My dear people of Grace,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.       Romans 1:7

The joy of the Festival of the Resurrection of the Lord is drawing close, a time that many in our congregation will return to in-person worship on this joyous day. Of course, not all will make that choice. “All may; none must.” As I indicated in my letter to you of last week, this writing will provide information about what you can expect on Easter morning.

You will hear the beloved story again, the story that is the heart of our Christian hope. We will greet one another with the joy and peace that is ours as a community of the faithful. Of course, the basic elements of the liturgy, the order of our worship, will be present and we will participate in them in a slightly different way. We will partake of Holy Communion. We will pray and praise and rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus.

The Covid Response Task Force and your Council and I have carefully considered the steps and practices that are to be observed to make this a safe gathering for all. Please, these are not to be considered “rules” to follow. Rather, please consider them as safety precautions that make our in-person gathering possible. And, as in all things, we are exhorted by Dr. Luther to put the best construction on that which we hear and read. As always, if you have any questions or want to discuss any of this further, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of Council.

There is one more item of note. Because of the uncertainty at the time which our order for the Easter Lilies was due, we planned only a few since we anticipated online worship only. You are invited to bring a potted plant (not a bouquet please) to church on Easter Sunday morning. You can leave it in the narthex and one of the helpers will bring it to the area around the altar. We ask that you leave it there for both services and, if you want to take it home for planting, that you come back during office hours to pick it up. Watching the chancel becoming more and more beautiful certainly will be a meaningful part of our worship together. If the chancel becomes too full, plants will be placed elsewhere in our worship space.

After Easter worship, your Council and I will evaluate the possibility of continuing this limited in-person worship in the Sundays that follow beginning on the third Sunday of Easter, April 18th. Further announcements will be forthcoming. I pray God’s blessings on you during this Holy Week, that you may have glimpses of God’s abundant grace and the new life made ours in the life and death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Peace and grace to you and yours,

Pastor Pam Smith