This Easter is different, much different.

•No sunrise service

•No shaking hands with your fellow parishioners

•No driving across town to sit in a swanky restaurant to be waited on while you overeat before going home for a mid-day nap

•No driving any distance to sit down with relatives for a meal, some stories, laughter and perhaps some games or sharing music

Instead,

We will be thinking and praying for:

•the 17M+ recently unemployed

•those who have been directly impacted health wise by the virus

We will connect in other ways today.  Phone, email, text, videoconference, a chat in separate cars or a talk without the hug.  We will share more time with fewer people and a chance to have deeper conversations.

Let’s realize that we can overcome just as Jesus overcame death.  The reason for this season is that our Savior rose from the dead.  He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!

One thought I’d like to leave here…

While we are blessed as a nation there are many more unfortunate souls today than there were just two months ago.  Our government is doing what it can today but I’d like you to consider what else YOU can do for the less fortunate.

If you are saving for a rainy day…it’s pouring outside.

If you are looking for a cause…the needs are abundant:

-Your church

-The homeless

-The addicted

-The unemployed

-Those who are immobile

You can give, you can patronize, you can be flexible enough to sacrifice something, you can be kind, you can be loving, you can drop off a small gift on the stoop, you can pick up groceries, you can make some masks instead of quilts, you can call someone up for 2 minutes just to check in on them, you can … replace the “you can” in the list above with “I will”.

Have a blessed Easter Day and remember this day when your freedoms have been restored and may your appreciation become action going forward.