From the Pastor:
Eastertide

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
~Psalm 30:11-12

Dear Friends,

We are now in the season of Easter, a season filled with the wisdom of Jesus that comes from beyond the suffering, beyond the grave, beyond what we can discern for ourselves. One of these gems of his wisdom is the extent to which he invites—implores—the community he founded to care for one another.

Beginning with a few disciples whose skills were, in the beginning limited to working in the family business (fishing!), Jesus builds a community of diverse men and women who learn from him what it is to make a difference in their homebase and beyond. They learn how to talk to people, how to earn their trust, how to offer them support and healing, even how to feed them(!). Jesus built the most durable community the world has ever known.

Community is incredibly important right now, as norms and institutions fracture all around us. Faith community is a particular flavor of community that not everyone is looking for, but which, I believe, more people need than are aware of that need. Everyone needs a place where, as in the famous “Cheers” bar, “everybody knows your name, and we’re always glad you came.”

In his last Easter address to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said,

The light of Easter impels us to break down the barriers that create division and are fraught with grave political and economic consequences. It impels us to care for one another, to increase our mutual solidarity, and to work for the integral development of each human person…

In true community, we are always seeking to break down these barriers. In true community, we are invited to care for one another, to increase our sense of “togetherness” that builds the community up, and to continually work for the nourishment and blossoming of each person.

In the name of pursuing community, I invite each person in our faith community, whether you are a member or not, to invite someone to church. I invite you to do it every week throughout the month of May. I invite you to help our community to grow and thrive in the way it has, in the past, grown and thrived best: through word of mouth, personal invitations, and friends bringing friends.

I leave you with words of last prayer Pope Francis wrote for Easter Mass, that they might bless and sustain you:

Sisters, brothers, in the wonder of the Easter faith, carrying in our hearts every expectation of peace and liberation, we can say: with You, O Lord, everything is new. With you, everything begins again.

With God, siblings in Christ, everything begins again.

Grace and Peace, Rev. Pat Raube