From the Pastor:
The Turning of the (Church) Seasons 

Grace to you and peace from the One who is and who was
and who is to come…
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
~Revelation 1:4-5

Dear Friends,

As I write this winter is cautiously edging toward the exit door and crocuses are bravely pushing themselves up through the winter soil. We are witnessing the turning of the seasons, as spring, too, pushes up through the earth to make herself known in warmer days, hints of green, and, at my house, bright and spicy chives.

The world’s seasons are turning, and the seasons of the church are turning as well. As April begins, we will be in the last weeks of Lent, our time of preparation. We will still be hearing the stories that lead us, inexorably, to Jerusalem, and trial, and the cross. But soon—very soon!—Easter will dawn, with its good news of empty tombs and Mary Magdalene’s joyful cry: I have seen the Lord!

But remember: Magdalene’s morning begins in darkness. It unfolds in chaos and confusion. (There is an actual footrace to the tomb.) The event itself sows seeds of both hope and doubt. And before it is all over Mary will be frustrated and frightened. Easter morning is a very human experience of an ineffable and God-saturated event. It’s not all new hats and chocolate eggs (lovely as both those things are).

Every person who walked or ran to the empty tomb was very much like us in that they experienced grief and loss. The whiplash that Easter morning provided didn’t erase any of that quickly or easily. As we read the stories of the events of that morning and afterward (as we will through the end of April), we might want to place ourselves at the event—the whole event. It begins with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday, April 13), continues with his last night at table with his closest friends (Maundy Thursday, April 17), and moves on to his suffering and death on the cross (Good Friday, April 18). Taking part in these worship experiences can help us to recognize how we, too, journey to the cross with Jesus, and how he walks with us in times of joy and grief and the glory no one expects.

I pray that we all will find deep connection with God as we celebrate the central event of our faith. God bless all of us as we move through the transitions of these seasons.

Grace and Peace,
Rev. Pat