My Dear Friends-

 

Life is full.

 

Sometimes, at the end of a long meeting, or perhaps a long day, or even just a brief encounter in the hall, Joy will pause, reflecting a moment, and then pronounce, often with a wry smile, "Life is full." At first I thought it was just "minister-speak" for "Life is hard." Or "What a day!" Or even, "Ugh!" And, if we're being honest, there might be a bit of that too-at least sometimes. But later I came to understand that there's something more to this little turn of phrase. Life can be hard. The days can be long. And sometimes? We don't have the words to express our frustration or exasperation or weariness. Ugh!

 

Haven't these last few weeks put us intimately in touch with these truths?

 

But to pause, in the midst of uncertainty, anxiety, difficulty... to pause and recall ourselves to the fullness of life... this is to abide in another truth: that life, like we ourselves, is never one thing only. The lives we live, the people we are (and are becoming), the faith we practice, the stories we share to make sense of it all... these are all so full: of nuance and complexity and richness and beauty.

 

We are approaching Palm Sunday and nearing the end of our Lenten journey. Our prayerbook tells us that "Palm Sunday commemorates Christ's entry into Jerusalem and anticipates his crucifixion. It has been our custom to observe the themes of acclaim and rejection in alternate years." Thus, this year, even in the midst of sickness and isolation, we observe the theme of acclaim. We lift our palms with the throngs who welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem and we raise our voices in the familiar refrain: "Hosanna!"

 

Our sacred story gives us one who arrives even in the midst of our world's heaviness and darkness-who yet comes to lighten and illumine. Do we imagine the trace of a wry smile as he greets the crowds from atop his humble mount? For surely he knows that these crowds will give way to others, less adoring; that acclaim and jubilation won't be the last word; that in the fullness of the story, light shines brightest in the darkness.

 

Life is full, indeed. Full of joys and sorrows, love and loss, hope in the dark. Those "hosannas" that we'll echo on this Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion? Our tradition commonly understands them as cheers and shouts of praise, and indeed, that was probably how many in the crowds who greeted Jesus intended them. But there was another meaning for those of Jesus time. In Hebrew, hosanna was "Help" or "Save, I pray." In the fullness of life, in the fullness of our story, praise is commingled with petition, adulation with entreaty. As it was for our forerunners in faith, so it is for us. In the darkness, hope in the light.

 

In faith and love,

 

David

From Dorie Seavey:

I have been touched and comforted by the services you all have been streaming online. I received a wonderful call of kindness from Cliff yesterday to "check in" on how KC members are doing. And I've taken such meaning from our environmental group meeting on Mondays at 12:30 PM-such interesting folks and the combination of our musings is always fascinating.  My best to all of you and thank you for everything you all are doing.

Creation of Our Online Services: If You Want To Know How the Sausage Is Made....

 

My sister said this week, "I feel like I'm starting my profession all over again." She's been a speech and language pathologist for 30 years, and superb at helping very young children with multiple special needs learn to say sounds and talk. It's a lot of hands-on care and encouragement, playing with toys, helping the infants and toddlers mimic her sounds, having them feel the shape of her mouth. Now my sister has to try to teach through a zoom call, with children darting on and off screen. In the past, she could serve 40 children each week. Now she is relieved if she can spend "zoom" time with 10. To prepare for the new sessions, my sister is watching and re-watching the webinars distributed by other speech and language pathologists; "I only can absorb a certain amount with each viewing," she told me.

 

This was one of the best conversations I've had recently, because my sister put in words what I've been feeling: (click here to read more from Joy)

Watch this space for more details of the Sunday before Earth Day, April 19.    In addition to our recorded service with guest preacher Tricia Brennan, there will be a live online event featuring members of the congregation sharing their thoughts, experiences, and actions related to the climate crisis. We are all on this journey together.

Despite changes to our scenery over the last couple of weeks, the History Program has remained hard at work determining the best ways to engage our community and visitors remotely. In addition to increased social media and blog posts on the History Program blog, there are exciting new projects in the works. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing new digital content and online exhibits, aimed at sharing our programs and history with online audiences and maintaining visitor engagement at this time. 

We are pleased to announce the launch of our first online exhibit,  Literary King's Chapel, exploring literary works and writings from the church's historic community throughout National Literature and Poetry Month. 

We look forward to hearing your feedback on this effort. Please contact  [email protected] with your questions and comments.

Starting the week after Easter, Cynthia Perkins and Kent Wittenburg will be leading a weekly discussion of the poetry of Ranier Maria Rilke from Book of Hours: Love Poems to God.  We will be using the edition translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, widely available digitally or in print at local libraries, Amazon, or other booksellers. Watch this space for more details.