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Faith and Family - Celebrating the Easter Season

FaithFaithFaithFAMILYFAMILYFAMILY

A Supplement to

The Clermont Sun, The Ripley Bee, The News Democrat,

The Peoples Defender, The Ledger Independent

Holy Week marks themost solemn andrevered period on theChristian calendar. HolyWeek helps to mark thePaschal Mystery, whichincludes the Passion,death, resurrection, andascension of JesusChrist.

Many events un-folded in a short periodof time during the finaldays of Christ’s physi-cal existence on earth.These events aremarked during HolyWeek. To understandthem further, here’s aday-by-day guide.

Palm SundayPalm Sunday is the

final Sunday of Lent, a

40-day period of solemnprayer and repentance.Palm Sunday recallsChrist’s arrival inJerusalem when he wasreceived with lavishpraise and excitement.Catholic Online, the on-line guide to theCatholic faith, saysJesus arrived humbly ona donkey to show hecame in peace as a manof the people. As signsof respect, townspeopleplaced clothes, branchesand palm fronds in frontof Jesus.

Holy MondayMatthew 21 and

Mark 11 indicate thatChrist returned toJerusalem this day and

cleansed the Templearea from shamefulpractices. Luke 19 indi-cates that Phariseeswarn Jesus that heshould silence thecrowd’s praises towardhim.

Holy TuesdayAs described in John

12:20-36 and John13:21-38, some peopleobserved Christ’s pre-dictions of his owndeath on this day. Hewas also confronted byTemple leadership forthe cleansing of theTemple the day before,and they questioned hisauthority.

Holy (Spy) WednesdayThis day marks

Judas’ betrayal of Jesuswhen he met with highpriests. Judas was paid30 pieces of silver forhis information.

Holy ThursdayOn this evening

Christ dined forPassover with his disci-ples at The Last Supper,creating a template forHoly Mass and HolyEucharist celebrations.During the meal, Jesuspredicted the events thatwould immediately fol-low, including his be-trayal, the denial ofPeter, and his death andresurrection.

Good FridayPontius Pilate bowed

to the pressure of theTemple leadership andthe crowds, condemn-ing Jesus to death bycrucifixion. Christ wasforced to paradethrough crowds wearinga crown of thorns tosymbolize his status asKing of the Jews, andcarried a massivewooden cross on hisback. He was nailed tothe cross by the anklesand wrists and hangedfor three hours. He diedat 3 pm. His body washastily removed and putin a tomb.

Holy SaturdayChrist’s disciples

were heartbroken at hisdeath and observed theJewish Sabbath in sor-row, forgetting aboutthe promise of resurrec-tion.

Easter SundayThe public discov-

ered that Jesus’ tombwas empty and that hefulfilled his promise torise from the dead. Thisis a great feast day withworship and celebra-tion. Easter Sunday isthe foremost day of reli-gious observance withinthe Christian faith.

Celebrating the Hope of Easter

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!” Luke 24:5

2020 Faith and Family Page 2


Happy Easter!

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalms 136:1-127:26

It was the spring of1995. I was a twenty-four-year-old seminarystudent driving upRoute 68 through Parisand Maysville, Ken-tucky, headed forBrown County and aninterview to become thePastor of Decatur andMount Olivet UnitedMethodist Churches.Growing up in the shad-ows of Atlantic City, theBig Red Machine wasall I knew about thearea.

When I first turnedmy car onto Russel-lville-Winchester Road,those who have becomeso dear to me and I, my-self, had no idea that thefirst meeting would beso important. Thatnight my destinationwas Richard “Butch”Arn’s house.

Butch had agreed tobe the head of thesearch committee forthe new pastor. I was tomeet with him and hisfamily before weheaded to meet the restof the gathered faithful.Butch is one of thegreatest men I have evermet. Still, I wonder if hewould have evenopened the door on thatnight if he knew thatonly three years later, inJune of 1998, I wouldmarry his daughter andleave with her to returnto my native New Jer-sey.

I remember the pre-ceding three years liv-ing across from thechurch in Decatur assome of the best of mylife. Making goodfriends, serving on theTownship Fire Com-

pany, helping round upfunding for basketballand volleyball courts,enduring the unimagin-able floods of earlyMarch in 1997, workingon and learning aboutthe rhythms offarm life and howthey compared tomy growing upcrabbing, clam-ming, and fishingthe back bays andocean around At-lantic City, NewJersey, killing coy-otes, nights at thedirt track with myneighbors, and somany more mem-ories came backand made theirway into storiesand sermons overthe next twentyodd years.

After a fewyears in the full-time pulpit andthree in adminis-tration at Cir-cleville BibleCollege, I foundmyself at a hinge-point in my life where Idecided to pursue a lawdegree in my lastmonths at Circleville.

