Hello all. This Sunday marks a curious event in a life filled with such things – the event that Christendom has generally come to call “Palm Sunday“. It has other names as well, but that one seems to rise to the surface most often. It’s a reference to this strange incident recorded in all four of the biblical books that tell the story of the life of Jesus; a situation in which he rides into the conflicted geographical heart of an embattled people in almost precisely the opposite way he might have been expected to, and is welcomed in ways that people would traditionally welcome a conquering hero, even though he clearly is not. It’s so inverted as to be easily dismissed as bizarre or “only symbolic” or just plain weird…except that, as an illustration of the path to peace, it still works. I’m going to try to probe that idea a little in the Talky Bit. We’ll see how it goes…

Some relevant details:

We’re at Sam’s, and our plan is to continue to meet there until at least the end of June. Beyond that, we’ll keep you posted. We will NOT be changing to a weeknight for the summer, but will continue to meet at the same time on Sunday mornings. It’s all a big experiment, of course, so we’ll let you know if anything changes.

Kids Table – will continue in the manner to which we are accustomed (I’ve always found that phrase amusing for some reason) until it breaks for the summer. At that point, a space with “kid friendly” resources will be provided so that parents have a place to retreat and hang with their kids other than the main gathering space, should that be what they choose or if the need to do so becomes especially acute. Once again, we ‘ll remind you about the particulars as the date approaches.

Easter Sunday Breakfast (next Sunday, not this Sunday) – I like that this has become a repeat event on our community calendar, not least of all because of the word “breakfast”.  It’s an obvious two-part-er; “break” and “fast”. It makes sense, right…when we eat at the beginning of the day, we “break the fast” of a night without food. Coming as Easter Sunday does at the close of Lent and on the cusp of a season of warmth and deep down growing things, Easter Sunday morning feels like a good time to break our fast together. We’ll do that at Sam’s before our gathering. Some details as follows:

Eating Time: We’ll plan to eat at 10:00, which will give us enough time to enjoy our meal and some time to hang together before our gathering.

Food: We’ve got some folks already cued up to make pancakes and to bring bacon. Just how those came to be the non-negotiable food staples of this event is a bit of a mystery to me, but it is what it is. However, this is also a pot-luck, and unless we want JUST pancakes (or perhaps just bacon), we need to step up and bring some other dishes.</