Dear Members and Friends,
You are most likely reading this in the days before Easter Sunday. I am excited to celebrate this joyous occasion with all of you this year. I wanted to share a short story about what Easter was like for me as a child.
My sisters and I would wake up at an obnoxiously early hour every Easter Sunday. The anticipation of finding our hidden baskets made us giddy. We would rush out to the living room looking for those creatively-designed hard boiled eggs we had dyed the night before. Our baskets all looked the same, but were hidden in various nooks and crannies in the house. After they were found, jelly beans were eaten, a chocolate rabbit or two became deaf (due to their ears being bitten of, of course!), and we got ready for church. Dressed in our coordinating (if not identical) Easter dresses, the Norton family made their way down the center aisle and took their seats, middle way back, on the left side. Presbyterians have the same ‘unassigned/assigned self-seating’ that you are all familiar with as well.
This was how it was, for years and years, more like decades really. It was a chance to be together with our church family to celebrate a major event in our Christian practice. Slowly but surely, things changed for us Nortons. We started getting married, started having kids, and started what seems to be the unavoidable in-law shuffle that accompanies larger families with young kids. We have spread out to new churches, seeking a meaningful relationship with God. This year, like many others, we will not be worshipping together.
I tell you this memory not as a sad story, but as one to be celebrated. The presence of children and their families in our worship services is an unimaginable blessing. So many children never attend a worship service in their young lives. Others are only able to celebrate at holiday times when attending church is a forced tradition. This Easter, we get to welcome in all of the families who are looking for an invitation to God’s Kingdom. We know that everyone is welcome to His table, but we may be hesitant to actually send out the invitations ourselves. You have the power to make lasting memories in the world of our young children. Please don’t hesitate to say ‘hello, nice to see you” to that family who may (or may not) be new to church.
This Easter Sunday, it is my joyous hope that I can start a new tradition with my daughter, Lillian, and my husband John. We look forward to worshipping with you!
Blessings,
Courtney Rzeplinski
Director of Youth and Family Ministries
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