Day 391 | Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Day 391 - Audio Version

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Day 391 |  Wednesday, 14 April 2021

 In the USA we have surpassed 31.3 million cases of COVID-19 resulting in over 562 thousand deaths.  Spikes of new cases are appearing throughout the country.  Chautauqua County, as of this writing, has not updated the COVID figures from April 9.  I did hear on the radio that there were 89 new cases over the weekend with 23 in the Jamestown area.

 An Easter Season Beginning
“Something deep inside us calls us, beckons us.  We are looking for truth that anchors us in the midst of competing voices.  We are searching for life that sparkles with joy and glows with warmth.  We are finding our way to Christ, to community, to love.  And we are bold to sing a resurrection song.”

 An Easter Season Prayer
“Joyful and giving One, we continue to walk the path of resurrection, encountering you on the journey to Pentecost. It is easy to forget the celebration of Easter Day, yet we are an Easter people forever.

In this 50 days of Eastertide, may we daily live the resurrection in our spirits and show the joy of resurrection to all around us. When the joy is elusive, remind us, O God, that your plan for each of us and all of us in Christ's community is larger than our own desires, our own hurts, our own plans. Keep us connected to your energy of love, so that we cannot help but share it with the world.

As we await the day of the Holy Spirit, may you keep us alive in your hope.

We ask it in the name of the Risen One. Amen.”
 
An Easter Affirmation of Faith:
“We believe in an Easter God, who transforms darkness into light, hatred into tolerance, despair into hope.

We believe God is always working for good, changing every Good Friday nightmare into an Easter dream of new possibilities.

We believe in the risen Christ, who befriends us on our roads of searching and worry; who touches us through song and silence, word and gesture; who calls us by name to enter the dance of life.

We believe in the Spirit, the hidden presence behind every resurrection, who beckons us to leave tomb like safety and trust the gracious invitation to live joyfully.

We believe the Spirit is always renewing the church in making us a people who practice kindness, encourage beauty and work for justice and freedom.
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We believe we are in Easter people, a sign that with God all things are possible.”
 
A Quotation:
“Easter is not something to be argued, reasoned out, demonstrated. It is something to be experienced, enjoyed, wondered at.”  -Anonymous
 
Today: Prayers for wisdom and peace for the people of Minneapolis.