Over the years, manypeople have asked mehow I can be both an at-torney and a pastor. Itseems the point of theirquestion is, “are thesetwo careers compati-ble?” I sometimes pointout that many claim theApostle Paul, author ofa large portion of ourNew Testament, was anattorney - or at least aform of prosecutor for aportion of his life. Ofcourse, lawyers twothousand years ago

were very different.Well, reading aboutPaul, maybe not thatdifferent.

I have never believedworking as an attorneyand as a pastor are in-

compatible. I see themboth as wonderful op-portunities to serve.People who find them-selves in very tough sit-uations often turn totheir minister, lawyer,and doctor. I don’t dowell around blood andneedles, so I will leavethe third of these profes-sions to someone else’scalling. As a formerprosecutor, I foundmany opportunities tospeak light, hope, andtruth into people’s lives.These times were oftenin one of the worst mo-ments of their life. I hadan opportunity to speak

hope to them while par-ticipating in deliveringjustice.

But I have not givenup on sharing the gospelwhenever afforded theopportunity. During

law school and beforemy children were born,I spent summers travel-ing to preach at campmeetings. A bible studyheld in our home turnedinto a fourteen-year ad-venture serving as thefounding pastor ofCrossroads CommunityChurch of Indian Mills,New Jersey. Then, I feltGod call my familyback to the farm inBrown County to becloser to my wife’s fam-ily.

It has not been theeasiest of transitions,saying goodbye to a ful-filling and often thriv-

ing law practice in NewJersey, to my own par-ents and family, and es-pecially to a churchfamily that grew upwith me over thosefourteen years.

On returning, wefound a place tohang a shingle andthe opportunity topartner up withsome great attor-neys, Yonas andRink, looking tomove back to theBrown Countyarea. John Yonasand his wife areWestern Browngraduates. God putus together while Iwas moving backand he was lookingto expand backinto his hometownarea from down-town Cincinnati.Having the abilityto work with theirfirm and AmericanHomeland Titlehelped me get onmy feet during thistransition. God

knew what I needed anddelivered on time, as healways has.

It has been an adven-ture returning to BrownCounty with a wife andthree children. Weenjoy time on the farmand the small-town lifeof Sardinia. I get towalk my children a cou-ple of blocks each dayto Brown County Chris-tian School, sometimespreaching a chapel orsubstitute teaching.Having old friends in-vite me to share aboutChrist at their churchesand meeting new peopleas I travel the county

has also been a wonder-ful encouragement.

In his poem, “TheRoad Not Taken,”Robert Frost speaksabout coming to a forkin the road one morningand trying to decidewhich way was better.He writes, “And boththat morning equallylay. In leaves no stephad trodden black. Oh, Ikept the first for anotherday! Yet knowing howway leads on to way, Idoubted if I should evercome back.” During mylate teens, I chose semi-nary over law schoolthinking I was shuttinga door on a career in thelaw. God reopened it afew years later. Twenty-two years ago, I leftBrown County thinkingI would never return.God opened the way.Unlike with Frost’s pre-diction, I have been ableto take both roads a fewtimes in my life whenGod brought me backaround.

A lot has changed inthe last twenty-fiveyears since I first turnedmy old car onto Russel-lville-Winchester Road.Decatur and MountOlivet are no longerUnited MethodistChurches but continueto share the gospel andserve as important partsof our community.

I have travelled a lotof different roads sincethen, and God has nowreturned me to BrownCounty to serve and bepart of a community Icame to love so longago.

And I took the road less traveled

By James Schroeder


By Libbie Bennett, ChairCounty Task ForceNatl. Day of Prayer

In our worldtoday life is 'stressful'whether at work, atschool or at home. Themedia recommendsworking out at the gymor some kind of exer-cise. Others tell us topractice yoga or somekind of mental religion.

But they overlook

that priceless treasure,GOD's Holy Word, thathas answers to everyproblem in this life. In-deed the Bible is a loveletter from our Heav-enly Father; and its a'road map' that gives usdaily direction for ourlives when we are at acrossroad.

In our culture todaywe face 'anxiety attacks'- fear of the unknown,strange sounds in thenite, bad news at the

Doctor's, phone calls atmidnite, facing the fu-ture, to name just a few.

Our reactions: heartracing, chills and shak-ing, your stomach in aknot, cannot eat orsleep, feeling depressed,are just some of thesymptoms: diagnosis"an 'anxiety attack'!

At times like that findthe Bible and read Hisprecious Holy Word.There are 365 'fear nots'and GOD knows our

thoughts and our hearts!When we are so bro-

ken hearted or burdenedby bad news thatcauses an anxiety at-tack, we must cling tothe 3 R's - read HisWord, realize its in-spired of GOD and re-member so we can findHis peace.

