Hi, y'all; forgive me if I'm a little grumbly. Just got back from our Sunrise service, shaking my head a bit. It's not characteristic of our church to have a numbingly dull Easter Sunrise service, but we had one this morning. Droning readings of what seemed like half the Old Testament, and little recaps of every ritual the Methodist Church uses except marriage and the funeral ceremony. Excrutiating, and utterly out of character.
One Easter morning service, years ago in a Chicago church, stands out for me in terms of getting it right. The youth of the church came dancing, jumping, spinning, down the aisle, with whatever instruments they played, or tamborines or whatever for the non-proficient, doing "The Lord of the Dance". An explosion of joy; sublime.
Well, maybe next year; if anyone happens to ask my reaction to this morning, I don't think I'll try to "sugar coat" my reply.
                     Dean