Gratitude

Dear Members of the Parish,

My heart is very full as I think back on Holy Week and Easter. Each service had its own special offerings, prayers, hymns and music by the Choirs. There was drama, pathos, tenderness, along with a sense of awe and wonder and pure joy!

I was struck on Maundy Thursday by communion bread our children made for the service. When it came up in that big round basket at the Offertory, I could feel the heat -- it must have just come out of the oven! The smell of freshly baked bread rose up from the basket like incense and all of us around the altar were brought up short by the power of the earthiness and blessedness of this simple bread. The shape of the loaves were not perfectly round -- far from it. But it made me smile as I imagined the little hands, full of flour in our old kitchen, shaping the dough into flat shapes and placing them on the cookie sheets to bake.

That same bread sat in the Chapel for our Vigil on Maundy Thursday and was distributed to those who came to the Good Friday service. The taste of that bread and the symbol of the offering the Children of Grace stayed with me throughout the weekend and must have planted a seed in my consciousness.

It became apparent by Friday morning that there were no hot-cross buns to be found in the Boston area, so Lisa announced that she would simply make some for the Easter Breakfast. Knowing what the next 48 hours looked like for both of us, I protested very loudly. We would just have to make due with something else. But on our way to Costco, that little seed that had been planted in me started to grow and the thought of making hot-cross buns for everyone seemed like a fine idea. We got the ingredients and Saturday morning, we set to work with my mother's Kitchen Aid mixer as the star participant. By nine the first batch were out and cooling and by 10:30 I was putting the icing crosses on some of them. I said a blessing over each one, picturing your faces as I squeased the icing out of the bag onto the buns.

It was a labor of love and I thought about how well we feed each other at Grace and are fed in return. We are fed by wonderful meals and fellowship; we are fed in the liturgy each week; we are fed by the stories of each others' lives; and we are fed by the witness of our faith out in the world.

On this Easter Tuesday, I am full of gratitude for all of you -- for our Children and Youth and for all of you who enrich my life. It is a joy and privilege to be serving with you.

Easter Blessings,
Miriam