Easter 2014...best ever

Easter 2014 has been very special!

It began with our Bible study class at the beginning of Lent.  One of the things Rev. Patricia Watson does particularly well is have Bible studies that are instructive, challenging, and interesting.  Among the takeaways from this Bible study, based on the book A World Worth Saving: Lenten Spiritual Practices for Action by George Hovaness Donigian, was the concept that we didn't need to deny ourselves sometime to remember Lent, but rather we would add something by caring and not being apathetic.  Moreover, we learned that Lent, in the early church was actually a time of preparation for joining the church.

Moving forward to Holy Week.

The men of Epworth United Methodist Church were asked to perform Da Vinci's "Last Supper" for the Maundy Thursday service and each of us disciples had a speaking part. I was at the left end and played the role of Nathaniel, also known as Bartholemew (a fisherman), and it caused me to learn a lot about Nathaniel and some of the other disciplines that I had not know before. Memorization is a very big problem for me, but as I got to know the role better, the words came easier and we had teleprompters to help us along.

Good Friday was Mom's turn to perform.  We held a first-time joint service with other United Methodists from Timonium UMC and Mays Chapel UMC.  The Epworth UMC choir, under the direction of Peter Morey, was asked to perform.  It wasn't lost on me that the three pastors of the churches were all women and good friends.  I was very impressed.  They had written speaking parts for Barabbas (played by Rev. Bill Jones), Peter, and Mary.  Again, very moving service.

Moving forward to early this morning, the youth from Epworth UMC did the Easter Sonrise service at historic Jessops Methodist Church in Sparks.  This is a retired church with a large graveyard that is maintained by a foundation and its a beautiful place to hold a 6:30 a.m. service.  The youth created what they called a "human video" to tell the story that God is all around us if only we look...at work, at play...and not just at church. The service ended by singing "Morning has Broken".

We returned to church at 9 a.m. for the annual Epworth Easter Egg Hunt.  This is a wonderful tradition for the children.  The older kids "hide" the plastic eggs all over the church grounds. This picture shows only the younger kids who were confined to the playground area.  Part of the treat of the Easter Egg Hunt is to open the eggs and find out if there is a candy or toy inside.  Some of the eggs are empty, but many of the eggs have cool things that were donated by adults in the church.

By 10:30 a.m., the sanctuary was packed for the Easter service and the church was packed...225 people.  Peter Morey had enlisted musicians from Peabody Conservatory and together with the Epworth hand bell choir and the Chancel choir, the service was filled with awesome music. We even sang Handel's Hallelujah chorus!  Pastor Watson's sermon culminated the weeks of Lent as she moved us forward to seek Christ's resurrection as not only hope for our future, but opportunities for us.

As if the day couldn't get any better, it did!  Our son Matthew and his girlfriend, Mary Louise, joined us for an Easter dinner. Barb dipped into her culinary playbook and, again, prepared a rack of lamb.  It was awesome and it was something she had done for Gourmet Dinner in Washington, DC at least 30 years ago.  It was accompanied by small potatoes, asparagus with bread crumbs, and a fresh strawberry pie.  Matt and Mary Louise brought the wine and I was in heaven.

And then, late today, we got a wonderful e-mail from our son Robert in Portland, Oregon where he is a United Methodist Church music director: "I just got back from our Easter service, which was the formal rebranding of Pioneer as "Crossbridge at Pioneer." Christy and the church plant team did a presentation of all the new things they're doing, all the community events where they've represented the church and so on. And the musicians for the non-traditional afternoon service came to demo one of the pieces they'll be doing today, and the keyboardist and I did some piano/organ duets, which was a lot of fun for me. I took this photo because I was kind of amazed to see so many people in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning."

Best Easter ever!