Welcome to the Most Fabulous Season of All
March 25, 2013
Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his victory over death.
With these words, clergy and laity will gather for the Great Vigil of Easter, marking the end of Lent and the beginning of Easter. For Saturday evening and Sunday morning, we will sing Alleluia, marvel at the flower arrangements, hear the story of frightened, courageous women and an empty tomb, and rejoice with the Resurrected Christ.
And then most of us forget.
Not intentionally, I think. We’ve endured 40 days of Lent, seen our Lent Madness bracket blown apart by Frances Perkins, and participated in our parish Lenten programs. Some of us have given up coffee, taken on more prayer time, and waited for Easter. Forty days is a long time, and we’ve put energy into being penitential and spiritual for Lent.
So we celebrate Easter Day…and we’re done.
But why? It’s like taking hours upon hours to get ready for the big party and then staying at the party of the century for 10 minutes. Really? Why not celebrate?Why not stay at the party? Why not see what joy and life lessons this season can bring?
Why not fully celebrate the Fifty Days of Easter?
Welcome to 50 Days of Fabulous, a way to engage the season of Easter beyond just one day. Each day of the Easter season, which is, if you haven’t guessed yet, a full 50 days (10 more than Lent), is a day to celebrate rebirth, light, resurrection, surprise, joy, and the triumph of life over death. In the daily reflections, based on scripture, saints, art, music, and whatever else inspires our fabulous contributors, we hope to invite our readers into this amazing party that is the Feast of the Resurrection. Each day also has a response. Our faith is not a faith of reading something and thinking, “How nice.” Our faith is a faith of proclamation, action, prayer, and response. Easter implores us to proclaim the resurrection, and we will offer you some simple, profound, and even quirky ways to do so.
We invite you to join us in the amazing party that is the Great Fifty Days of Easter. We’ve spent Lent getting ready. Now it’s time to celebrate Light and Life.
The party is about to start.
Laurie
Thank you for this invitation to the party. I was already worrying about Lenten Madness withdrawal, so at least it’s been postponed for 50 more days!! I’ve never had so much fun learning about my faith.
Judith
for those of us who are techno-doing-the-best-I-can-for-now, will there be a “sign up for email notification” or should I bookmark the site? and thank you all for this.
Scott Gunn
Judith, I just added an email subscription box to the home page. Try to sign up, and let me know if it works or not. This is all new, so we’re still working out the kinks.
Welcome!
Verdery
Thank you, Scott (and presumeably your arch-nemesis/frenemy Tim) for encouraging us to continue the party. (Will there be wine?)
Natalie Doyle-Hennin, Ph.D.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Lent Madness made it possible for many of us to add a joyful learning experience to our Lenten discipline(s). I was already starting to suffer from anticipatory Lent Madness withdrawal — yea, even grief.
How fitting it is to continue celebrating the joy of Eastertide together in unabashed celebration.
The SEC and Maple Anglican are evangelists for our times, and my heart (and head) thank you for the joy and hope you’ve shared with Lent Madness.*
Bless you Tim, Scott and Maple (if I may call you by your first name).
*An unexpected bonus is that this non-sports fanatic finally understands March Madness and the bracket system because of your ingenuity.
Peg
It’s too soon for the A-word, so HUZZAH!
Susie
THANK YOU! I’m looking ‘Forward’ to having something more to look ‘Forward Day by Day’ to again–you’re very appreciated!!!
Joyce
You have awakened me to my church in so many ways. 50 days of Easter is new to me and I will challenge myself to live my Easter Joy.