April 2021
April begins with events that lie at the very heart of our faith as followers of Jesus: Maundy Thursday (April 1), when we remember Jesus in the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the cup of the new covenant to love one another; Good Friday (April 2) when we once again live through the horror of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, signs of the how the world confronts the message of love and rejects the presence of the Kingdom of God, and concludes with Easter Sunday (April 4) as we discover that nothing and nobody – not even death—can prevent Christ from bursting forth in life, can prevent the Kingdom of God from breaking into the world.
This year, these themes are perhaps more pointed than usual: we have lived through more than a year with the global pandemic, and even as vaccines are being administered, the future still seems hazy, our path forward still unclear. It can be hard—and frustrating!—to be unable to plan, and yet, remembering the proclamation that the Kingdom of God is here right now, we are called upon to walk in faith.
Part of that walking in faith is planning to return to in-church worship, even as the online service continues (though at a different time, later on Sunday afternoons). Currently, that’s planned for April 18 at 10:30 a.m., depending on stabilization of the case rate. It will be very different – there is no “normal” anymore – with social distancing, masks, no coffee hour or social time, no singing, no choir, no music. Even so, God will be present among us, both gathered in person and gathered on the internet, just as God has been most present as we’ve been walking through the valley of the shadow of death all year. So please do join us as we continue to seek ways to love and serve God by loving and serving God’s people – and the whole world.
Faithfully,
Rev. Mary E. Biedron
April begins with events that lie at the very heart of our faith as followers of Jesus: Maundy Thursday (April 1), when we remember Jesus in the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the cup of the new covenant to love one another; Good Friday (April 2) when we once again live through the horror of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, signs of the how the world confronts the message of love and rejects the presence of the Kingdom of God, and concludes with Easter Sunday (April 4) as we discover that nothing and nobody – not even death—can prevent Christ from bursting forth in life, can prevent the Kingdom of God from breaking into the world.
This year, these themes are perhaps more pointed than usual: we have lived through more than a year with the global pandemic, and even as vaccines are being administered, the future still seems hazy, our path forward still unclear. It can be hard—and frustrating!—to be unable to plan, and yet, remembering the proclamation that the Kingdom of God is here right now, we are called upon to walk in faith.
Part of that walking in faith is planning to return to in-church worship, even as the online service continues (though at a different time, later on Sunday afternoons). Currently, that’s planned for April 18 at 10:30 a.m., depending on stabilization of the case rate. It will be very different – there is no “normal” anymore – with social distancing, masks, no coffee hour or social time, no singing, no choir, no music. Even so, God will be present among us, both gathered in person and gathered on the internet, just as God has been most present as we’ve been walking through the valley of the shadow of death all year. So please do join us as we continue to seek ways to love and serve God by loving and serving God’s people – and the whole world.
Faithfully,
Rev. Mary E. Biedron