In the first days of reflection after the resurrection, it is so easy for us to get back to the other things in our life without taking much note of what has just happened. Maybe this year is a little bit different because there are not quite so many things tugging at our attention span. But the fact remains, it is difficult to keep our focus on a specific event, even if that event changes everything.

We must remember that Jesus didn’t just jump up from the tomb and come back to breakfast with the disciples. There is an important tension of not knowing for a time after the miracles of Easter day. The disciples were not all together, so not all of them hear the testimony of the women who see him at the tomb. We know that one pair of them are already out of the city, well on their way to Emmaus when the truth catches up to them. Who knows where Thomas was during these first days, but clearly he skeptically rejects the witness of others that Jesus has appeared to them.

Others seem to have already retreated to Galilee either in fear for their lives, out of their association with Jesus, or more likely, in despondence over what seemed like the whole failed experiment with this new “love-over-law” community. They are not city men. They are fishermen, and the pull of the familiar draws them back to the beaches where the whole journey began. Here they can be with things you can count on; the seasons of the year, the tides of the sea, the habitual way the schools of fish move from place to place beneath its surface. These are the things of repetition…these are the things they know. But what just happened in Jerusalem that they are not so sure about?

For us, there was an Easter Egg hunt with the kids, a contest for most flamboyant hat, and a large lunch made up of so many of the things we haven’t seen since before Ash Wednesday. For us all, these little things are reminders of the things we know happened in Jerusalem. But for the disciples there was no such cultural current that swept them along into a new way of living. They had to learn it bit by bit, and one by one, and moment by moment.

Maybe it was this time of not knowing that makes the news so undeniable once they hear it. Maybe it was their feeling of great loss in the absence of their friend and teacher. Or, maybe it was even their separation from one another as their community dissolves back into “life like it used to be.”  But something causes them to look for answers, to look around themselves, to look within themselves for the meaning of all that just happened in their lives.

That is what the "Season of Easter" is all about. We feast for the next 50 days to remind ourselves that nothing is the same as before that first Easter. There is an excellent word in Greek that we don’t really have a parallel word for in English. The word is “Anamnesis.” The closest thing we have to it is “Remember,” but it means so much more than that.

Anamnesis is like when we are at communion and the language sounds like we are right in the upper room with Jesus. Anamnesis is like what the Father at a Passover table says as he gives the traditional answer to a child’s question, “Why do we eat the food standing up? Why these odd dishes? What makes this night different from every other night?” And the parent answers, “On this night our God delivered us from slavery and brought us through the Red Sea on dry land. And we became a people travelling to a land of promise.”  Do you see, he does not say that this great thing happened to our ancestors centuries ago, he says “It happened to us!” And in that moment, the memory is brought to the present generation. That is “Anamnesis.”

We feast to re-tell the stories, to bring them to us and to bring us to them. We feast to wonder about the characters, to imagine what this time may have been like in that very first year. We feast to celebrate, to recall, to put-back-together ("re-member") every piece of the tradition that we will forget if we do not keep the feast.

This is why the whole season of Easter is important, not just its first great festival day, splendid as it is. Every one of these 50 days brings us a new opportunity to “re-member” something for ourselves and for others.

So knock yourself out! Dream up a new way to tell this old story. Send a card to someone you haven’t seen in years – just because it is Easter. Make a visit to a family member or a friend and take along a favorite Easter treat, (even if it is just a row of marshmallow Peeps), or your best Easter bread, or some delicacy that reminds you of spring, new birth, and a new chance at life. Children will not forget that you did this for them.

I remember a dear aunt who did this in so many ways for me. In the end, she had as much of a hand as anyone in making me into, well – me. What a gift and how much I still appreciate it even 20 years after her death. That probably doesn’t count as an Easter miracle, but I can tell you this. She is very much with me at every Easter, and the little things she said, the little gifts she gave, these are what I "re-member" and what gives me passion to teach others the importance of feasting, celebration, and witness.

Message from Sue: As your newsletter editor, I was aware of all of the special services being planned for Holy Week. And having "attended" most of them, I believe I can speak on behalf of our parish that, despite the pandemic and the second year we were unable to worship in person for Holy Week and Easter, this was a VERY special and spiritual week!

If you were unable to join us for any of these services, you can watch them on the CHS YouTube Channel - Click Here

Remember, if you chose to do the Mite Box Lenten practice, you can send your accumulated donation to the church marked "Mite Box" or make an online payment using our "Give" option on the CHS website and selecting "Mite Box" in the funds drop down box. Our Outreach Committee will select the organization to receive these funds.

Alleluia - Alleluia! Sue

ALTAR FLOWER GUILD

The beautiful Altar Flower arrangements for Easter were wonderful and created by the CHS Altar Flower Guild. Going forward, each week, the flower arrangements for the Sunday Eucharist will continue to be created by the dedicated Altar Flower Guild. Each member signs up for several weekends a year. If you would like to join us, please contact Marty Williams. You will be partnered with a current member for a while until your are ready to "go solo."

We also welcome donations to cover the cost of the flowers. Donations can be made online through the CHS website or by check payable to CHS and noted "Flowers." Also please indicate if your donation is in memory of someone and/or for a specific week.

Our first Garden Party on April 1st was postponed due to inclement weather. Not a very nice "April Fools' prank" from Mother Nature! But a few hardy folk on Monday April 5th began our spring clean up along the front yard by Monument Road.

We discovered a number of "memorial stones" buried under accumulated garden debris. We assume they are for members who passed a long time ago. We will do research, but if any one has any information about these memorial stones, please let Ann Pike-Paris know.

