Easter was Good, AND I've Slept Since Then

I've mentioned to many of you the ambitious Holy Week schedule last week, with services Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, plus various Easter activities Sunday morning.

Here is the prize comment from one member of the congregation, who participated in all of the services. After the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, he said (and I quote), "I don't think I've ever looked forward to the resurrection as much as this year."

The comment was meant to be humorous (and those who heard it laughed, myself included), but there was a seriousness behind it too. We spent an awful lot of time remembering Jesus' final week during our Holy Week services. The church had never done that.

The great news: it worked. I cannot tell you how many positive comments I received from people who attended all of the services (or at least 3 of them). Several comments like: 'this is the best Easter I can remember,' 'this was the most meaningful Holy Week/Easter I've ever experienced,' etc. Which is a testament to three things: 1) they stretched themselves, by being willing to try this Holy Week schedule, 2) the significant planning that went into these services (by myself and certain key others) was well done, and 3) what you get out of something is generally directly proportional to what you put into it. If any of these three things had been missing, the experience would have been diminished. To give you an idea of how positive it was, I've already heard from people that they expect to do all of the Holy Week services again next year.

The not so great news -- I was a little unprepared physically for the week. I know exactly when it happened, after the second reading (about Noah and the ark) during Saturday night's Easter Vigil -- my mind went completely blank from exhaustion. And it didn't come back Saturday night. And most terrifyingly for someone who preaches only from a mental outline, it didn't come back at all on Easter Sunday.

But beyond the exhaustion, it was a very good week for me. I was pleased with the way each of my solos went (which was good, given that they were all in prominent places in the service), pleased to be able to share them. The Thursday evening service of communion and tenebrae was one of the most moving worship experiences I've ever had in a church (and I've been told that I was not alone in sensing that). By design, you are asked to leave the church in silence; in practice, this usually lasts until people get to the parking lot. Not this time. There was silence. I didn't feel like hearing anything for the rest of the evening, and I was told that others felt this way too -- felt uncomfortable turning on the TV, radio, etc.

Easter morning was very successful too. I was able to reuse an Easter play I had written for the youth in Country Club Hills, which was very well received. And Easter worship was strong. Despite my mental limitations, the sermon was well received (and I think, having listened to it, well done). It was a challenging sermon, perhaps the most challenging one I've preached since coming to West Virginia, which is an odd (or maybe just wrong) choice for an Easter Sunday. But I still think it was the message I was supposed to offer, so I can't worry about it. This Sunday, surprisingly, will be simpler and more uplifting and dwell almost entirely on the hope and sustaining comfort of the resurrection in our hearts.

One Easter morning story: during each service, there is a children's time during the service. I was able to borrow one of my friend's great Easter stories to begin (it goes like this: a group of kids were asked what happened on Easter. A young girl raised her hand and said, "Easter is the day that Jesus came out of the tomb. And if he sees his shadow, they'll be six more weeks of winter..."). But this was not the funniest moment with the kids. No, when I asked them to look around and see what all was different in the sanctuary (flowers and streamers had been hung, the color of the paraments was different, etc.), one of the boys said, "There are a lot more people here this morning." Fantastic. Brilliant. You can't script it any better. And, if the recovering youth minister might add, here's a key reason why some adults don't want to let kids speak -- they rationalize that kids don't have anything worth saying, but the greater danger is that the kids just might tell the harsh truth.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I was privileged to have my first visitors from the west last weekend. Bud and Barbara and Laurie made the trip out from Chicago during their spring break (their students went to Florida, but they came to WV, hmm). It was great to see them and to spend time with them (though it was not as much time as I would have liked, given my schedule). And it was a great comfort to have old friends around -- I'm working at making new friends here in WV, and that is coming along better than it might -- but I do miss my friends in Chicago and elsewhere.

This week, I have tried to recover. I have slept more, and read more, than I did last week (though not quite as much as I had hoped). I took a nice 2 hour hike on Tuesday in the middle of a very relaxing day off. And despite the leisure, the newsletter got finished and printed earlier today (for distribution Sunday).