Blessings to you on your Holy Week journey.
9:30 Egg Easter Hunt—Please Bring a basket or bag for your eggs
10:00 Easter Brunch—Please bring your table settings and food to share: Suggestions include Fruit, Cheese, Bread, Crackers, Sweet Rolls, Ham, Sausage, Egg Dish, Covered dish, Vegetables, Juice
Consider bringing one or two extra table settings so we can show Christian Hospitality to guests who may show up to be with us.
10:55 EASTER service, Rev. Susan Preaching, Puppets, Middle School Choir, Dedication of Alyvia Bennett
April 15th          Â
10:55 Worship, Rev. Susan preaching
April 22nd         Â
10:55 Worship, YOUTH SUNDAY!
April 29th          Â
10:55 Worship, Rev. Teresa preaching
 The following is from the Still Speaking Daily Devotionals, http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-
Philippians 2:6-7


”He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. . . and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”


Written by Talitha Arnold
I can’t imagine a more God-forsaken scene than Jesus on his desolate journey to Calvary. Not only did Jesus empty himself of any claim to power—human or divine—but he entered into the cruel emptiness of human fear and hatred. The hours between the last supper and the crucifixion seem devoid of human pity, much less love or hope. They are filled instead with betrayal, denial, cowardice and violence. The Psalmist describes it best: “He was cut off from the land of the living.” 

And yet. . . . 

Even in that desolation, there were moments of grace and people whose compassion overcame their fear. Simon who carried his cross. The women who bore witness. The disciple who cared for his mother. 

If such mercy was present in that barren time, then surely God was, too. As the ancient Christian chant Ubi caritas affirms, “where caring and love are, there is God.” 

When life gets barren and hard, we can become more aware of the small kindnesses – the friends who help us bear our grief; the colleague who stands by us; the church member who writes a note or shows up with a casserole. Simple acts of mercy and care that remind us that even in such emptiness, we are not alone. 

”He emptied himself,” Paul writes of Jesus, and he entered into the emptiness of human life. Because he did, we can, too, for we know that even in the hard and empty times of our lives, God is there.


Prayer 

Help us not to be afraid of the empty places within us, O God, but give us the courage to open our lives to you, and in that emptiness to find your abundant love – to find you. Amen.
Email address for Rev. Susan Townsley and Rev. Teresa Sherrill:Â wtucrev@gmail.com