Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Easter Greetings to you all - may the joy of Easter remain with us these next several weeks as we settle more deeply into physical distancing and isolation due to COVID19.

I'm curious to know: how was your Easter Sunday? What service(s) did you participate in? Did you dress up in your fancy Easter outfits (complete with hats?!) and sing hymns at full voice? Was there a big Easter dinner on the table, even if fewer chairs were occupied? What traditions/activities did you notice carried through without us being together in a church?

I baked a ham and had two zoom calls that day - one with my family and one with my best friend. I sang "Now The Green Blade Riseth" at full voice along with members of Christ Church Cathedral's choir in ECCT's Easter service. I took a walk and admired the forsythia in full bloom, along with daffodils in a variety of shades of yellow and orange. I wore my Easter bonnet. I also missed so many familiar faces, I missed the beautiful Easter flowers that St. Paul's Windham Center always puts out, I missed that vibration in my toes as the organist pulls out every stop for the final verse of "Jesus Christ is Risen Today!", and I missed the lamb cake that one wonderful friend makes every year for coffee hour. And despite all of those things that I hold dear and could not see or particpate with, I still had a joyous day.

Because the truth is, I found the Risen Lord at the empty tomb just as easily from my couch as I did from my pew in years past. Jesus rose from the dead on that beautiful Easter morning, and He was going to rise from that tomb whether or not I was in a church or on my couch, wearing my pj's or my fancy dress, happy or sad about the current situation. Love was not defeated by death, and Love will not be defeated by COVID19.

This morning I read in the Gospel of Mark "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." (Mark 16:8 NRSV) These women who first visited the tomb did not find what they expected to find, and they went home to ponder what they experienced. They did not immediately gather into a large group and discuss what had happened. They went away - they, in a sense, were isolated and apart. I imagine that they pondered this situation in their hearts for some significant amount of time before they gathered to tell their friends. Let this be that time for us my friends - a time for us ponder in our hearts the Risen Lord. And when we are together again we can share our stories and experiences, and weave a stronger tapestry of the story of God in our lives.

Photo by Maggie Breen

Episcopal Church Foundation pubished a good article titled "What Could Being Church Look like Post COVID 19". I would encourage you to read it.

ECCT's page for COVID-19 update, which includes links to live stream services & other good info: https://www.episcopalct.org/covid-19-coronavirus-updates/

ECCT's page for Financial Resoruces for COVID-19: https://www.episcopalct.org/covid-19-coronavirus-updates/covid-19-financial-resources/

ECCT page for Self Care Resources: https://www.episcopalct.org/covid-19-coronavirus-updates/self-care-resources/

If you are looking for resources to egnage in work around Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation but can't find what you need, consider THIS FORM to help ECCT curate resources that fit your needs!

NE Region Satruday Noon Day Prayer via Zoom - you can CLICK HERE to join via the web OR you can use this number to call in: 1 646 558 8656 (a NY number, so not toll-free) and use meeting ID 492 284 976

Are you signed up for the ECCT eNews? CLICK HERE to get it delivered to your inbox!

Forget your Book of Common Prayer in your pew? HERE is a digital one!

I love this year’s Easter Gospel lesson. In a sense, it highlights the story behind the icon. The Gospel shows how Mary Magdalene was the first to see the empty tomb. She ran off to tell the news to the Apostles. John and Peter ran there and confirmed that the tomb was truly empty, but that’s all they did. It says “they did not understand the scripture” so they just went home. But Mary stayed behind at the tomb, and that’s where the main part of the story — and the icon — begins.

In The Risen Christ icon, the risen Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene and said to her, “Mary” (Μαριάμ). She gave a joyful shout and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (Ραββουνι) which means Teacher. Then the Lord said to her: “Touch me not (Μή μου ἅπτου); for I am not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and tell them: “I ascend to My Father, and your Father; to My God and to your God.” She ran back to the house, where the Apostles still remained in dismay, and proclaimed to them the joyous message, “I have seen the Lord!” This was the first preaching in the world about the Resurrection .  (I find that impressive.)

The Apostles proclaimed the Glad Tidings to the world, but she proclaimed it to the Apostles themselves. The Orthodox call Mary “The Apostle to the Apostles”, or “The Equal to the Apostles”. 

Mary was one of the first to follow the Lord as He journeyed around the countryside. Together with the pious women Joanna, Susanna and others, she served Him from her own possessions and undoubtedly shared with the Apostles the evangelic tasks in common with the other women. While all the disciples of the Savior ran, Mary Magdalene remained fearlessly at the Cross together with the Mother of God and the Apostle John. 

Holy Tradition testifies that when the Apostles departed from Jerusalem to preach to all the ends of the earth, Mary Magdalene also went with them. It goes on to say that she presented Emperor Tiberius with a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection and new life. Thanks to her, we have the custom of Easter eggs. In one location they are handed out with the words, “Thus have we received from the holy Fathers, who preserved this custom from the very time of the holy Apostles, therefore the holy Equal of the Apostles Mary Magdalene first showed believers the example of this joyful offering.” 

Staying with Jesus at the cross while the Apostles fled and confronting the emperor, made Mary a strong and influential leader. However, in 591 this led Pope Gregory the Great to identify Mary with one or more of the “sinful women” in the canonical Gospels despite all evidence to the contrary. His intention, and that of much of the church ‘leadership’ at the time, was that turning Mary into a prostitute diminished her importance and supported their argument for an all-male hierarchy. My take on this is “shame on them.”

Icon and article by David Clarke, St. John's Episcopal Church, Vernon

This is the space of possibility! A space where we have time to explore what we are curious about. A space where we can figure out how to find joy when we must be apart.

So..........here are some tools, tricks, and tips for bringing a little sunshine into your lives. All while keeping 6 feet away from each other. ;)

You can reach Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, the following ways:

MAIL:

Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, St. John's Episcopal Church, 523 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT 06066

PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154

EMAIL: [email protected]