Easter is almost here, my friends! This beautiful highlight of the church liturgical calendar.

During Holy Week, we live in the tension between life and death. There is pain and suffering on Good Friday, but there is also the hope of a resurrected Savior. This tension feels especially potent to us right now as we’re walking through incredibly dark times with our ministry partners, such as Taras who’s serving refugees in Ukraine.

I am holding tight to the promise of Revelation 21:4, which says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (NIV)

I invite you to join us today in this Easter blessing from the Book of Common Prayer.

The Lord be with you. Let us pray.

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

We invite you also to pray this weekend for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are celebrating Easter around the world, especially our Mobile Messengers in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Nepal, India, and the Middle East.

Praise God that we serve a Risen Lord! Our Jesus has conquered the grave!