Easter

The Peace of the Risen Christ be with you!   

            Here we stand once again at Easter, like the early disciples and all of Jesus’ followers since, remembering and celebrating that God’s Love lives and endures…

            We give thanks for the miracle of Easter and for the hope and promise we can see, smell and touch in the freshness of springtime...for the love and kindness we experience in each other. At the same time we  hope for a time when we can once again gather together in a group in whatever place we call sanctuary, a time when we can hug our loved ones again and see their entire shining faces!

            This Easter, let us celebrate the new life we antiipate in our new church home. Jesus is out ahead of us just as he is with us now as we wait.  We can trust this just as our forebears in faith have done for 2000 years through all kinds of crises, wars, pandemics and personal tragedy. And we are still here. Let us give thanks for the Spirit of Life visible in Jesus, visible in us, visible in people in all walks of life.

          Christ is risen! Alleluia!

            Rev. Jan

(thanks Rev. Jenn, for your inspiration for this!)

Prayer

Very early on that first day
you caught chaos unawares,
Astounding God:
planting grace in a garden,
setting love loose on creation,
flinging joy into the air.

Very early on that first day
Jesus, Son of Justice:
you staggered sin,
throwing its weight off the world;
you confounded death,
leaving it alone in the grave;
you opened the gates of the kingdom,
so all could follow you into life.

Very early on this first day of the week,
while we were washing sleep from our eyes
and trying to make sense of our lives,
you sang glad songs to us,
Sacred Spirit:
rolling away fears from our hearts
so we can see the Risen Lord.

God in Community, Holy in One,
very early on this first day of the week,
as we do on every day of our lives,
we lift our prayers to you in wonder,
in amazement,
in gratitude.

Amen.

(Thom Schuman modified by Jenn 2015)