Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
It was wonderful last weekend to gather – over Zoom – with a congregation meeting in different homes and different states (and even different countries) to remember again the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – that within our darkest night God’s powerful love has kindled a fire that never dies away.
Attached is a picture of the flowers on the communion table on Easter Sunday – with the Christ candle and other candles that were lit during our prayers of intercession.
My apologies, however, to the 101st (and subsequent) people who were ‘locked out’ of Sunday’s service! We had purchased an extra large meeting license last week (so we could go above 100 participants) but owing to a setting issue, we were not in that ‘large meeting room’ on Sunday. Cecelia and Steve have been busy and this is now fixed! If you did miss the service, the link to the video is here: https://youtu.be/zyJl_td6l0w (and on the church website).
Those of you who did join Sunday’s service (early!) would have heard me say how the breakout rooms (the random small groups that we have been forming using Zoom after the service) have been a sign of life and hope for me over the last few weeks – how I have heard so many beautiful stories of how people have connected during that time.
And this has continued to be the case. Emily Kelly, who many of you will remember, sent me an email Sunday night, saying how wonderful it was to catch up with Sandra Trimble in their breakout room! And when I stepped into the office after church, I joined a breakout rooms which included Megan Williams – currently in hotel quarantine in Sydney after a dramatic upending of her plans to live in Myanmar this year.
I want to share with you part of a letter she has written to friends and family while in quarantine:
…Like all of you, I am grieving the loss of plans and hopes and expectations for what this year might have held. I am learning to adapt my horizon – not for next month, but to today and for tomorrow. I am learning to notice and find beauty and joy in the small parts of life: the flowers in the garden, the wind blowing through the wind chimes, the smiles of strangers at airports trying to make a difficult process a little less painful, the ability to connect with friends and family online.
The world outside the hotel room is still and quiet, a strange feeling for Sydney. At this time, I am comforted and challenged by the deep reminder that the Easter story takes us right into the heart of the world’s darkness and pain. But it does not leave us there… I pray light and life find you, wherever you are.
Within our darkest night, may the light and life of Christ find us.
Belinda