Pastor’s Column

April 24th, 2025

My dear church family,

Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

I am still enjoying the memory of the joyous Easter Sunday celebration. Scores of FPCA people were involved in one way or another in making it a beautiful, creative, fun, and Christ-honoring worship service. I have received many comments, both immediately after the service and this week, on the joy they felt at the service.

The count I heard was that there were 101 people in the sanctuary and 22 people on Zoom! Many of our Zoom worshippers were from out of the area, and many were names we don’t recognize. We were overjoyed (and almost over-whelmed?!?) with the number of families who came with their children! My count was 16 children and three teens!! What excitement and unrestrained emotion they brought to our worship.

I have known one families since 2022 through Open Sanctuary and interactions at SSBM pick-up. Of the literally hundreds of people I talk with and pray with during Open Sanctuary, these are among the very few who actually have come to worship with us. There was one other first-time family. All the rest have been here over the years. Michael enjoys being in the back of the sanctuary with the families and helping the parents feel welcome and at ease with the activity of the children. Godly Play will resume this Sunday, so we will only have the children to enjoy during the first 15 minutes of the service.

It was a privilege for me to baptize Max and Chester. I was so glad their grandparents were able to be here to witness the baptism (and help Max feel comfortable!). Their other grandparents Zoomed in from Redondo Beach! I suspect that baptism is not  practiced by many families today since they are not involved in faith communities. My prayers are that each of the families who were here on Easter will be inspired to draw their children into a close walk with God. Please remember the vow we made on Sunday, to “guide and nurture Max and Chester by word and deed, with love and prayer” and to “encourage them to know and follow Christ.” Let us also be faithful in our prayers for their parents and all the parents and grandparents of our congregation, whether their children are newborns or fully launched adults.

Huge thanks to the many people in the congregation who devoted time, creativity, talent, preparation, participation and support to this worship service! It was wonderful to see how all the many parts came together. The music was beautiful and provided the meditative interludes needed in the midst of all the colorful activity. I was most impressed that the choir was able to sing such a powerful “Hallelujah Chorus” when they hadn’t even rehearsed it! You may not have specifically noticed all the work of House & Grounds in maintaining the buildings and property, but I hope you had the sense that FPCA is well maintained and beautiful! I would like to acknowledge everyone, but you would be tired of reading.

Having said that, let me thank those who received eggs from the children during the “Reverse Easter Egg Hunt.” You may not have been able to see what happened when one of the Easter eggs opened, spilling Peanut M&M’s on the floor, including one that rolled under the Communion Table. Quick as a wink, one of our littlest children dove under the table to rescue the candy. In my naivete, I watched for him to return it to the egg. Imagine my surprise and delight when he stood up and, with the most impish grin,  popped it into his mouth!!

Easter, of course, is not primarily about children and their Easter Egg hunts. It is our opportunity to praise God:

Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

And yet, the delight of children is a good reminder to us of the profound nature of the resurrection. It has eternal impact for our world and each of us as individuals. We must delight in this gift from God! The earliest witnesses to the resurrection “rejoiced.”

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. John 20:19 & 20 NRSVUE

In joyous gratitude to God,

Pastor Cindy