Quarantine 2020

And yet… if I am honest, I am also more present than I used to be. In moments when I just sit on my porch and look at the sunrise (like Easter morning!), I can feel God’s presence. When I get lost in sidewalk chalk and frisbees and bikes and scooters, I am more aware of the joy that these simple treasures bring. When I allow myself to pay attention to the food that we are preparing, I see the beauty of a cut carrot and the mystery of a raspberry, and I am sometimes stopped in my tracks.

We all have our own traditions around Easter—egg hunts, family lunches, Easter lilies, and meaningful worship. This year, those traditions will not be the same, and yet, we believe that just like every Easter before, the sun will rise, and something will be different.

This year, despite our physical distance, we invite you to carve out some sacred space in the comfort of your own home to recognize the holiness of this day.

This is a simple liturgy for your own personal Easter Sunrise service. Why sunrise? Every year, thousands of people celebrate Easter at sunrise because the women discovered the empty tomb early in the morning, “while it was still dark” (John 20:1). Therefore, we invite and challenge you to be like these brave biblical women, to rise in the dark, to recognize the wilderness, and to watch the sun rise over it.

What lies ahead? What’s next? Easter. We have seven weeks of Eastertide and we will journey through this season. Which is to say, we have time to feel our feelings and acknowledge the strangeness of this Eastertide...and...maybe we will relate to the experience of those bewildered disciples in a new way.

We all have our own traditions around Easter—egg hunts, family lunches, Easter lilies, and meaningful worship. This year, those traditions will not be the same, and yet, we believe that just like every Easter before, the sun will rise, and something will be different.

This year, despite our physical distance, we invite you to carve out some sacred space in the comfort of your own home to recognize the holiness of this day.

This is a simple liturgy for your own personal Easter Sunrise service. Why sunrise? Every year, thousands of people celebrate Easter at sunrise because the women discovered the empty tomb early in the morning, “while it was still dark” (John 20:1). Therefore, we invite and challenge you to be like these brave biblical women, to rise in the dark, to recognize the wilderness, and to watch the sun rise over it.

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. “Maundy” means commandment, referencing the new commandment Jesus gave his disciples on this day; for it was on this day that Jesus had his last meal with his disciples. Jesus broke bread, washed the disciples’ feet, and hinted at his coming crucifixion and betrayal. At the time, the disciples did not realize the significance of this moment, but now we recognize how powerful and special this last supper was. As a result, it is our Christian tradition to celebrate this evening with the gift of worship and the sacrament of Communion, just as the disciples did on that night.

This year, we are unable to gather together in person to share in Communion and to honor this sacred night, so we have adapted this at-home liturgy to serve as a reminder that God meets us at every table. Every meal we share is a reminder of the holy meal we share during Communion. May this liturgy be a source of reorientation to the sacredness all around us.