Remember, Easter services are NOT our regular schedule. We have 6:30 AM, Spanish; 8:30 AM, English; and,
10:30 AM
, English.
A Message from ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
Getting a phone call in the middle of the night is never a good thing. I remember the second time my father had open-heart surgery. It was a long procedure and a difficult one, and after it was done the doctor called us to his office and said, “There’s been some bleeding. We’ll let you know, but you should go home now and rest.” And so going home that night, I listened for a phone call in the middle of the night and was awakened only to find out it was morning and it was birds singing, not the phone ringing. My father had made it through the night, and in fact he did recover from the surgery.
This is the joy we feel at Easter, but magnified. All of the hope that had been dashed on Good Friday, the terrible pressure of grief, the terrible pressure of knowing there was no future in the world, only on Sunday to be greeted not by the ringing of a telephone announcing death but the loud clear singing of alleluias. This is the joy we have, and it’s a promise so strong that even when we do die, even when we do confront death, we have the hope and the assurance of eternal life.
Easter makes it possible for us, even at the grave, to sing alleluia. Christ is risen. Alleluia.
Happy Easter, dear church.
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
A Message from Pastor Albert
Bishop Eaton’s message has me reflecting on Good Friday. I hope you plan to join us this Friday at noon and 7:30 PM. This is one of the most important days in the church year.
Good Friday has been my favorite holiday since I was a teenager. As you may know, I was no stranger to death as a youth and young man. I had ten significant loses before my twentieth birthday. Most of these people died far too young.
Good Friday became, for me, a very special day. It was the one day a year when we most poignantly remembered how Jesus took our death upon himself. I was reminded of all those in my life who had died and I became aware of my own broken humanity, my sin, my eventual death, and my need for a savior. The Good Friday service, with the darkening of the lights, the sound of the closing of the tomb, and the silent departure from church, were a welcome macabre for me.
I knew then, as I know now, that the night was not complete in its meaningfulness on its own. No. Good Friday set the stage for Easter morning. God died on the cross, his lifeless body was laid in a tomb, and a stone was rolled in front of it to seal it shut. Christ died. But Christ was raised! And, by the power of the same Holy Spirit, every one of my loved ones would also be raised. Even I, as broken as I am, will some day be made completely whole because of Jesus death and resurrection.
Easter is beautiful. But there is no Easter without Good Friday. I look forward to worshiping with you this Holy Week.
God loves you and so do I!
+ Pastor Albert
