From the Rector: Easter Joy

4 April 2025

We shared an amazing Holy Week this year. I want to thank everyone who worked so hard. The worship guilds, musicians, and acolytes did a superb job. All those extra practices paid off. I was especially struck by the vitality of the human relationships at the receptions after the Easter celebrations. The Easter Eve party is always a joyful occasion, and this year the Aloha Hour after the Easter Day Solemn Mass did not finish until 2:30 pm! You really enjoy spending time with each other.

As we move into Eastertide, please note the upcoming celebration of the Annunciation this Wednesday, April 10. Because Easter Day was so early this year, March 25 fell within Holy Week. When this happens the Annunciation is transferred into Eastertide. Technically the celebration of the Annunciation is on Monday, April 8, this year, and this feast is largely forgotten by churches, whether it is in Lent or Easter. We have chosen to celebrate this joyful feast with a Solemn Mass on April 10. I hope you will join us.

I also want to share the homily from the Easter Day Solemn Mass with you. This year during Holy Week we had homilies on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Day, but the liturgies themselves also preach the Gospel. Christians in our society, especially those who are Protestant, often have an obsessive interest in only the "word," while neglecting the rightful place of Sacraments and ritual in Christian worship. The Holy Week rituals by their very nature preach their own homilies. Click here to listen to the homily from the Easter Day Solemn Mass on our YouTube channel.

Eastertide brings our patronal feast of Saint Mark, and for the past several years the Vestry has chosen a charity to support. Last year's charity was Family Promise, a local charity with deep ties at St. Mark's. This year the Vestry has chosen an international charity, the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, focusing specific support for Ahli Arab Hospital or the Arab People's Hospital in Gaza City. The hospital is a diocesan institution. You can give online through their website via this link. Please be generous.

I wish you a blessed Eastertide,
Father Paul Lillie +