Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was a very good day for us. We had a number of guests. There was an enthusiastic spirit of worship. I am thankful for the work that many of you did to get us ready for the day. Our thanks to Lou Herouart for taking on the lilies project and helping us to have that beautiful display around the communion table. And our thanks to Jim Suprenant for the work he did to clean out the plant beds in front of our sanctuary and in front of our parking lot. They look great. Bill Batchelor worked to make our sign communicate clearly the date and time of our Maundy Thursday service. By the way, I think hand sanitizing was a good image of serving each other. It may not have been as dramatic and time consuming as actually washing feet, but it was a way of serving each other that is well-known today.

The Choir gave of their time unselfishly. It was great to have that boost to our singing at the 9 o’clock service. I also thank you for your attention to our guests. It was clear to me that they were being given many warm greetings before and after the worship services.

As you can see in our numbers, our attendance at the 9 o’clock service was larger. Thank you regular 11 o’clock attenders who gave up your time and came at 9.

We will miss our snowbirds who are flying back up north these days. God bless you, keep you in His strong loving hands, and bring you back to us. We will miss you.

Some of you have recently read the Time Magazine article about Rob Bell, the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church and his book Love Wins. I have just finished reading that book, and I think it is a good one. Here is part of what Bell says about heaven.

"Eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts now. It's not about a life that begins at death; it's about experiencing the kind of life now that can endure and survive even death." Bell writes that life as we know it, with births, aging and funerals, is part of eternity. We are not merely being good to get into Heaven one day, but to bring Heaven to Earth today through how we live our lives. When we think of Heaven, we think of peace, love, health and the wiping away of every tear, but it doesn't have to start in the afterlife. It can begin right now. We can love more and let go of grudges. We can let peace rule our hearts and minds. We can bring Heaven to Earth everyday.

Halifax Urban Ministries acquired the STAR Center and Family Shelter in January 2010. STAR Center and Family Shelter provides direct services to local homeless folks and homeless families with children. Judy Hutchinson called and got us a list of the kind of things the Center needs for its people. In addition to the items we brought in today, we will receive an offering to help buy bus tickets for those who qualify. If a client has a verifiable job interview or doctor appt. they are given a bus pass for Votran. STAR/HUM gets a 10% discount from Votran when spending $100. All day passes are $3.00 and one way are $1.00.

Thank you, Judy, for the investgating and the publicity on this. Thank you, Trae Ford-Jones for delivering our food gifts to H.U.M