Read Ps 34 to findcomfort and strength;And when we're feelingweak, read Isaiah41:10. We can find the

secret to David'sstrength by reading ISam. 30:6

Often our spirits are'in drought'; then readGod's promise in Isaiah58:11 - why not reachout to family andfriends, asking them topray for you to have a'sound mind' 11 Timo-thy 1:7.

Watch for daily re-minders of GOD's lovefor you; it's not 'luck'when unexpected bless-

ings come down to calmour spirits.

Let's share our GODstories with others; weall talk about the news,weather, family etc butwhy not talk of theLORD and be a bless-ing to others as we'retold in 1 Cor. 15:58

We're to be about GOD's work -

Col 3:23 and 1 Cor 15:58


GOD'S Rx for Anxiety Attacks!

By Andrew Wood

My mom probablydidn’t know that shewas inspiring others thatday when she came tochurch. In fact, she wasembarrassed that shemade her way throughthe sanctuary only withthe aid of a walker.Mom had endured a dif-ficult three months afterfalling and breaking her

arm. (Who knew that abroken humerus couldaffect balance so se-verely?) And no one an-ticipated the dominoeffect of health prob-lems that would followas she nursed a painfuland debilitating fracturein multiple hospitalsand extended care facil-ities.

But there she was,completely unexpected,

striding down the centeraisle through church -looking for a seat whereshe could attempt to getback to normal and re-connect with her churchfriends and with her cre-ator. Turning an ordi-nary Sunday serviceinto a reason for cele-bration and reaffirma-tion.

Our church is likemany others with

stained-glass, dramaticarchitecture, and abooming organ. But it isuniquely ours when itcomes to family memo-ries. Unforgettable mo-ments with weddings,baptisms, and funerals.And my mom was inevery one of them.

She did not lead or or-ganize the prayer cir-cles, but she made surethat I was in church reg-

ularly. She made surethat I participated andtreated everyone withcourtesy and respect.And when I was ready,I assumed leadershiproles.

When my dad passedaway, it hit my momhard. She said, “Wehave lost our rock.” Allof us kids told her thatwe had not lost our rock- that she was the rock

in our family. Thiscaught her completelyby surprise. But truerwords were never spo-ken.

Note: Andrew Woodis a Maysville CityCommissioner and amember of the FirstPresbyterian Church inMaysville

Mom is Our Family’s Rock

And very early in the morning the first [day] of theweek, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising ofthe sun.

And they said among themselves, Who shall rollus away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

And when they looked, they saw that the stone wasrolled away: for it was very great.

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a youngman sitting on the right side, clothed in a long whitegarment; and they were affrighted.

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seekJesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen;he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

Matthew 16-2 thru 16-6


By Marc Barnes

I was in the militaryyears ago and when Icame back from Iraq inearly 2005, I was reallyaffected by what I sawin the combat hospitalthere and life kindawent sideways for mefor many years. PTSD,depression and all thatgoes with it.

In 2010 or 2011, in

the thick of all that, I re-ceived this quilt as agift, made by “Patricia”in Richmond. I think theidea was that it wouldgo to a deployed servicemember, based on thetag on the back, but itfound its way to mewhere we lived in north-ern Virginia at the time.

Through all those dif-ficult years after Iraq,besides the constant

love and support of mywife Leslie and family,no gift meant more tome than this quilt, andthe kind heart and giftedhands of someone I did-n’t know, who made itfor me. I can’t tell youhow many times I sat onmy couch fighting theseemingly endless bat-tles in my head, withthis quilt covering mylegs.

Life is much betternow by the grace ofGod, but I still treasurethis quilt and alwayswill. I kept it on theback of a couch by thewindow for a while, notrealizing the affect sun-light could have on it,and it faded in someplaces, but it’s stillbeautiful, and I love it. Idon’t know Patricia andhave never met her, but

if you know her, pleaseshare my sincere thanksand heartfelt apprecia-tion. It meant more thanshe realized it would,I’m sure.

And one last note ...last year, a dear friendand longtime quiltertook my amazing wifeof 27 years under herwing and began teach-ing her to quilt, some-thing she’s wanted to do

for a long time, whichwe could never findtime or money to dowhile raising our chil-dren. This friend paidher way to a quiltersmeet, found a second-hand machine for hertoo, and now she’s mak-ing quilts as well, andabsolutely loving it.


A quilt for the heart

Happy Easter!

And if Christ benot raised, yourfaith [is] vain; yeare yet in yoursins.

1 Corinthians 15:17

For many Christians,modern Easter celebra-tions would not be com-plete without bonnets,bunnies and coloredeggs. As fun as thosecomponents can be,Christianity is at theheart of Easter, which isthe most important dateon the Christian reli-gious calendar. EasterSunday marks the cul-mination of events thatshaped the beliefs andteachings of an entirefaith.

