Dear friends:
Two recent events struck me deeply, both were poignant and exceptionally delicate. The first was easily the most joyful. We hosted friends for a (socially distanced, outdoor) farewell dinner and one couple brought their newborn infant. All evening I marveled at the simple miracle of her existence as she tried to lift her head, focus her eyes, and express delight and distress. It was captivating and lovely.
The second experience was equally captivating. I was visiting the ICU as a congregation member’s life drew to a close. On my way down the hall, an emergency occurred in the room next door and nurses, doctors, crash carts and all manner of other support descended on that room in a flash. The flurry of activity and intense focus was enthralling and terrifying.
Both experiences offer a window into how gorgeous it is to be a human being. The fragility, beauty and wonder of it all is sometimes more than we can understand, but we can acknowledge it as a gift, a miracle, a hint of the divine.
I think that’s why Easter speaks to us so deeply. It has to do with the fragility and beauty of being human, the value of this gift of life, and the divine intrusion that brought it all to be. And, I think that’s what’s going on in this story from John’s Gospel, which we’ll hear beautifully re-told this Sunday.
Many have put forth their best effort to make this Holy Week and Easter Sunday as meaningful as possible. Let me highlight a few items:
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Tonight, our Good Friday service will stream at 7:30 p.m. This solemn service of scripture, light, and song contextualizes the new life we will celebrate on Easter morning;
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Saturday we'll host an Easter pilgrimage. The Covenant campus will be alive with art, animals, music and other Easter celebrations. We invite you to come and make this a part of your Easter observation. Click here by noon today, and we will work with you to find space.
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Easter Sunday services will stream at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. This year’s services will be enhanced by a rich array of liturgical arts – dancing, banners, butterflies (signifying transformation) storytelling and song – as we use symbol and sign to point to new life. Invite friends and family to join you online by sending them this link.
- Finally, at the end of the Easter service, I will join Phil Koonce, our Clerk of Session, to make an exciting announcement regarding Covenant’s commitment to our city’s most vulnerable. I hope and trust you’ll join us.
With abundant hope and gratitude,
