Dear St. Luke’s,

Easter was sooooo good. By design, Lent is supposed to spiritually prepare us for Easter. We leaned into this by offering prayers three times a day, and many took on disciplines intending to be drawn closer to God. It was also a ton of work, and many were ready for that last wonderful service when we knew our labors for the season were over. That moment when we could breathe a sigh of relief, turn off our brains and go home feeling like God just personally told us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Many of you reached out to me to express your gratitude for the work I put in this Holy Week and for Easter, and I must have been so exhausted. The thing is, I didn’t do that much, at least not compared to many others. Everyone was firing on all cylinders. Richard Maple and his AV crew were on top of every aspect of the services and found ways of broadcasting for the outside bits, even during a sudden storm. Sue Bentley and Victoria Elie worked tirelessly to make sure the bulletins were correct and in order. The choir went above and beyond. Between Maundy Thursday, The Easter Vigil, and both Easter Day services, they essentially sang a month’s worth of music in just a couple of days. The altar guild went above and beyond changing out the hangings and making sure the Church was always looking its best, even after it was just used. The vestry members on duty were invaluable. In addition to the regular vestry members on duty, Richard McFarland was sort of omnipresent and I often resorted to shouting orders at him even when he didn’t have any duties. The ushers, acolytes, Easter bunnies, food preparers, and sign changers all stepped up to the plate to welcome our guests on our high holy feast.

I just sort of showed up, played on my skateboard, tried to be calm for everyone else, and went with the flow. I had to preach a bunch. My worst one was about a B- and my best was a solid A. I doubt I could have done better if I prepared or worried more, but I think they definitely could have gotten worse if I had done so. I put forward effort this past week, but others deserve far more thanks than me for our beautiful Holy Week and Easter Sunday.

Thank you.

Blessings,

Nick