Our congregation has a long tradition of worship every evening of Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday. That means as staff and worship leaders, our days and evenings are filled with scripture and prayer that center around the end of Jesus’ life and the promise of Easter. It is a holy time in which truth telling happens.
We collectively remember the moment on Ash Wednesday when we hear the words: You are dust and to dust you shall return. That time is sober and reflective.
Even in the sadness of Holy Week we still, in our bones, sing this refrain: All of us go down to the dust, yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
We have one foot in each reality: death and life.
We are again straddling that same holy divide. This week we have two funerals of cherished congregation members and friends. There are additional folks in hospice or the hospital who need love and care. The atmosphere is thick with concern, hard conversations, and being the loving presence of God when that is all we can do.
Life feels urgent when death is near. Regular details take a back seat to tending to relationships. Scripture and prayer fill our days.
Just like Holy Week, the stories we are walking through can be sad and lonely. It is hard to approach death. And yet, just like Holy Week we know that all our stories end with the promise of Easter. We sing our alleluia song over and over again!
It feels like Holy Week because this is a holy week.
~ Pam
We collectively remember the moment on Ash Wednesday when we hear the words: You are dust and to dust you shall return. That time is sober and reflective.
Even in the sadness of Holy Week we still, in our bones, sing this refrain: All of us go down to the dust, yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
We have one foot in each reality: death and life.
We are again straddling that same holy divide. This week we have two funerals of cherished congregation members and friends. There are additional folks in hospice or the hospital who need love and care. The atmosphere is thick with concern, hard conversations, and being the loving presence of God when that is all we can do.
Life feels urgent when death is near. Regular details take a back seat to tending to relationships. Scripture and prayer fill our days.
Just like Holy Week, the stories we are walking through can be sad and lonely. It is hard to approach death. And yet, just like Holy Week we know that all our stories end with the promise of Easter. We sing our alleluia song over and over again!
It feels like Holy Week because this is a holy week.
~ Pam
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