South Stormont Pastoral Charge

Today is Easter Sunday. This is the day we proclaim that Christ is risen. It is a day of joy and hope. But the Easter story in today's reading does not begin with celebration. It begins in the dark. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb early on Sunday morning, before sunrise. The world around her is still dark. Her heart feels no different. She comes with grief and sorrow for the one she has loved. When Mary arrives, she finds the stone rolled away. She is shocked. Her first thought is not resurrection. She thinks someone has taken the body away. She runs to Peter and the other disciple and says, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” The two disciples run to the tomb. They look inside and see the burial cloths lying there, but they still do not understand what has happened. Then they go back home. But Mary stays. When Jesus died on the cross, she stayed near him. While other disciples ran away, she remained. Now again, she does not ...

# Profession of Our Faith (Unison)   God raised Jesus from death, turning sorrow into joy, despair into hope. We sing of Jesus raised from the dead. We sing hallelujah.   By becoming flesh in Jesus, God makes all things new. In Jesus’ life, teaching, and self-offering, God empowers us to live in love. In Jesus’ crucifixion, God bears the sin, grief, and suffering of the world. In Jesus’ resurrection, God overcomes death. Nothing separates us from the love of God.   The Risen Christ lives today, present to us and the source of our hope. In response to who Jesus was and to all he did and taught, to his life, death, and resurrection, and to his continuing presence with us through the Spirit, we celebrate him as the Word made flesh, the one in whom God and humanity are perfectly joined, the transformation of our lives, the Christ. *from A Song of Faith (A Faith Statement of the United Church of Canada) # Gathering Hymn Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Give Thanks (#179...

About 2000 years ago, Jerusalem was full of people. At Passover, pilgrims had come from many places. The streets were crowded, and the sound of voices filled the air. The whole city felt restless. Passover was the feast that remembered how God had brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt. It was a story of freedom. Yet as the people kept this feast, they were still living under Roman rule. They remembered God’s saving work in the past, yet many continued to carry the weight of oppression and a deep sense of helplessness. Jerusalem was full of religious energy, movement, and activity, but it was not truly open to new hope. The same habits remained. The same patterns continued. The same powers held their place. The temple was no longer “a house of prayer,” but had become “a den of robbers” (Mt. 21:13). The fig tree bore no fruit (Mt. 21:19). Religious leaders cared more about honour and status than about God’s way (Mt. 23:6-7). And Jesus said over the city, “See, your house is left to you,...

  *Gathering Hymn and Words Hosanna, Loud Hosanna (#123 VU) Hosanna, Loud Hosanna (v.1 | #123 VU) Sing: Hosanna, loud hosanna the happy children sang; through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang: to Jesus, who had blessed them, close folded to his breast, the children sang their praises ,the simplest and the best.   One: We join with the crowd that eagerly awaited the coming of Jesus.   All: Blessed is the One who comes in the name of God! Hosanna in the highest! One: Fulfilling prophecy, Jesus entered the city riding humbly on a donkey. All: Blessed is the One who comes in the name of God! Hosanna in the highest!   Hosanna, Loud Hosanna (v.2 | #123 VU) Sing: From Olivet they followed 'mid an exultant crowd, the victory palm-branch waving, and singing clear and loud; the Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state, content that little children should on his bidding wait.   One: Jesus’ followers were excited, filled with anticipation. Yet, w...