“Alleluia! Christ is risen!” With these words every year we open the glorious celebration of Easter Morning. With these words we open up to Sunday worship every Sunday in our liturgical season of Easter. In the “olden days” (BP – Before the Pandemic) congregations would have the children symbolically bury the “Alleluias” usually said or sung during a service, to “winter through” the somber dark season of Lent. How exciting to have the Alleluia’s burst through on Easter morning once again, bursting forth like Spring’s glorious showing of growth and new life on Earth’s landscape.

With joy in this Easter season we are able once again to gather in person to worship on Sunday. Until we are able to gather in our beloved old brick and mortar historic sanctuaries, we celebrate in the sanctuary space between the earth beneath our feet and the roof of heaven – with a exquisite sense that heaven earth and all of us meet and greet one another in the space between. Although we can’t sing out our joy or our Alleluia’s for a while longer we have music to stir our hearts with Ben on organ or piano and Arline on violin. And in silent or prayerful moments the song of the birds lifts our souls.

As a special treat offered here for your reflection this week – something to really lift our spirits, I offer a remarkable musical video that a friend sent me yesterday. If there is any music that symbolizes the Easter season it is the Hallelujah Chorus. Here in this four minute video it is performed visually and virtually in a massive cathedral in a way you have never seen or heard it performed before. It is stunning. May it bring peace, joy, and delight to you and to those you love.

Garden week is in full swing in Virginia and while N. Farnham and St. John's may not be scheduled for touring by the wider world, we're having a glorious spring preparing a new garden at each church. A small memorial garden has been part of N. Farnham's vision for over a year. Saturday a gardening crew there planted a lovely redbud tree, placed a garden bench (a gift from the Garretson's home) and a birdbath (from Torrence's yard) and hydrangas that were passed forward for the garden after Easter morning blessings. The small area, cradled between the old brick walkways that bridge the parish house and western entrance of the sanctuary will be dedicated as a cremains garden. At the same time on Saturday a crew was planting shrubs and trees behind St. John's sanctuary and along the brick wall in a corner of the lower cemetery - the beginning phase of a two level "Garden of Peace" designed for outdoor worship and small gatherings with a portion of both the lower cemetery and upper cemetery edges of the Peace Garden dedicated also to a space for intering cremains in the future.

Thanks to the Garden Design Committees from each church - Candy Carden, Dougie Lawton, Mercer O'Hara and Pris Wellford from St. John's and Sandy Garretson, Barbara Grander, Kent Grander and Becky Marks from Farnham!

What an exciting planting day it was - new beginnings - to flourish in the years to come. Garden spaces where the Creator Gardener calls us to come and sit awhile and delight in the peace of it all.

St. John's Service on April 18^th

Food Pantry Push - this is the week!

Distribution dates for the two local pantries that we support are coming up soon. This week please deliver the food items that you're supplying to the drop off locations, bring them to church on Sunday or e-mail the office (parishchurchnews@gmail.com) to have them picked up.

St. John's: the basket under the church bell between the church doors.

Farnham: the Crowley’s back porch at 278 Cedar Grove Road (across the road from N. Farnham Church.)

The Sunday afternoon (5 p.m.) service is suspended for a while while we discern how and when to include some "virtual" worship opportunity either on Sunday or another time during the week at a time more covenient for folks. 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon is apparently not a good time for folks. I'll keep you posted . . . however, if you have any suggestions please pass them forward to me. 

The outdoor service is dependent on favorable weather. If cancelled, the service will be converted to Zoom and the priest will send a notice to parishioners by 8:00 a.m. with the Zoom link.

Please review the prayer list. If they are not communicants and you added these names more than 3 months ago, please send an e-mail to parishchurchnews@gmail.com if you want them to remain on the list . Otherwise, they will be removed. (Not applicable to armed forces members, but please ask to have them removed if they are not still serving.)

Courtenay Altaffer

Martha Berger

Randall Bone

Sue Bowie

Nancy Allin Bush

Constance Edwards

Bob File

David Gallagher

Regina Griggs

Barbara Grander

Dorothy Grove

The Rev. Howard Hanchey

Sandy Wade Hagan

Weir Harman

Billy Hooper

Rebecca Hubert

Marcia Jenkins

Stephanie, Nick & Donovan Kaywork

Jim & Sharon Krider

Mary Douglas Lawton

The Rt. Rev. Peter Lee

Susan Lewis

Susannah Marais

Pat Merkel

Tommy Neuman

Judi Newman

Kirsten Palubinski

James Rynd

Marsha Rynd

Chris Smith

Debbie Belfield Stacks

Scott Strickler

Waldy Sulik

Billy Tennyson

Roclyn Tennyson

John Welch, II

Matthew Yates

Rose Mary Zellner and

all the victims of COVID 19