Spring is on its way!! We are having lots of rain but it isn't quite so cold. Soon it will be Easter!
But before we get to Easter, we have lot of preparation to do. I am not talking about deciding what to bring to the Easter pot-luck, I am talking about the very spiritual preparation of Holy Week. Soon it will be Palm Sunday - when we welcome Jesus with hosannas. Then we have Maundy Thursday with foot washing and setting up the altar of repose at the back of the church. This is our little re-creation of the Garden of Gethsemane. We maintain an all night vigil from after the service on Maundy Thursday until the Friday noon service. The Friday noon service presents the Stations of the Cross - we hear and pray about the steps up to Golgotha. Friday evening will be the evening service from the prayer book with communion from reserve sacrament. Then we have the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil. We light the new fire and celebrate the resurrection!
I invite you to participate in as many of these services as you are able. The all night vigil at the altar of repose requires people to volunteer an hour of their time. The church is never empty during the vigil. The labyrinth will be set up and there will be many books available for reading, meditation, and prayers. If you do not want to be in the church alone, considering spending a quiet hour with a friend in the church. A sign -up sheet will be available this Sunday. This is a very significant spiritual practice and one that we have had here at St. Stephens for many years. Please consider participating.
The Saturday service is also very significant. The church is dark. We light a new fire - and this fire lights the way and brings the resurrected Christ into the church to light our way. By the way - that fire lights the new candle over the aumbry. Each week altar guild lights a new candle from the candle lit the previous week. So the fire we light on Saturday is the beginning of our perpetual light in St. Stephen's - maintained throughout the year until next Easter!
Then of course Easter Sunday! The brunch, the egg hunt, the flowering of the crosses (bring flowers from your garden for the children) the joy, the celebration! It is all spectacular..
I look forward to sharing this significant time with you. It is a rollercoaster of observance - the joy of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem, the fear of what comes next, the tears and pain of the crucifixion, and the unbridled joy when He is Risen! It is the story and the foundation of our faith.
Many blessings for the weeks ahead,
Edy
