40 Days of Celebration, plus 10 more! - Rector's Rambling for April 8, 2018

"Wouldn’t it be great if we could celebrate Easter for a long time?”  I overheard this statement at brunch last week, uttered by a young boy as he added treats to his basket at the candy bar.

I am pretty sure that his reason for wanting a longer celebration was probably centered on that basket of candy, but in fact Easter is a long-time celebration!  Forty days on our calendar and then a 10-day ancillary celebration following – from Ascension to Pentecost.

Yes, friends, it is still Easter!  We will continue the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ until May 10.  Just as Lent was a 40-day season, so too is Eastertide.  During this time we will look at what the Resurrection means to us believers in Jesus Christ, and we will also focus on the life of prayer in preparation for the Thy Kingdom Come Novena from May 10 to May 20.

We have several great opportunities for learning, fellowship, and outreach to the community during these next 50 days (40+10).  Yesterday, we had our second Community Hymn Sing,.  Thank you to Morley and Martina Stevenson, Anne Ruffley, Rod Gillespie, and the Music Department for putting together a wonderful afternoon.

On April 22, we have our Tigers Outing with the choir singing the National Anthem.  WE NEED YOUR TICKET ORDERS ASAP.

On May 5, we have our special event, actress Karen Abercrombie from the movie War Room, speaking about the Power of Prayer.  This is a fantastic movie, which you can watch today after coffee hour if you have not done so already.  This is already attracting a lot of attention and should be very well-attended.  We need St. John’s folks to attend to welcome our many guests!

From May 10 to 20 we will have our daily Evening Prayer at the Prayer Wall for Thy Kingdom Come.  On May 20, the Daughters of the King will be hosting a baby shower for Pregnancy Aid and the Outreach Committee will also on that day distribute yearly checks in support of local ministries.