Good Friday is a day of introspection and reflection. This is particularly evident in the evening service many congregations hold on Good Friday. Often called the Tenebrae (from the Latin for “shadows”) Service, we often omit a sermon and instead read various portions of the passion, interspersed by prayers and hymns, turning down the lights after each reading until we are in almost complete darkness at the end of the service and depart in silence, filled with a sense of the sacrifice Jesus makes on our behalf and longing for the hope of Easter morning. One of my favorite hymns sung at various times in Lent but especially at the...

As I shared in a post last year, my best friend from childhood, Luke, was the son of a Greek Orthodox priest. As both of our dads were clergy, and as we both spent lots of time therefore at church, we also had a lot to talk about when it came to the faith. I remember very clearly learning for the first time – I must have been seven or eight – that Luke’s family celebrated Easter at a different time from when we did. Not always, but usually, and it made me really curious. As it turns out, and as I learned with the help of Luke’s parents, Orthodox Christians – including Greek and Russian and other members of the Orthodox faith –...

Boston.com shared a number of moving photos from today’s remembrance of those who died a year ago in the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Here are a couple that made a deep impression on me. And it wasn’t only a memorial. It was also a celebration of the spirit of the folks who survived and their city as well as a sign of solidarity with those who continue to struggle to recover. I caught only bits and pieces of the day’s events on the news but was impressed by and grateful for their attention to the people involved rather than to the crime committed. By all accounts, it was a good day, but also a hard day. Tragedy often...

Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands For our offenses given; But now at God’s right hand he stands And brings us life from heaven. Therefore let us joyful be And sing to God right thankfully Loud songs of hallelujah! –Martin Luther The characters in the following story will remain anonymous in order to protect both the innocent and the guilty. 🙂 A few years ago a good friend of mine shared a recent conversation she’d had with her middle school-aged kids. The older asked if they would be going away for spring break. She replied that, no, this year spring break happened to fall over Holy Week, and since their parents...