Being Easter People

Many might not know this if you just see me on Sundays with my kids and with all the church kids, but I’ve been going through the hardest two years of my life. While it’s true that I have a deep and abiding joy not just on Sunday mornings but in my day-to-day life as well, it is also true that I have some very deep grief that I am living with. But this is what is means to be Easter people. Living in the “both/and” is everything about what it is to be a Christian. The tension of the already and not yet of the Kingdom of God means that we are living in the Kingdom now and we help to bring it to pass on Earth, but we are also still waiting with eager longing for the fullness of it to be revealed in and around us.

The Resurrection didn’t take away the grief of Thursday- Saturday. Jesus still died on the cross and was dead for three days, and his family and friends and followers were terribly grieved. The joy of that first Easter Day was that God declares that in the end joy will prevail. That’s not to say that we won’t have hard days and hard seasons. We live in a world where pain and sickness and death still have a presence. Day by day we help to bring about God’s perfect kingdom by loving ourselves and our neighbors and it is that very love that provides the foundation that holds us up when the days feel unbearable.

We are Easter people because we know the unfathomable peace and love of God, and there are days (like Easter morning at Holy Innocents!) that that is all we know. And then when the waves of grief come, we can sit with it, just like Mary and the disciples sat with their grief. The hard things are very real, and they can be very big but when it is all said and done Easter prevails.

There is no one that exemplifies this more than children. Pain is pain and when it is prominent that’s all there is, but when it subsides, the joy of the moment is all that matters. It is no wonder that Jesus said “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Matthew 19:14). For us adults it might take practice and repetition. So join us on Sunday mornings as we remember and rehearse the deep abiding joy of Christ and then carry it out into the world with us.

With love in Christ,

Renee 

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Youth Sunday

April 28

Graduating highschool senior, Emma Losin, will deliver the sermon, and we’ll honor all our seniors during the 10:15 AM service. Following the service, stick around for a reception. All 6th-12th graders to our Summer Kickoff from 4:00-7:00 PM. We’ll be playing an incredible game called Bubbleball which includes students getting inside of a giant bubble! We will also have a free food truck providing dinner and will have tons of fun games and other activities as well.

Contact Megan Atkinson | matkinson@holyinnocents.org

April 14

Our 6th-12th grade students will meet for youth group on Sunday, April 14th from 4:00-6:00 PM. We'll enjoy music and dinner together before using small groups to discuss our topic for the evening. Friends are always welcome. Please RSVP to give us a headcount for food.

GLOW | May 1

Let’s GLOW for Pentecost! Kids ages PreK-5th grade, join us for a science experiment and a very special GLOW about Pentecost and prayer. This is our last meeting before summer break so mark your calendars and join us for this special time. Let Ms. Renee know you’re coming here.

Click above to watch last Sunday's service!

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