This day five years ago stands out as the beginning of a dark period in our daily lives. It was just a week and a month after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic. We were engulfed in uncertainty, fear, and a desperate yearning for answers to guide us safely through the unknown. Our daily routines were instantly disrupted. “Shelter in place” became a familiar phrase—and our new reality, one that separated us from the simplest of human interactions. No one knew how long it would last. The scale and the scope of what we were to endure were unfathomable.

Spiritual practices were upended. Houses of worship were closed during the holiest time of the year. Synagogues remained dark during the Passover observance. Churches were shuttered, keeping Christian communities from gathering to celebrate the discovery of the open tomb on Easter morning.

Yet, even in the bleakness, a glimmer of hope remained. We clung to the possibility that restrictions would soon be lifted, the shutdown would end, and a sense of normalcy would return. Would it be weeks, months—or longer? We didn’t know, but we held on to hope.

Now, five years later, as we enter this Holy Week, we are no longer bound by pandemic restrictions. Yet we still hold fast to that same sustaining force: hope. And we remember another moment in history, more than two thousand years ago, when the followers of Jesus also faced fear, uncertainty, and an unknown outcome as their Lord was arrested, persecuted, and crucified. Yet they, too, held on to hope—a hope rooted in faith. Three days later, that faith was rewarded with the resurrection of our Lord.

This Easter, we celebrate that Resurrection. We invite you to join us on Easter Sunday, April 20, as we give all honor and glory to the Risen Christ. We will gather for Sunrise Worship at 6:00 AM at Venetian Shores Park, 850 Venetian Boulevard, Babylon, and again at 9:30 AM at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 36 East John Street, Lindenhurst.

You are also welcome to join us today, Thursday, April 17, for Maundy Thursday worship at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and on Good Friday, April 18, at 12:00 Noon and 7:00 PM.

Blessings,

Pastor Marc