Today’s Word from Pastor Katrina…
Church is a PARTY! Every Sunday we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection! The church also celebrates “principal festivals” most of which are familiar to many: Nativity, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and the Holy Trinity. The church calendar also has “lesser festivals and commemorations” when we “celebrate the life of Christ, the witness of those who accompanied and testified to him, and the gifts of God in the Church. Commemorations illuminate various aspects of the church’s life and mission through the lives of people who have followed Christ in succeeding generations” (page 13 of the ELW).
March is one of the bigger party months with 13 different commemorations that include some familiar names: John and Charles Wesley (renewers of the church 1791 & 1788), Harriet Tubman & Sojourner Truth (renewers of society 1913 & 1883), Gregory the Great (Bishop of Rome 604), Patrick (Bishop, Missionary to Ireland), and Oscar Romero (Bishop of El Salvador, martyr 1980).
Both Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman escaped slavery, and experienced divine callings from God to do their work for freedom. Some sources also say that St. Patrick escaped slavery in Ireland, only to return there after receiving a message from God to share the Christian message in Ireland. Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green for good luck, but one could once be prosecuted for wearing green in Ireland— the color green is symbolic of independence and freedom. Oscar Romero actively denounced human rights violations, especially of the most vulnerable people, and he defended the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity and opposing all forms of violence.
I am grateful to celebrate these stories of those who have shaped humanity and the church throughout the ages. I’m grateful for the green leaves of spring that remind us of new life bursting forth from the frozen cold of winter; for the color green which reminds me of people’s struggle for freedom and dignity both in the past and in the present. May the month of March be a time of both learning and celebration as we continue not just our Lenten journey, but our life-long spiritual journey with Christ in a time and world that desperately needs good news of life and love.
Your humble servant,
Pastor Katrina
