Worship Series (Easter to Pentecost) Dare to Dance Again “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”— Psalm 30:5b As we look ahead to the Easter season, prime time for celebration in the Christian year, there’s bound to be very mixed emotions. When the world went into lockdown in March 2020, we had no way of knowing how long and painful this period of pandemic would prove to be. We hoped to be back in our sanctuaries to worship in person by Easter…and then a whole year went by, marked by tribulations of disease, isolation, injustice, and economic insecurity. Rather than waiting until it’s safe to go all the way back to “normal,” we have created new sanctuaries that are not limited to the walls of a church building. Zoom has become a portal of prayer. Many homes now have a dedicated worship corner, a ritual container of our own design, co-created with the Holy. We have not lost the hope that is necessary to persevere. We have reached out hands through online meetings and over crackly telephone lines, holding onto the invisible threads that weave us together in community. We are an Easter people, called to proclaim the good news even in the midst of anxiety and long-suffering hardship. This is not blind optimism that ignores the realities of inequality and corruption, nor is it a toxic positivity that rushes too fast through pain to slap a Band-Aid on a critical wound. Remember that song, “Singin’ in the Rain”? Joy can be a healing balm in hard times. This Easter, we will dare to dance with grace, committing acts of justice and love that defy the gravity of despair. April 18 – “While in Their Joy: Dancing Sure”, Luke 24:36-48 April 25 – “By This We Will Know: The Dance of Love”, John 10:11-18, 1 John 3:16-24 May 2 – “From You Comes My Praise: Guide My Steps”, Acts 8:26-40 May 9 – “Who Can Withhold” Break Forth!”, Psalm 98, Acts 10:44-48 May 16 – “Gone Up with a Shout: Clap Your Hands”, Psalm 47, Luke 24:44-53 May 23 – :Spirit Poured Out: Dare to Dance Again”, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Acts 2:1-21 |
Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church, The Garden Church
Loving God – Serving Others – Transforming Lives
Worship Series (Easter to Pentecost) Dare to Dance Again
