615AFC041206
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Aloha nui loa. That could be translated “I love you very much.” That would be accurate in spirit, certainly but perhaps is not adequate as a literal translation. Your Aloha Friday card comes today, Thursday, because tomorrow is Good Friday. Perhaps some of you will have the day off. Many of you will not; nonetheless, I want to send you my Easter greeting so that it will arrive before the weekend.
When I was growing up in Denver, our family was active in our home church, Corona Presbyterian. It was in downtown Denver at Eighth and Downing. Our Pastor, Rev. Bob Lutz, led a Sunrise Service every Easter at a nearby park, Cheesman Park. It covers 81 acres, and is situated about a mile and half east of downtown.
The main feature of the park is the wide-open central lawn. It’s surrounded by a band of trees and has three structures. On the west is a small children’s playground, on the north is a rustic gazebo and on the east, the highest point in the park, is a large neoclassical pavilion. The rest of the park is grass. In warm weather the slope down away from the pavilion, which you see pictured here, was a wonderful place to play, to picnic, to sunbathe, and to enjoy a quiet respite from the busy city. It also became a place of worship at least once a year. On the Saturday before Easter, the men of the church, particularly the deacons and elders, would go to the park and set up benches and chairs for the expected crowd which seemed to me to number in the thousands.
It was a wonderful celebration and one which my dad thoroughly enjoyed. When I was invited to participate with him in getting the park ready for the service, it was like a rite of passage and to this day is one of my most cherished memories. I particularly remember on Easter Sunday when we awoke to find about eight inches of snow had fallen and buried the park and all the seating we had worked so hard to set up the day before. The moment we knew, Dad and I sped off toward the park (we lived in University Hills about 20 miles away for downtown Denver), and joined a dozen or so other men who were rushing to clear the snow from the benches and chairs. I recall that this work was done cheerfully and with the expectation that the seats would be filled.
Well, as you might expect, attendance that year was pretty low. Despite the weather, the cold, and the diminished crowd, the spirit of the day was led by The Spirit. Our traditional Easter Greeting was, “The Lord is risen!” and the response was, “He is risen indeed!” That declaration and affirmation really resonated that particular Easter. For years after that, until my dad passed away on the day on his eighty-first birthday, one of us would call the other on Easter morning and say, “The Lord is risen!” And in that instant two hearts, two minds, two souls, two servants lifted hearts, minds, hands, and voices to affirm “He is risen indeed.”
So, today, in anticipation of Easter, I say to you, “The Lord is risen!” and as you read this He will know that you are responding in your heart, in your mind, in your soul “He is risen indeed!”
Romans 8:10-11: [10] But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. [11] And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Happy Easter, Beloved. May the God of Peace and Light bless you richly with faith, wisdom, and determination to live in the Risen Lord.
chick
615AFC041206
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Aloha nui loa. That could be translated “I love you very much.” That would be accurate in spirit, certainly but perhaps is not adequate as a literal translation. Your Aloha Friday card comes today, Thursday, because tomorrow is Good Friday. Perhaps some of you will have the day off. Many of you will not; nonetheless, I want to send you my Easter greeting so that it will arrive before the weekend.
When I was growing up in Denver, our family was active in our home church, Corona Presbyterian. It was in downtown Denver at Eighth and Downing. Our Pastor, Rev. Bob Lutz, led a Sunrise Service every Easter at a nearby park, Cheesman Park. It covers 81 acres, and is situated about a mile and half east of downtown.
The main feature of the park is the wide-open central lawn. It’s surrounded by a band of trees and has three structures. On the west is a small children’s playground, on the north is a rustic gazebo and on the east, the highest point in the park, is a large neoclassical pavilion. The rest of the park is grass. In warm weather the slope down away from the pavilion, which you see pictured here, was a wonderful place to play, to picnic, to sunbathe, and to enjoy a quiet respite from the busy city. It also became a place of worship at least once a year. On the Saturday before Easter, the men of the church, particularly the deacons and elders, would go to the park and set up benches and chairs for the expected crowd which seemed to me to number in the thousands.
It was a wonderful celebration and one which my dad thoroughly enjoyed. When I was invited to participate with him in getting the park ready for the service, it was like a rite of passage and to this day is one of my most cherished memories. I particularly remember on Easter Sunday when we awoke to find about eight inches of snow had fallen and buried the park and all the seating we had worked so hard to set up the day before. The moment we knew, Dad and I sped off toward the park (we lived in University Hills about 20 miles away for downtown Denver), and joined a dozen or so other men who were rushing to clear the snow from the benches and chairs. I recall that this work was done cheerfully and with the expectation that the seats would be filled.
Well, as you might expect, attendance that year was pretty low. Despite the weather, the cold, and the diminished crowd, the spirit of the day was led by The Spirit. Our traditional Easter Greeting was, “The Lord is risen!” and the response was, “He is risen indeed!” That declaration and affirmation really resonated that particular Easter. For years after that, until my dad passed away on the day on his eighty-first birthday, one of us would call the other on Easter morning and say, “The Lord is risen!” And in that instant two hearts, two minds, two souls, two servants lifted hearts, minds, hands, and voices to affirm “He is risen indeed.”
So, today, in anticipation of Easter, I say to you, “The Lord is risen!” and as you read this He will know that you are responding in your heart, in your mind, in your soul “He is risen indeed!”
Romans 8:10-11: [10] But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. [11] And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Happy Easter, Beloved. May the God of Peace and Light bless you richly with faith, wisdom, and determination to live in the Risen Lord.
chick
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
