Happy Easter!

Wait, what?? Didn't Easter happen four weeks ago?? Actually, Easter is the whole fifty days between Easter Day and the Day of Pentecost. Forty days of fasting and devotion in Lent are followed by the fifty days of rejoicing that happen in Easter. The church has celebrated these Great Fifty Days - a week of weeks (49 days), followed by the Day of Pentecost - as one long Easter celebration.

In addition to saying more Alleluias at our Sunday Eucharist and during the Daily Office (led by James Wyatt on Facebook each weekday at 7:30 a.m. - check it out!), we sing Easter hymns throughout the whole season, not just on Easter day itself. Some of you also may have noticed that we're using Fraction Sentences from the Anglican Church of Canada - which include the response of "thanks be to God" after the phrase "the gifts of God for the people of God," a practice that many longtime members of St. Columba's will remember from when John Ruder was the Vicar here. (John was ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada and serves there now.)

I want to share with you today, in particular, about two celebrations that we will have during this season of rejoicing in the resurrection of our savior Jesus. 

The first is Rogation Sunday, which is celebrated on the Sixth Sunday of Easter - this year on Sunday, May 9. This is an occasion when we liturgically perform a remembrance of God's love for the Earth and our commitment to join God's mission to save all of creation. Indeed, this Sunday often occurs around Earth Day and has traditionally been a time for the blessing of soil in preparation for the harvest planting. Our tradition at St. Columba's has been to bless our garden beds with water from the baptismal font and pray for our beehives. Our plan will be to do a short set of prayers of thanksgiving for God's providence in creation at the 9 a.m. Livestream-only service, and then a Rogation procession with all who are able to be present going outside for the conclusion of the liturgy at the 11 a.m. service. 

Then, the following Thursday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m. we will celebrate Ascension Day with an indoor-outdoor, socially distanced labyrinth walk in the Narthex, accompanied by music, featuring devotional prayers and meditations led by Mother Meghan. We plan to live-stream the outdoor start of the service so that those who are not able to be here in person can mark the occasion of our Lord's ascension with prayer and blessing. Keep an eye on the weekly e-news for a sign-up for this as we develop more details so we can have COVID-19 protocols in place appropriately. 

Finally, mark your calendars for the Day of Pentecost, which happens this year on Sunday, May 23. As Mother Meghan announced this last Sunday, we are hoping to offer two masked, socially distant services that day indoors, provided that our reopening plans do not conflict with guidelines issued by the state or the Bishop's office. (Mother Alissa will be saying more about this in her "From the..." next week, so we might all understand better how decisions are being made around reopening.) We will offer Renewal of Baptismal Vows at both the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. liturgies.

In all the ways we are together in these coming weeks - inside and out - I will be delighted to see more of your faces in person as we move through this festival time of Easter.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

Happy Easter.

Martin