Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
So what does that mean as we seek to follow Jesus through the days of this pandemic! Is it relevant? Does it matter?
Yes in every way! In a time when our global attention has been fixated on death, and the avoidance of death, the resurrection of Jesus is a proclamation of life. Death does not get the last word in our lives and in our world. Because of Easter, we have hope, because God is at work drawing all things to the day of the date of resurrection and new creation. God gets the last word, and that word is “Life.”
Our worship for Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday will be live streamed. Please go to this page (https://stjohnslutheran.net/live-streaming-worship-at-st-johns/) for information regarding the services and to link to the live stream itself. For all of our services, we encourage you to download the worship handout prior to the service. The handout contains the words to the hymns and songs, as well as the readings, and the other components of the service. The handout also describes how to worship the Lord with your offering.
Easter Children’s Resources
We have several resources available for families with children, including an Easter Indoor Scavenger Hunt, and Easter Children’s Church outline. The Children’s Church resources are designed for parents to lead with their children.
Easter Vigil (April 11, 7:00 PM)
The Easter vigil service is the first celebration of the resurrection. The service includes a series of readings chronicling the story of salvation in the Old Testament, beginning with the creation.
Regarding lighting, Easter Vigil begins where Good Friday leaves off, in the darkness. We will reverse Good Friday darkness by gradually bringing the lights back on as we walk through the readings
The Easter Vigil also includes a baptism remembrance. We will be affirming and celebrating God’s gift to us in our baptism. Our usual practice is for worshipers to come forward to the baptism font for a blessing in celebration of their baptism. This year, we invite worshipers to use water in their homes for this remembrance.
Preparation: Gather the light sources from Good Friday once again. You will gradually turn them back on. We recommend that you start with your house lights dim as well. They will be turned on with the announcement of the resurrection. Also prepare a small bowl with water. We will be invited to mark each other or ourselves with this water in celebration of God’s gifts in Baptism.
Easter Sunday (April 12, 9:30 AM)
We celebrate our Savior’s victory over death and the hope that is ours because of the resurrection. This is an especially important truth to celebrate this year. Nothing in this world can undermine the hope that we have in Christ. Death itself is overcome in Him. The new creation has begun in Him.
We will not be able to make the Easter Flower Cross this year. But we invite you to take a picture of yourself with flowers you could have brought for the cross. Any flower will do! Even a dandelion! In addition, you may want to decorate your home worship space with flowers.
Preparation: Please send a picture of yourself with a flower or flowers from your yard. Send to Pastor Mike at pastormike@stjohnslutheran.net. We will include them in a slide show for our Easter Streaming service. It will be good to celebrate the beauty of the flowers. It will be even better to see one another on this day of hope.
Care Ministry at St. John’s: A message from Pastor Mark
Pastor Mark has provided an overview of what is happening in care ministry at St. John’s at this time, and how people can connect with the care that they need. To view the video message, please click here
Palm Sunday Processional
Thank you to all who submitted photos for our virtual Palm Sunday processional. To view the processional, please click here.
Maundy Thursday Online Home Communion
Thank you to all who submitted photos of how you set up for communion for our Maundy Thursday service. To view the slide show, please click here.
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