Easter, 2009

We've finished the Lenten-Holy Week-Easter marathon and entered the post-Easter formless void. I've noticed that I have a tendency to focus on the next "big" event on the calendar as a way of giving shape and substance to my world. So when the big event has been experienced, there is the feeling that's akin to that sense of coasting when the airplane in which one is riding reaches its cruising speed and altitude and the pilot cuts back on the thrusters. Sort of a "flung-out-there-to-coast" feeling.

That's what if feels like this morning, the Day After Easter.The thrusters were pushing right up to the end of the day. Linda and I spent some time at the church Saturday night setting up for Sunday morning. The contemporary service does not usually have an altar present (which has bothered me). So we went to Wal-Mart and purchased some 20 yards of whitish cloth and a bunch of Easter Lillies and we made an altar for Easter in the gym using a rectangular table. We "boxed" it by draping it with white, with a separate slightly different white for the cover cloth. Linda arranged the lillies in front and on top of the altar. I found some Kerry oil candles left over from some move or auction or other...complete with their brass bases. With the addition of the fuel and a little creative wick repair, I got them to work. They looked nice (and appropriate) on the new altar.

I rearranged the banners we have hanging from the second floor walking track, and draped more white fabric over the arms of the large wooden cross that stands to the side of our worship area. I also removed the crown of thorns from the cross. Linda placed lillies at the welcome center and took one for the altar she has created in her elementary grade Sunday School Class.

After printing the bulletin for the traditional service we went home about 9:30.I went to the computer to review my sermon and the PowerPoint program for the Contemporary service. There is a time in every preacher's week when s/he knows that the sermon is "ready." I still did not have that feeling...which is sort of strange, since I've been doing this for a while. Anyway, I've learned to trust that sense. I began to work on it, changing, tweaking, adding, cutting, etc. Some of you know that process. So after I got THAT as ready as it could be, I had to change the PPT program's bullets to match the new materials. I like this process. Its flaw is that it can't be completed earlier than the sermon!

I finally got to bed about 4 a.m. and then "rose again" at 6:45 to get ready for the first service.Linda came in and announced "We have an Easter suprise!" Laura and Kyle had posted new photos of Abby! (We are always excited and pleased with these!) I went to the computer to see and spent too much time there saving and pasting and printing the pictures up for Linda to take to church for "show and tell." This is becoming a favorite sport for us.

We finally got to church just after 8:00 for the 8:30 service. I set up the computer and projector, booted up the PPT announcement loop, started the pre-worship CD music, had some strong guys move the grand piano out for us, and started greeting people. This was my first Easter with this church and I did not know what to expect at this service. We ended up with 52 present at 8:30...which included five or six visitors. Lori got there to play the piano, Amy got the PPT remote, the mikes were tested, and we started church. We sang with the piano this Sunday; usually we sing to CD's of various praise and worship artists or instrumentals. We sang the traditional "Up From The Grave He Arose" song and chorus.

When we got to children's time I looked back to the woman whose job that is and saw her giving me the "I've got nothing" panicked look. Quick adjust. I did children's time.We have a time after that for placing tithes and gifts in the "Lord's Box" (instead of passing the offering plate). Then we greet each other, refresh our selves with juice, coffee, cookies, and come back together for prayer and the rest of the service.

Our person who runs the CD changer was not there and with Lori over on the grand piano, no back-up, so I did that, too. Then after another chorus, the sermon. Sermons take on a life of their own sometimes. When they are "ripe and ready" they flow and everything works. This one worked, pretty well. At the end, we have a quiet meditation/decision time, then we all form a circle around the worship area and give each other a benediction. It was good to see people there, holding hands, singing, "Alleluia!" as the service came to a close. And afterward, people hung around and visited. For a long time. I mark that as a good sign of congregational health. (In unhappy congregations, if they show up at all, people leave as soon as services are over).

One of our youth was hanging around while I was putting up the computer, projector, etc. I asked him if he wanted to help and he responded by being a big help in putting things up. (Since our Center is used so much for other activities during the week, we set up and strike our worship "set" every week). We moved the flowers from the gym to the Sanctuary which had a very different set up and already looked very nice, with a some ferns and a litttle couchant lamb in front of the altar and large sprays of multicolored/types of flowers on each side of the chancel. We placed the lillies on the altar and on the rails to the sides of the lecturn and pulpit. The choir director's husband had draped the large wall cross with a strip of white cloth. And added a crown of thorns to it.

After a couple of conversations with people in my study, I robed in white for the traditional service, met the choir in the choir room, prayed with them, and processed into the fairly filled little sanctuary. There were about 70 there. The liturgist led the first half of the service, two girls lit the candles (they are new, and untrained, but eager to be involved, and do this well). I did children's time in this service, as well, surrounded by little girls with flashing lights in their shoes, bunnies in their hands, and so forth. One mother brought her one-year old down to the chancel steps as well.

This congregation has the tradition of the choir presenting an Easter cantata on Easter. Most of my previous congregations have left Easter Sunday for the pastor to expound on the resurrection story, and do their cantata a week earlier on Palm Sunday. While I liked preaching on Easter, I never liked celebrating the resurrection with a cantata a week before Jesus had died. I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but it was a sort of theological cart-before-the-horse thing. Anyway, the choir had worked hard on a Cantata. Our choir does not, for the most part, read music. So it takes them a long time to learn an anthem, let alone a full cantata with eight pieces of music in it. I chose to sing with them (1) because I like to sing; (2) I thought I could help the bass section.

So we presented a true Easter cantata on Easter as a major portion of the service. It went well. We sing to a CD so we have a full orchestra playing for us. Our choir director helps us start on time, make our entrances, and tells us when to cut off at the end. I was miked so I could read the narration between the musical pieces. When it was over, the congregation sang the "He arose!" chorus and we were done. I greeted everyone and went the study and sat down, thankful it had gone well.

After awhle Linda and I went home where she finished preparing food for us to take to Mom's for the family Easter Dinner. I believe this was the first Easter dinner in a long, long time we spent away from our house. We arrived there around 3:00, and had a good meal around the enlarged oak dining table in the dining room. Our ranks are a bit thinner. Brother Don and our Dad are not with us any more. Brother Robert was singing a Mozart requiem in Shreveport, so he and Mary were not there. Michael's friend from QQUMC was there, though. We left two empty chairs, one for Moses and one for Elijah?) sang our family grace, and ate just the right amount of spiral honey ham, potato salad, green salad, corn, asparagus, and two kinds of homemade bread. YUM!

We enjoyed the time together visiting, playing, punning (a big sport in the Armstrong clan), and sharing our various Easter church experiences. We had phone calls from Laura in Boston and Jennifer in Fort Smith which we put on speaker phone so we could all interact. Jim showed up from Camden after a while, and we all gradually went our separate ways.

Linda and I got home around 9:30 or so. I was tired, but caffiened up, so I sat down to watch some news and get some thumb exercise with the remote control. After a while, about to doze off, I came across TCM's presentation of an old Cecil B. DeMille black and white silent film about the crucifixion and resurrection. I had never seen it, so I watched it. It was an interesting hollywood blending of the various scriptural texts, leaving some out, inventing others, etc. When Jesus rose again I hit the sack and slept very well.

So now is Monday, the Day After. The Pilot has cut the thursters back for a while and I don't feel real motivated to do much of anything today (except blog, I suppose). But I know there are new events and opportunities waiting just ahead, a UMW meeting at 6:00 and Linda has a group to lead at the Women's Shelter at 7:00 tonight. Later on, I'l go get my calendar and get to work on the rest of my week. More later. We are coming in for a landing soon, and new possibilities await.