As we began the Great Easter Vigil by candlelight this year, we were reminded that only a few years ago our church building itself sat empty in complete darkness on Easter. It had been battered by Hurricane Sandy and torn from its foundation—aptly saved from complete devastation by the masonry baptismal font in the narthex. 

We are indeed an Easter people. Our church has been so meticulously and beautifully restored that it's sometimes easy to forget the joy we felt when we resumed worship here in December 2014. How easy it can be to resume "life as usual."

As Easter week begins, we may be exhausted from forty days of self-reflection and self-recrimination and all the energy we put into Holy Week. There are no "special" services this week for us to anticipate. And, thanks to this past weekend's steady diet of jellybeans and chocolate eggs, we just might be crashing from a sugar high. 

As we resume our daily routines, though, let's remind ourselves of the true joy and wonder Jesus' devastated followers must have felt when he appeared to them that first Easter—just as we did when we returned to our "resurrected" church in 2014.

And, we invite you to experience it with us every Sunday in the Holy Eucharist.