wow.

What a week!  In the brief quiet of this Easter afternoon, let me say, ‘thank you Lord.’

Thank you God, for a creative, talented, grace-filled, loving staff team.  Becky found beautiful art and produced clear worship guides.  Louise provided safe child-care and creative activities for our children.  Kathy kept our building clean and helped make the Vigil party happen.  Matt has a tremendous gift to arrange music, develop musicians, and provide space for worship.  Erin’s sermon at the vigil showed off her English-majorness and her deep insights to the Scriptures.  Liz provided intercession for all the liturgy and helped us be confident in where we designated our Holy Week offering.

Thank you Steve for a BEAUTIFUL cross that augmented my Good Friday and gave a rich picture of what Jesus had done.  Thanks to Tim for helping set it up and carry it out.

Thank you God for palm fronds, tubas, saxophones, trumpets, and trombones.  Thank you for the Reading of the Passion.

Thank you Jesus for dirty feet, frail minds that tend to forget, and hungry souls that long for spiritual food.  Thank you for setting us an example and the space to do unto others.

Thank you for cellos and violins and djembes and keyboards and bass guitars.

Thank you for Jesus for 7 powerful words that were spoken from your cross.  Thank you for 7 thoughtful, courageous men and women who invited us in to see their heart.

Thank you for silence.  And darkness.  And candles.

Thank you for delicious sour dough bread that became the sacrament of your body.

Thank you for the pounding of nails.

Thank you for lilies and book lights that become illuminators of the cross.

Thank you God for your Scripture, for the opportunity to read so much of it in a week, to let it soak into us, to marinate.

Thank you for the careful way your church has remembered its history–  for beautiful prayers and meaningful traditions.

Thank you for fasts.  And thank you for letting them end.

Thank you God for those who came early and stayed late, for those who intentionally looked around to see what they could do, for those who paid attention and jumped in.

Thank you for early morning insights, talking teddy bears, and overdue library books.

God, thank you for Restoration.  I love this church.  I love worshiping YOU with them.

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen.

The Lord is Risen, indeed.

-David