Friends,

It’s strange how fast time is going by. The altar guild just got done putting on the red altar hangings in preparation for Palm Sunday, bulletins are getting finalized, and in a weird way I feel like Easter is imminent even though we have eight more services to do before we reach Easter morning. Next week there won’t be a ton of time to sit and write e-mail, edit things and try to do things intentionally. I’m sure the week after Easter we will come up with a list of things to do differently the following year, but right now we are on the cusp of it being too late to do much differently this year. Regardless of our preparation level, we will start Holy Week with Palm Sunday this coming Sunday, which sets the stage for the darkness of Maundy Thursday, the absence of Good Friday, then to the new light of the Easter Vigil, and the sheer joy of Easter Sunday. It is going to be an emotional roller coaster, and we will undoubtedly be exhausted by the end of the 10:00 am Easter service. With all of the expectation, nervousness and excitement, I can’t help but still worry about paperwork.

We are tremendously lucky that we get another Bishop’s visit at the Easter Vigil. Last year, I truly thought that Bishop Stevenson and Bishop Harris joining us for this most holy service was a once in a lifetime event, but now we have Bishop Bud Shand joining us as well. This is special, but it adds even more work to an already busy week. When Bishops come, they confirm new members, which entails confirmation classes, collecting paperwork, making last minute changes, and for some reason, whenever I see a document to be filled out, I am filled with a sense of dread. Right now, I have done literally everything else I can possibly do to be productive other than collect that information and get it ready for the Bishop’s office. Even writing this article is a procrastination strategy. I can fill my time with one more activity before having to dive into that realm of data gathering and entry.

This happens every time Christmas, Easter or the Bishop’s visit rolls around. There is already a lot to do, and it is hard to find time to take care of all the extra stuff. I am supposed to be mediating on my Lenten journey, praying on the passion narrative, and pondering the glorious mysteries of the empty tomb, but right now I am sitting at my desk dreading this one task that will likely be done in about an hour after I start. Every year when things get stressful there is a glorious moment, when everyone tries to make everything perfect, and I notice some error in the middle of the service without a single way of fixing it, and everything works out fine. Usually, it’s just me a couple of others that notice, but for the people who are coming just to worship, everything seems fine.

The bureaucracy of the Church is important in its own little way, but it is not the Church. Bulletins are important, but they are not worship itself. These things help guide and safeguard what we are trying to grow, which is a community of people coming to worship in love. It doesn’t matter how perfect our bulletins appear if our worship is not rooted in the love that God has given us. If I totally fail in the paperwork, then shame on me, and I may get a talking to from the Bishop’s office, but Easter Sunday will still come around.

In many ways, I feel that the whole Church is preparing for some massive family gathering. We are setting out the tablecloths, so the wrinkles fall out in time. We are making a menu, buy groceries, and cleaning up the house. All of this is done with love, but we need to be ready to show that love when everyone arrives. Aunt Kathy may say something if there are wrinkles in the tablecloth, but what everyone will remember years later is the joy and laughter shared.

I think I am at the end of the road with procrastinating. I have two hours before I head home for the day, which is just enough time to agonize over these forms. The spiritual and emotional rollercoaster that is Holy Week starts on Sunday. I hope you come and experience every service, especially Maundy Thursday, because they make Easter that much more joyful and meaningful.

Blessings,

Nick