Welcome to another week!
I hope you had a blessed Easter. Was your church decorated with Easter lilies, tulips, hydrangeas, and hyacinths? Easter flowers smell incredible and lift my mood. It’s so great to see and feel springtime in the sanctuary.
Jesus’ resurrection brings such a sense of peace after the gory blackness of Good Friday. It’s easy to imagine the disciples’ excitement, anxiety, and hope when they heard that Jesus had risen.
Have you ever seen Eugene Bernand’s painting titled, “The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection?” Bernand’s depiction of John and Peter’s faces as they run to the empty tomb truly is worth a thousand words. It’s well worth an Internet search to see it.
Tuesday, April 22, is Earth Day and Friday, April 25, is Arbor Day. It seems appropriate that we celebrate creation during spring, when it trees and flowers seem to come alive after a long winter’s nap. I love trees and think it’s interesting that we have a day set aside to plant trees and think about their value.
Jesus saw value in trees, but not in the manner we value trees today. He cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit and taught a parable about the mustard seed, which grew into a three-to-five-foot tall tree. Jesus used trees as symbols of lives that bear or do not bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.
Earth Day is an over-general title for a day set aside to celebrate living things. I wish it were called Creation Day or something God-honoring.
Speaking of creation, the Atlantic Grange is offering a special way to celebrate spring. The annual Atlantic Grange Plant Auction will be held on Monday, May 5, at 6 pm. at the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall in Atlantic. This is always a popular event for local gardeners.
Now that churches are no longer hosting Lenten luncheons, you may be looking for a way to socialize at lunch time. There is a Community 55+ luncheon on Thursday, April 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at North Salem United Methodist Church. The luncheon is free of charge, but donations will be accepted. The money will be given to a senior citizen or hunger charity.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!