From our Senior Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Today is the Tuesday of Holy Week as I write.  Yesterday began with snow draping all the early springtime flowers.  Today dawned with cold showers, and damp winds.  Tonight they almost guarantee thunder.  This miserable weather is appropriate for the mood of much of Holy Week.  We vacillate emotionally from somber reflection to anticipation of that which will inevitably come.

For me the rehearsal for Mendelssohn’s Oratorio “Elijah” last evening was a much needed boost after a damp and dismal day.  Then today I arrived and the somber mood of the week was challenged in a welcomed way by the excitement and joy of the students of Little Saints Christian School.  Tuesday, April 19, 2011, is being noted and duly celebrated as the 100th day of school.  The children shared cake, boosted balloons to the rafters of the Narthex (Church facility gathering spot), and I was reminded once again that a Church facility, ours or any, is a gathering spot where the Spirit can work in exciting ways in the lives of people. 

Our gathering spot is a place where people visit, share burdens, sometimes pray, meet and greet new folks, extend compassion and concern, and, as these little ones can teach us well, laugh and celebrate.  I am delighted that the stillness of somber sadness is suddenly shattered by the joy-filled voices of children, shouting a variation of “Hosanna” in their modern manner of speech.  That moment for me as I ate “100th day of school cake,” which I’m sure had less than 100 calories, as I rejoiced momentarily with the children…
This moment represents what the surprise of Easter is all about.  Sorrow and sadness is shattered by a hope-filled cry…The best is yet to be.  Shrug off gloom; rejoice!  Be encouraged…

Therefore, invite a friend to join you in the joy of what is about to begin for us who hold dear to the Resurrection of Jesus and God’s victory over despair and death…

More on this to come…
Have a blessed Easter Season.  Read the Gospel of John, chapter 21 as dawn breaks on this next liturgical season!