Edie Morris
Lexington United Methodist Church (for April 14, 2022)
To find out what’s going on with us, see www.lexingtonumc.net.
Our next Food Give Away will be this Saturday, April 16, 2022, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is the day before Easter. Masks are still advised for those who have serious medical conditions, and we have masks available. We also have hand sanitizer. Please pass this info on to anyone who may be hungry and low on food.
We are always looking for volunteers at the Food Bank. We’re open for four hours on the third Saturday of the month. If you can only give an hour or two that day, we can still use your help. There are opportunities to help on other days too—helping unload the food from the Regional Food Bank, rearranging shelves, etc. If you would be available to help with the Food Bank ministry, even for only a couple of hours, please contact Ms. Robin Cook at (405) 527-4177 or (405) 568-8032.
This Sunday is Easter Sunday, the Christian festival that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Easter and its related holidays are called moveable feasts, not falling on a fixed date. Their dates are computed based on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The lunisolar calendar is a combination of the solar and the lunar calendars.
Easter customs vary around the world. Among the customs are sunrise services, midnight vigils, and the decoration and breaking of Easter eggs. The eggs are symbols of the empty tomb. Many churches decorate with Easter lilies, a symbol of the resurrection in Western Christianity. They are usually left in the church throughout Eastertide. Other secular customs include Easter parades, communal dancing, the visit of the Easter bunny, egg hunting, and traditional foods that vary by region and culture. The Easter bunny originated in Germany.
There are some Christian groups that do not, or did not, observe Easter. In the past times, the Puritans saw both Easter and All Saints’ Day as an abomination. Their view was that, if a celebration or practice was not actually written in the Christian Bible it was not an authentic practice or belief. The Quakers do not celebrate Easter or any traditional feast days of the established church since “every day is the Lord’s day.” Other groups reject Easter as it was a pagan spring festival taken over by the Roman Catholic Church. Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain a similar view but do observe a yearly commemorative service of the Last Supper referred to as “The Memorial.” They remember the death of Christ but not the bodily resurrection, only the spiritual resurrection.
In some traditions, Easter services begin with the greeting “Christ is risen!” The given response is: “He is risen indeed. Alleluia!” Many Easter hymns use variations of these words.
We invite you to worship with us at 9:30 a.m. this special Sunday of Easter. We will be celebrating communion, which you are welcome to share with us. Our address is 631 East Ash, just west of Lexington High School. For more information, please call the church at (405) 527—3506 to leave a message, or contact Pastor David Cook directly at (405) 406—6174.
