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| Blessing the New Fire before the Easter Vigil |
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| Retrieving a flame to light the Easter Candle -- without setting myself on fire |
It was truly a great and holy Holy Week, and Easter Sunday was magnificent. It was also a LOT of work, for a LOT of people. Please take time to thank someone who worked to make Easter so marvelous – whether it was the church itself, or the grounds, or the liturgy, or the music, or the reception on the lawn, or any other of the two hundred fifty nine moving parts that meshed smoothly together to give glory to the Risen Lord. Take a moment to thank them. I do; and I thank you for what you contributed, and for being here to rejoice with us. God bless you with Easter joy! Christ is risen from the dead; truly He is risen. Alleluia!
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| The sanctuary was still stripped and barren until 11:30 Holy Saturday morning. Count the moving parts in this photo - candles, sticks, flowers, pots, cloths, covers, tables etc. - and try to guess how many people it required to get the church into Full Festal Mode by 1:30. |
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| It was a perfect day to celebrate the Resurrection and enjoy the reception on the lawn, with so many home-made treats that parishioners brought! |
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| The Annual Egg Hunt On the Lawn proceeded precisely and with just the right degree of chaos among all our smaller revelers. |
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| The whole idea was to make people want to linger and visit. The preparations were so thorough that it seemed as if everything just came together in the moment. |
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| There was some very festive lingering going on; guess how many people had to work to make THAT happen! |
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| Our Altar Servers made our worship unfold beautifully. For each multi-hour liturgy, there was a multi-hour rehearsal, and they worked through it all without complaint! |
Monsignor Smith
