful things on earth for us to give back to God in glory. We must consider when, where, why, and how we engage beauty. We must engage with beauty in our faithful practice.
In this paper lace art piece, the inside of a bowl is patterned with images telling the initial moments of the Easter story. This design depicts burial spices in patterns. Amidst the spice patterns, a sunrise emerges. At the top is an abstract image of the empty tomb.
This moment, the moment when the women arrive at the tomb, represents an act of holy, extravagant, expansive beauty. Imagine being there, arriving at daybreak, holding the spice bowl in your hands. The burial spices, nard and myrrh, were aromatic. The aromas of blood, oils, death, and spices fill the air. Imagine how it would have smelled. It was the work of the women to honor the body of the deceased; to honor the life he had lived, and they had loved.
How might we honor God with our practices of beauty? What materials do we need to gather and incorporate? How can we keep God centered in our creative endeavors?
—Hannah Garrity
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