Friends,
As you can imagine, we are pretty busy here planning for Easter Services. We will have three in-person services, one on-line, and we will live stream. And that is just Sunday. Good Friday we will worship at noon and 7:00 pm and post our on-line service at 6:00 pm. And live stream. And it is all a lot to juggle and prepare. I always operate a to-do list and this week my list is pretty long and detailed.
And this morning I am laughing at myself.
I think I have been so focused on my to-do list, that I have forgotten something important. (Here comes the confession.)
God. I think I have forgotten to make space for God’s plans in all of this.
I don’t think I am the only one who does this. We can get so focused on a task, we forget to turn to God. We forget to love those around us as we do our work. We focus on getting the task done, and we don’t leave space for the Holy Spirit to fill with grace and possibility.
Singer-Songwriter Sara Groves has experienced this too. In her song “How is it between us” she writes about times when she feels tired and out of sort and:
Then I realize I’m forgetting God,
And that’s the root of all my misery.
Lord, first of all, how is it between you and me?
How is it between us?
How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last,
And what has happened since?
When I wake up I am on my way,
Reinventing the wheel and saving the day.
I have learned this lesson a thousand times,
I am the branch, and you are the vine.
Apart from you, we are mice and men,
With our fancy dreams of grandeur and no way to get there.
Lord first of all, how is it, between you and me?
(It is a lovely song and you can find it on YouTube. I like Sara Groves a lot.)
So caught up in what needs to be done, it is so easy to lose sight of God.
Easter belongs to God and here at wdmumc, God seems to have plans.
First, it was our Easter banner. It is a banner we used several years ago to announce our Easter worship times. We got it out and planned to put it up outside. In addition to the worship times, the banner also announced an Easter Egg hunt at 10 am. I had been so focused on my plans, I hadn’t thought of an Easter Egg Hunt. But, I shared the sign with you and wonderful volunteers came forward and we are having an Easter Egg hunt on Easter Sunday in our green space at 10 am. Thank you to our volunteers!
Then someone emailed this week and asked if we could sing the Hallelujah chorus at our in-person service. That had been a tradition here at WDMUMC, but this year with covid protocols in place, we wondered if it was possible. But why not? If you are attending in person or watching the Livestream, we are going to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. “And he shall reign forever and ever….”
Yesterday someone asked if we were going to sing at our 6:30 am service at Resthaven Cemetery. I wasn’t sure we would have singers. But this lovely person assured me that she would sing and last night I talked with her and game on! We will be singing. “This is a day of new beginnings….” Someone has agreed to play the trumpet. And our worship will rise with the sun!
Someone else emailed me yesterday. Could their children serve as acolytes? In all the planning for in-person worship and on-line worship, I hadn’t thought about acolytes. Yes! Carry in the light of Christ! Let it shine!
People have been preparing the altar and draping the cross and our Easter celebration is becoming bigger and bigger. Easter belongs to God. I am so grateful for the way God has worked through all of you in our Easter celebration.
This is one Sunday and much of what we do has grown out of tradition. I wonder how often we get caught up in the tasks of our lives and forget what plans God might be making. If we prioritize our task list, shouldn’t loving God and neighbor be at the top of the list? And how do we do that as we carry out the everyday tasks of life, going to our jobs, doing what we do in our work, paying bills, mowing the lawn? Loving God and neighbor may not seem practical in our competitive world. But how much our world would change if it were.
And if we can lose track of God in small things, how much easier is it to lose track of God in big things, racism, violence, hunger?
That first Easter was God’s plan. God overcame death. Insisted on life. Christ made loving God and neighbor the highest priority. Forgiveness, redemption, mercy, God’s to-do list.
We have big plans for Easter. God’s plans for us are even bigger.
Easter blessings to you,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org.
Our Easter Plans
Maundy Thursday Service This virtual service will post at 7:00 pm on Thursday. Our youth will be presenting this service.
Good Friday Services We will worship in-person at noon and 7:00 pm. We anticipate that there will be low attendance at the noon service. If you have been thinking that you would like to attend an in-person service, but you are not comfortable being in a crowd, this may be a good service for you to attend.
Our Virtual Good Friday service will premiere at 6:00 pm. We plan to Livestream our 7:00 pm service.
Easter Sunday Services We will worship in-person at 6:30 am at Resthaven Cemetery. Please bring a lawn chair. Our service will be located along Ashworth, just east of the gate. We will park along the lane in the cemetery. If you are able-bodied—please park further off and leave nearby parking spaces for those who are less mobile.
We will worship in-person in our sanctuary at 8:30 and 10:30. Please call the church to make a reservation or make a reservation on-line. We want to ensure that there is enough space for all to feel comfortable. We will celebrate Holy Communion in a covid-safe way. And we will sing the Hallelujah Chorus! These services will live-streamed.
Our Virtual Easter Service will premiere at 9:30. We will also celebrate Holy Communion. Please have bread or a cracker and juice or water ready.
Easter Egg Hunt At 10 am, we will be hunting for Easter Eggs in our green space. Bring your children and their friends.
Please wear a mask to all in-person events and social distance. If you are able, it would be helpful if you parked at Hillside Elementary.
How will all these plans work out? We don’t know.
We do know God has bigger plans for all of us, to give us life to share with others.
in whatever way you worship, in whatever is happening in your life, in whatever you are facing today, a happy blessed Easter to you.
