holy happenings . . . .

having been in several locations in my lifetime during holy week, i kind of knew what to expect; expect the unexpected!

begin with palm sunday ... what have all the palms gone?  those long branches that wave in the breeze ... well, when all else fails, go to a florist and get smaller ones ... and, ta-da!  instant palm sunday.

there was singing, and celebrating, and eventually, the experience of the rest of the week.

on maundy thursday, also called holy thrusday, we gathered for a simple supper; we began by adding more and more table settings because more and more people kept coming!  santa cruz has this great big table ... and you can just keep adding seats and place-settings!  while we ate, we began with the guessing game of 'name the plagues' (exodus, chapter 7) and then remembered the passover (chapter 12) .... and then we moved forward in time to remember the last supper and the foot washing (john, chapter 13), and concluded with communion (i corinthians, chapter 11); always plenty to eat at a united methodist pot-luck!

saturday evening saw us gather on west cliff, spending time in quiet reflection at the easter vigil.  finding time with god can sometimes be a struggle in our busy lives.  taking time for renewal and reflection is worth finding; open up your electric or paper calendars and just schedule it in!


and then there is easter; gathering 12 hours later we find ourselves in the same location, but in an entirely different atmosphere!  celebration in music and communion and the beauty of the coastal morning! 

 

then there is an easter breakfast and worship with more music and celebrating!  the day just never seems to end because this year, easter falls on 4/20 which in santa cruz is a whole celebration of its own! 

 

 

 

 oddly enough, however, there is a whole different week that happens during holy week; 14 days packed into 7!  what more might you do, you ask?  well, there is work to be done in providing
our shelter program with new matts and pillows. 

who could ever guess one can get 20 pillows and 20 air mattresses packed into a cabrio ... but, when all else fails, take down the top (on the coast, of course!)  it is amazing what you can do in a cabrio during holy week!  (you can also get 25 bags of shredded redwood back in there with no trouble at all!!!)

and then you ask someone to make a closet to store all those bags of bedding!

 and then you throw in getting a new computer and learning a touch-screen windows 8.1 program, and you ask yourself, was this really necessary?!  and then you realize the week isn't through yet because earth day falls on the day before easter, and there is a whole other awareness that happens in santa cruz ... we have no plastic bags, but re-usable everything!  who knew a butterfly could look so beautiful in recycled bottle caps, or that united methodists could do so many things with used wine corks?!  and, of course, there was a demonstration of how you can make fruit smoothies by modifying your blinder and attaching it to a stationary bike for power-blending!! 

only in santa cruz, i suspect, could holy happenings make one so cool, calm, and at peace!

 

holy happenings in deed!  christ IS risen; christ is risen INDEED!