Come Join Our Garden Parties - As warmer days begin, our CHS campus gardens are coming to life. We have many more beds to clean out, bushes to trim, mulch to lay down...

If you are interested in helping out even a couple of hours, call or send Ann Pike-Paris an email and she will include you on her team updates and work day schedules and task lists.  Sometimes our best planning for scheduled workdays are spoiled by Mother Nature. However, please mark your calendar for the scheduled Garden Parties listed below.

Dates are weather dependent

 April: 5^th (Monday) 17^th (Saturday)

 May: 6^th (Thursday) 22^nd (Saturday)

 June: 3^rd (Thursday) 19^th (Saturday)

 July: 1^st (Thursday) 17^th (Saturday)

 August: 5^th (Thursday) 14^th (Saturday)

 September:  2^nd (Thursday) 18^th (Saturday)

Even if you can't join us on one of our planned work days, give Ann a call and she can tell you what needs to be done and you can do it when convenient. Many hands will make our campus work light.  Thank you. Ann

The flyer for this event is attached.

This all deserves REPEATING.....The recent CDC interim guidelines for fully vaccinated people regarding visiting, quarantining and testing are encouraging. Please continue, however, to take all precautions in public with social distancing, masking and avoiding medium and large in-person gatherings. And if experiencing COVID symptoms, get tested.

The Church of the Holy Spirit has a scholarship program open to all CHS seniors that go on to higher learning. We had two seniors who applied for the scholarship of $1,000; Margaret (Maggie) Bragdon and Natalie Sweeny. They both have finished their first semesters at Dickenson in Carlisle PA and Cornell in Ithaca NY respectively and their transcripts show that, even in this pandemic, it is possible to do outstanding work.

Rich Weeks

Check out their Facebook page to see how your donations help our families in true need.

Our current book is The God We Never Knew by Marcus Borg. 

If you have a story or "silver lining" to share from your personal experiences during the past year, please send it to me. Think of it as a chance to share what you might say at a coffee hour. Please indicate if you want your contribution to be published anonymously. Sue

joer@chsorleans.org

774-358-0559

Make sure your message includes how Joe can respond to your call.

CHS WEB SITE UPDATE: To live stream or watch recorded services later, please go to our web site holyspiritorleans.org and click on “VIEW ONLINE”. To download the Sunday Service Bulletin, select “CLICK HERE FOR SUNDAY SERVICE BULLETIN”

IN PERSON-MEETINGS: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have suspended in-person meetings on our church campus. If you need access, please call the office and someone will call you back. If you need to drop something off, please use the black mailbox that is outside the office door. To reach the clergy for emergencies or other church related business please call the church office and press 0 or email Gail+ gsmith at chsorleans.org

SUNDAY'S GLIMPSE OF THE GOSPEL: The Gospel speaks to us today personally and as a community. Join us Sundays at 8:45 a.m. to delve into the Gospel and pray for one another. Contact Gail Smith+ for the Zoom link.

CENTERING PRAYER: Until CHS can resume hosting, the Monday and Thursday Centering Prayer gatherings will be held at 4:30 at the Orleans Federated Church. Wearing a mask, ring the bell and enter through the door on the East side of the building. Sign in, and look for us at the end of the hall to your right. Sometimes we meet in the Sanctuary upstairs.

WEDNESDAY MORNING PRAYER GROUP: The CHS Morning Prayer Group prays on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. from the comfort of their own homes. Contact Richard O'Hara and he will send you the coming month's scripture readings for Wednesdays. His email and phone numbers are in the Parish Directory.

FEELING PINCHED AND STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET because of the pandemic's impact on your life? Please contact Gail Smith+. Funds are available through the Discretionary Fund.

FORWARD DAY BY DAY: Copies of the November, December and January book are now available. Contact Debbi in the Parish Office. She will mail it to you.

SET UP ONLINE GIVING One great benefit of our online giving platform is that you can make periodic donations for special events or giving as well as set up recurring payments for the year on whatever schedule works best for you (weekly, monthly, quarterly) and then sit back and relax.

Click here to open the CHS website "Give Now" page that provides the links to online giving. To set up recurring payments toward your 2021 Pledge, simply choose "2021 General Giving & Pledges" from the drop-down menu, check the box "Make this gift recurring," and fill in the details. If you would like to pre-pay your 2021 Pledge this year, for tax purposes for example, choose the same category, "2021 General Giving & Pledges," when making your online donation this month. Any questions, please contact the church office.

For "one- time" specific donations, select the fund in the drop down box, fill in the amount and any special instructions.

PRAYER REQUEST: Please call the office with your prayer requests at 508-255-0433 and leave a message. They will remain on the CHS Public Prayer List for 4 weeks. If you need them to be on the list for a longer period, please let us know.

PRIVATE INTERCESSORY PRAYER: The CHS Intercessors is a small group of CHS members who are committed to pray regularly for your concerns. If you need private prayer for any reason, please call the Parish Office. Someone will contact you. ALL requests will be held in confidence. 

PARISH DIRECTORY: We no longer include member's personal contact information in our communications. Call the Parish Office and we will email you an electronic copy or snail-mail you a hard copy of the current Parish Directory so you can "stay in touch."

Upcoming dates to give you time to send a note, card, or call.

BIRTHDAYS   

           Bill Brown  4.01  Wayne Currey  4.02    Nancy Miller  4.03

Nancy Aucoin - 3.15.2021

Patricia Nickerson-Flor 3.30.2021

Dr. David Meguerdichian, Dr. Michael Meguerdichian, Dr. Nadia Huancuhuari,

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Editor - Sue Sasso newsletters@chsorleans.org