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Creating something to write home
about
Pastoral Pondering: Vacations --
Time away for
yourself and Jesus
Why
celebrate Easter
in the year 2004? |
Churches in the Newberg area celebrate in myriad
ways, but all with the same purpose |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Easter bunnies, the hunt for brightly-colored eggs and sweetbreads for
breakfast. For many, the celebration of Easter is more about big hats and spring dresses
than the meaning behind it.
But for churches in Newberg, Easter, like Christmas, is a busy time when
congregations swell with people who are more likely to attend church then than at any
other time of the year.
Most non-liturgical churches celebrate Palm Sunday and Good Friday, as well
as Easter, but liturgical-based faiths prepare events that last most of the week and
include foot-washing ceremonies, meditations and potlucks.
“I think people usually (celebrate) the holy week out of
tradition,” said Flora Richards-Gustasson, youth leader and office manager at the St.
Michael’s Episcopal Church. “(Holy week) is more common in some denominations
than others; it’s not just about finding eggs in the grass.”
If churches can encourage people to attend a of couple times a year, that is
better than never, Richards-Gustasson said. The hope is that attending church during holy
week will encourage people to attend more often.
“There is hope that they might come more and are getting something out
of the service,” she said.
At St. Michael’s, holy week begins with Palm Sunday events Sunday at 9
and 11 a.m. Palm Sunday is the celebration of Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem with
the procession of the palms, according to Interim Vicar George Hemingway. Christ had been
preaching to the masses in more rural areas until this time.
Evening prayer will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday. At 7:30 p.m. at the church
there will be a bilingual, joint service with Joyful Servant Lutheran with the foot
washing and holy Eucharist.
Thursday begins deep Lent or the triduum, the word for the three days –
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday – in preparation for Easter.
“The washing of the feet is found in the bible,” Richards-Gustasson
said. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet to show that he was their servant. It is not
the greatest experience, but we humble ourselves before our friends as Jesus washed the
feet of disciples.“
From noon to 3 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. there’s a bilingual service
Friday that begins the veneration of the cross. “We put up a cross to ponder in
prayer and meditation the sacrifice of Christ on the cross,” Hemingway said.
The Saturday evening event is the vigil of Easter and comes in several parts.
It begins at 8 p.m. in darkness by creating fire with flint and steel to light the paschal
and other candles to celebrate the coming of the light of Christ into the world.
The second is a reading of several accounts from the Old and New testaments
concerning the history of the salvation of the people; the third is the baptism. Finally
the first holy communion of Easter will follow.
Sunday is all in Easter time and begins with the festival of Holy Communion
at 9 a.m. in English and one at 11 a.m. in Spanish. It includes resurrection services, an
egg hunt and potluck at Hemingway’s home for the kids.
Hemingway said he can only speak for Christians who celebrate Easter with
eggs, flowers chick’s and bunnies.
“As long as (the symbols are) contextualized with ideas of renewal of
the earth, the signs of renewal within the Christian context, then I’m just fine with
those,” he said, “but when they lose their Christian context, then what can I
say? It’s just a shame.”
The Newberg Ministerial Association is planning a less extensive celebration
with two services: Good Friday service at 12:05 p.m. April 9 at the First Assembly of God
Church, 502 St. Paul Highway across from the airport. A sunrise service will begin 6:30
a.m. April 11 at the Gospel Chapel, 4301 N. College. A good will offering will be accepted
and will be shared between interfaith services and Newberg F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service to
Humanity).
Jim Ringseth, pastor of Newberg Open Bible, said Easter is the foundation of
the Christian faith and is based on the death and resurrection of Christ as commemorated
with the sunrise service.
“Because Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, he verified people
have hope of life thereafter; we choose where we will spend eternity by our belief
system,” he said. |
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From April 3,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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