April 22, 2022

Can you guess what the following have in common?

• a crock pot

• lyric sheets from Encanto

• a now-crisp palm leaf

• a large, smooth, river rock

• green vines

• a Last Supper coloring page

• a stuffed ostrich

• a glow-in-the-dark-beach ball

• a flying dove kite

• half a plastic egg

If you guessed the remnants from a beautiful, rich, full Lent and Holy Week, you would be correct. I smiled to myself as I walked around church this week, picking up bits and pieces of our Lenten Wednesdays and our Holy Week services, scattered throughout the church. With We don't talk about Bruno-no-no running through my head (again!) I came across a stray palm from Palm Sunday, a river rock and coloring page from Mandy Thursday, vines from our first-ever immersive Garden of Gethsemane, pieces of the visual reminders of our ancient stories as told at the Easter Vigil, and a bright pink plastic reminder of a glorious Easter Morning.

Our Great Story doesn't end here - we are just beginning! again! - but this post-Easter week was a chance to reflect on all of it, and on what a sacred thing it is to be in community with you. Thank you to everyone who helped make Holy Week unfold smoothly, and helped make it so vibrant. There are far too many to name, but I am grateful. And thanks be to God for each of you out there, and all of the ways you all show up as the Body of Christ for me, for one another, for your other communities, and for the world. What a gift it is to walk with you, share with you, learn from you, grow with you.

My prayer for you this week is that you are able to see the way the light of the risen Christ shines so brightly in you. The way you are an integral part of the living, thriving, here-and-now Body of Christ. Yes, you.