Update: April 9, 3:15pm
As the spring days grow longer and brighter, we find ourselves in the dark before the dawn. Holy Week has been different this year - more somber somehow, in the solitude of isolation. There is comfort in community, and we long for our people. Today is Maundy Thursday, the day Christ commanded us to follow his acts of humility in the washing of feet (Maundy is derived from the Latin, "mandatum," meaning "command"). This is also the day of the Last Supper. Traditionally the church would be busy today. We would have had a service, followed by an Agape dinner, then the Stripping of the Altar, and finally Watch Through the Night. But we can't gather. So, we're doing what we can in new and different ways. Parishioners have registered for virtual agape dinners and will meet this evening over Zoom, a virtual service will be posted on Facebook at 7:00pm, and a virtual Watch Through the Night will begin at 8:00pm on Facebook, and run through until noon tomorrow, with people creating their own sacred spaces at home or using the video of our Trinity votive candles as a focus. It won't be the same, we know that. It feels sad and lonely. It's just...not enough. But on Sunday, life begins anew! We will huddle around computer screens, ipads and smart phones to watch a virtual service at 11:00 am on Facebook. The Risen Christ will bring an end to the sorrow and loneliness we suffer. We'll be transformed by His love, and it will be a reminder to all of us that this, too, shall pass. We will be together again. Our community will be stronger, and our love that much greater.