Rector's Easter Message

Because I live you also will live. 
To all life Thou givest both great and small  
in all live thou livest the true life of all 
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree 
and wither and perish but nought changes thee.

(Walter Chalmers Smith, 1 824-1908)

While God is unchanging, the same is not true of anything else. Change is a constant path of life, and, as much as some would wish that the Church never changed, it is part of the Church as well.

At present, I am preparing to move out of the rectory and into a new home. Besides the cleaning out of possessions that moving requires (the boxes that have remained unopened in the-basement since we moved to Montreal will go to the yard sale or one of the missions as appropriate), moving will also mean changes to my routine and reordering of my time. No longer can I just run next door several times as home and church needs (or simple forgetfulness, having left something at one place or the other) require. It will take a while for all of us to adjust to the changes that this brings.

In the church. we have had to take up the pews under the tower in preparation for the interior restoration. This gives us the opportunity to play with different arrangements and uses of the space. This may be unsettling for many of us, as those pews had-bpen screwed to the floor for 85 years without moving, but we may find new life and new opportunities, such as space for children, an area for fellowship and socializing, or room to highlight our activities and mission, in one of the new arrangements.

We also continue to explore possibilities for the Memorial Hali and our land, none of which include the hall as we know it. While the change will mean new ways of operating, it will allow for new possibilities for mission and being community.

This year we re-launched our Sunday School. We now have a vibrant program that children want to a part of. This program will continue to grow and evolve in coming years, as we work to integrate the children into our worship and to attract new volunteers and new families.

Easter brings the hope and promise of new life and growth, but that new life requires death and change. May we be open to all the changes that God has in store for us, and welcome with joy the new life that comes from those changes.

Alleiuia! Christ is risen!

The Rev. James B. Pratt