He is Risen! - Rector's Rambling for April 20, 2025

 Alleluia! Christ is Risen!  The Lord is Risen Indeed!

              This is the great Easter acclamation of the Resurrection.  The disciples greeted each other with this news on the day of our Lord’s Resurrection, which to the day the Church continues to proclaim.  He is Risen from the dead and because he is Risen death has been conquered and the gates of heaven opened for all of us who believe that Jesus is Lord.

Lent has seemed particularly long this year with its late start, and I hope that we have found it to be a fruitful time of recollection, repentance, and amendment of life in preparation for today’s grand feast day!  And just as we spent 40 days preparing in Lent, so too we will spend 40 days celebrating the Resurrection until the Feast of the Ascension on May 29th.  Let’s make the Easter Season as fruitful, spiritually, as Lent!  Take on extra devotions and prayer in gratitude for his propitiatory death, and for his gift of eternal life to us.

Two special things to note today.  At the 10 AM Service I am wearing a special cope that belonged to the late Bishop Roy B. Davis, Jr..  Bishop Davis served as a priest in parishes in California, Illinois, and Kentucky, and as a bishop in Ohio.  Bishop Davis’ son, Roy III started attend St. John’s in 2024 and I am most honored to be wearing his father’s cope for this important celebration.

Also today we give thanks for the new pew cushions that were given in memory of our late, longtime altar guild directress Virginia Burton.   As you can see we have a very large church with lots of pews, and this was quite an undertaking.  The old pew cushions were nearly 90 years old, and they were the replacement for  the original set that lasted over 75 years!  Here’s hoping this set will last well into the 2100s!

Next project  - refinishing and reupholstering of the kneelers!  Stay tuned for details to come.