Easter is coming!
Before we know it, Holy Week, with all its activities will be upon us. It feels strange to me that it’s occurring so late this year. How are you preparing for it? Are you planning something traditional or non-traditional to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection? Last year, I went to a sunrise service in Kona, Hawaii. At one point, as a part of the service, we were all surprised as a helicopter flew over and dropped thousands of plumeria blossoms upon the worshipers. Not only was it a beautiful sight, but it also engaged the sense of touch and smell. Plumeria have a wonderful fragrance!
Last year, George Barna wrote an article about people’s understanding of Easter. His main point is that people understand Easter more as a religious holiday, but don’t know about its Christian meaning. You might find it to be helpful reading in your preparation.
How many of your members/participants are active in inviting others to your Easter service? 75%? 64%? 50%? According to Barna’s report, only 31% are active in inviting a non-church going person to Easter worship.
To read the article, click here.
18 Mar 2011 Jeff Glass
Thought provoking, Jeff. Thank you. I was just thinking about unorthodox Easter services and then I read your entry. It helped to put some ideas into perspective.
Blessings,
Daniel+
I appreciate your comment on the Easter post. What kinds of ways are the Easter services you are thinking of unorthodox? In addition to the use of plumeria blossoms, there was hula dancing, conch shell blowing and other local culture activities from Hawaii.Obviously, these are very different activities for a worship service than what you would do on the mainland. But, taking into account the culture in your community, what would make an Easter service more relevant, even if it is “unorthodox?” 🙂
Blessings to you!
Jeff