From the Pastor...

April is here and with it we celebrate the victory over death that we share with Christ. Our Lenten journey comes to an end as we remember Christ’s last Three Days. I want to share with you my reflection on the Three Days and especially the meaning behind the Great Vigil of Easter. May God bless us in our journey to Easter.
Pastor Scott

“Every Sunday in worship the church celebrates the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit gathers us to receive again the gifts of God that come to us through Christ, the saving Word. On several key days at the center of the church year, however, worship takes a particular shape. These central days have come to be known as the Three Days recalling Jesus’ own words to his disciples that he would be handed over to death, and that ‘after three days he would rise again.’ The Three Days encompass the time from Maundy Thursday through the evening of Easter Day. In particular the church has celebrated with the services of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Saturday Evening.” (ELW)
The Church celebrates these three days with one continuous service. No benediction is given on Thursday or Friday. This year, we will produce one bulletin for the three days. The Great Vigil of Easter is important because it is an expression of our spiritual boundary crossing. Each of the four scenes of this service points to some facet of our passage from death to life with Christ.  

Scene 1: The setting is the new fire, a symbol of Christ’s glorious resurrection from the dead. We quickly process to the sanctuary for the readings, led by the paschal candle. This action symbolizes Christ’s leading us from the darkness of sin to the light of forgiveness.

Scene 2: The readings remind us of our baptismal passage from death to life. The creation story prefigures our journey from the spiritual chaos of sin and death to eternal life in Christ. The flood story from Genesis 7-9 reminds us that we, like Noah, have been preserved from God’s condemnation, having been brought safely through the waters of baptism. Like Noah, we who have been saved are a new humanity. The exodus story suggests that we have been rescued from the slavery of sin and brought to the promised land of righteousness in Christ. Ezekiel’s prophecy of the valley of dry bones points to our reception of the life-giving Holy Spirit.

Scene 3: The focus shifts to the font, as we celebrate the central act of crossing the boundary from sin and death to new life with Christ in baptism. This celebration of baptism reminds us that in baptism we die and rise again with Christ and are cleansed from sin and “sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”




Scene 4: The focus is now on the Lord’s table. We remember how Christ, our Passover Lamb, was slaughtered to gain our freedom from sin and death. The risen Christ himself comes to be our food, filling us with faith, hope and love. In this act of remembrance we look toward our final transition from this world to the next, when we anticipate the day” when Christ will come again in beauty and power to share with us the great and promised feast.”

In addition to the Three Days celebrated at 7 pm each day, we will have noon services on: 
▸ Wednesday – guided meditation on the Stations of the Cross
▸ Thursday – Maundy Thursday Holy Communion
▸ Friday – Stations of the Cross Liturgy

I hope you all will join in the celebration of the Three Days with Christ.
Pastor Scott