Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

What an extraordinary Holy Week and Easter we have had this year! I've heard from many of you how our worship together over that time was both moving and meaningful. I share those sentiments. From the lows of the crucifixion on Good Friday to the exuberant joys of Easter Sunday, the Holy Spirit has been powerfully with us.

While Lent is now past, Easter continues over fifty days until Pentecost (May 30 th this year). The two seasons complement each other beautifully: if Lent were a time for us to contemplate our sins of commission—the vices that distract us from God—Easter is a time to ponder our sins of omission, our neglect of the virtues with which we sometimes forget to clothe ourselves in the afterglow of Christ's resurrection.

As our Easter Epistle exhorted us: “if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:1-3). Among the Christian virtues (or “fruits of the Spirit”) associated with the risen life are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

These are not just for Sunday mornings. These are Spiritual fruits we need to nurture at home with our loved ones, as well as out in “the world” where the daily challenges we face are matched only by the call we have to let our “light so shine” in witness to Christ's love.

Recently I watched again the movie Godspell , first released in 1973. At the end of the film, the modern day disciples lift the Christ-figure from a chained fence and bear him up on their shoulders. Singing in counterpoint the choruses, “Long live God” and “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,” they carry him down an empty sidewalk in New York City and disappear around a corner.

The camera then slowly pans toward the corner, arousing the curiosity of the viewer. Where have they taken Christ? As the camera finally reaches the bend, the closing shot reveals a sidewalk filled with people, coming and going about their business. The Christ-figure and his disciples are nowhere to be seen.

. . . Or are they? That is the closing message of the movie. Easter happened long ago. But everything Jesus was and is remains. He resides within us, as we, the Body of Christ, continue to bear him up along the city streets of our century.

I'd like to close by thanking two persons for their service to our congregation over this past year. First, I'm grateful to Bonnie Johnson for her ministry as our Youth Minister since last summer until her resignation at the end of March. While she will be continuing as an Advisor until July, she will be leaving us for a new home in Charlottesville over the summer. We wish her Godspeed and pray that she will enrich the lives of those she meets there as much as she has blessed us with her ministry at Pohick. In the meantime, I have formed a Search Committee to help me delineate and fill the Youth Minister position, tasks we hope to accomplish by mid-summer.

Secondly, I'd like to thank Paula Boundy for her steadfast work on the Pohick Post this past year. Due to increased responsibilities, Paula will be resigning as editor after the publication of the May edition. Lori Buckius and Carmel Hodge will be taking over beginning with next month's issue. Thanks to both of them for stepping up to the plate, as well as again to Paula for her much appreciated ministry this past year.

A joyous Easter season to you all!

Faithfully,

Donald D. Binder+

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