April 25th, 2025 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

For many people, Easter is a one-day holiday. One single Sunday during which they might go to church and be reminded of Christ’s resurrection and afterwards gather with family to enjoy a special meal or give Easter baskets to the kids. It’s one special day and when it is over, it’s over and life goes back to normal on Monday.

For you and I, members of what Bishop Will Willimon calls “the community of the baptized” i.e. the Church – the community of people who have received new life from Christ and have chosen to follow in his ways. For us, Easter is more than just a one-day celebration. In the church calendar Easter is a 50-day season that runs from Easter Sunday all the way through to Pentecost. Eastertide, as it is known, is a season for us to focus on God’s resurrection power, to remember that the life of God is victorious over death, and that sins power has been canceled by Christ.

Easter is a good news season in which we are reminded of our call to live daily as resurrection people, bearers of God’s hope and carriers of God’s light; a people who embody peace and are willing to build peace in turbulent times. And here’s the thing: the call to be all those things does not end at Pentecost, because we are actually called to be resurrection people full time. Resurrection should be our defining mark all year round because Easter was and is decisive – a victory that changed everything forevermore. So, let’s continue to live into our calling as resurrection people, Memorial. Let’s do that in this Easter season AND all year round, living as beacons of light, hope, and peace in a community and world that needs it.

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie

April 18th, 2025 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

Dear Memorial:

By the time you receive this pastor’s note, we will already have remembered Christ’s gathering with his friends, the institution of the Lord’s Supper in our tradition, and the betrayal that would come soon after. Today, Good Friday, is the day that people of faith gather at the foot of the cross to sit with Jesus in his suffering and death, and to reflect on the example of sacrificial love that’s at the epicenter of his willingness to walk the Via Dolorosa.

On Sunday morning, some of us will gather at sunrise to celebrate and worship the risen Christ, and most of us will gather at either 8:00am, 9:30am, or 11:00am for Easter Sunday worship, also an announcement and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and all that it means for our lives.

And what does it mean for our lives?  That’s a good question that we could spend weeks exploring.  Clearly, we don’t have that space here, so let me offer you a brief thought for your own ponderance.

In Christ’s suffering and death, we encounter the depth of God’s love for the world (John 3:16). That God in Christ willingly enters into the human experience of suffering, absorbing the violence of the world into his body, and dying for the sake of us is the fullness of love. On this Good Friday, perhaps you will take a moment to sit quietly for a few minutes and reflect on the fullness of God’s love for you and for the world. There really is no greater love than the willing sacrificial love that is found in Christ. (John 15:13)

In Christ’s glorious resurrection, we encounter the sheer power of God.  Think about it: out of all the greatness, strength, intelligence, and creativity that exists in humans, only one of the billions of us who have lived on earth have even been able to overcome death. That one is Jesus, God’s Son. In him is all the frail humanity we know and experience AND all the fullness of God. The divine power that created us is the divine power that raises Jesus from the dead and makes him victorious over death, and that divine power is now shared with us so that we may know victory of sin and death.

May we all know the fullness of God’s love and power this Easter weekend.

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie

P.S – I can’t wait to see you at church this weekend. Why not invite a friend or family member to come with you to church? God’s perfect love and power over sin and death are for all people. Let’s share it extravagantly through our invitations to others!

April 11th, 2025 | Rev. Rachel Williams

Dear Friends,  

One of my favorite times during Lent has been the Noonday Ecumenical Services with our siblings in Christ from a handful of denominations. In fact, did you know that throughout these past weeks we have heard from clergy in the Presbyterian, United Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal, and Catholic traditions? Talk about a variety of beliefs and rituals converging in one space!

Each week, as we ventured from one church to another and heard from one clergy after another, we experienced the joy of gathering together, despite our differences, in celebration of the unity that guides us in our walk with Christ. Mother Rachel at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church concluded our series with a powerful word on the importance of gathering together, on recognizing that we are not called to be the same, that our differences should be celebrated as a diverse body.

That is a word that we can all carry with us these days. Our differences should not drive us apart, but they should be an opportunity for us to lean in, without hate or rancor, and learn something new about the person with whom we are sharing space.  

Can we be reminded of that this week, as we spend time inviting newcomers to our campus? Holy Week is one of those weeks when we have the great opportunity to practice holy hospitality. We have no idea who will come through our doors. We have no idea what impact the message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection will have on someone. Perhaps this is the first time someone will hear this Good News. How wonderful would it be if we could surround these folks with love and joy as they enter into this community? Let us be reminded of that as we gather together this week.  

With love and grace,  

Pastor Rachel