Easter marks the Res-urrection of JesusChrist, which Christiansbelieve occurred withindays of his crucifixionand burial. The NewTestament indicates thatthe Resurrection ofJesus is one of the chieftenets of the Christianfaith and establishedJesus as the Son of God.Easter is an examplethat God will right-eously judge the worldby sacrificing His sonfor the sins of others.And any person whochooses to follow Jesusreceives everlasting lifethanks to Christ’s Res-urrection.

Easter is linked to theJewish celebration of

Passover due to itsproximity on the calen-dar and the fact thatJesus was Jewish. TheBible states that Jesus

participated in thePassover meal duringThe Last Supper. At TheLast Supper, Jesus iden-tified the matzo (bread)and wine as his body

and blood, soon to besacrificed and shed.Christians believe TheLast Supper marked thefirst transubstantiation,

or the turning of breadand wine into the actualsubstance of Christ’sbody and blood. Thisalso was the first cele-bration of the Eucharist

and Holy Mass thatwould become anothercore component of theChristian faith.

Easter is a time of

great celebration that ispreceded by Lent, aweeklong period of re-flection, prayer and re-pentance. The daysimmediately prior to

Easter are commonlyreferred to as HolyWeek. This encom-passes Palm Sundayand lasts through Holy

Thursday (the day ofThe Last Supper), GoodFriday (when Jesus wascrucified and placed inthe tomb), and HolySaturday (the 40-hour-

long vigil that the fol-lowers of Jesus Christheld after his death andburial).

On Easter Sunday,four women, includingMary Magdalene, wentto Christ’s tomb toanoint his body withspices and oils. Theyfound the tomb wasempty and were metwith an angel who toldthem that Jesus hadbeen raised from thedead. A biblical accountin John 20:14-16 indi-cates that Mary Magda-lene was the first tospeak with the risenJesus. She mistakesJesus for a gardener andsays to him, “Sir, if youhave carried him away,tell me where you havelaid him, and I will takehim away.” Jesus said toher, “Mary!” She turnedand said to him, “Rab-boni!” In regard to hisapostle,s Simon Peterwas the first to see therisen Christ.

Easter is a time of joyand celebration, and agreat opportunity forChristians to immersethemselves in theirfaith.

Finding faith during Easter celebrations


By Kate Zweigart

I glared at my motheras she stood in the door-way holding my wintercoat and a pair of redrubber boots. I hatedthose boots. They wenton over my shoes andrequired much tuggingand pulling to get themon and a like amount oftugging and pulling toget them off. And myfeet would get allsweaty if they were

worn indoors for anylength of time. But tohave to wear them onEaster Sunday, a daydedicated to new lifeand rebirth, was an in-sult indeed!

It was my seventhEaster and I was de-lighted to have a newdress with matching hatand black patent leathershoes to wear to church.I had seven older femalecousins and big card-board boxes full of

hand-me-downs arrivedin the mail with regular-ity, so it was a rarity forme to have a new dressand I was looking for-ward to my Easter fin-ery. Imagine my dismaywhen a fresh blanket ofwhite greeted me onthat cold March morn-ing instead of the de-sired and expectedsunshine and flowers.

Snow shouldn’t covera landscape that wasmeant to be dotted with

Easter eggs and blos-soms, dainty dressesshouldn’t be buriedunder winter coats, andshiny shoes shouldn’tbe crammed into redrubber boots! Mymother insisted I wearboth the coat and theboots despite myprotests and much to thedismay of my feminineheart. A frilly frock ac-cessorized with red rub-ber boots? It wasn’t thelook I was after! Fortu-

nately, I was able to findcomfort in the chocolatebunny nestled in myEaster basket among thecandy eggs and marsh-mallow chicks.

As an adult, I lookback at that Easter andgrin at my disgruntle-ment, although thememory still has a littletinge of disappointmentassociated with it. Andas a mature Christian,every Easter I am re-minded that Jesus does

indeed gift us with newlife and brings spring toour cold and frozensouls. When we are inthe midst of an unex-pected spiritual winter,we need only rememberthat God, through thegift of his Son, promisesrebirth. The snow willmelt, flowers willbloom again, and yes,even those red rubberboots will be put awayfor good!


The Red Boots

Happy Easter!

Come Easter Sunday,eager children wake upto see if the EasterBunny has visited theirhomes. For many fami-lies, Easter would notbe the same without anannual egg hunt. Fromchocolate confections tomoney-filled plasticshells to colorful, hand-decorated hard-boiledeggs, the Easter Bunny(and his parentalhelpers) hide eggs allaround.

As with many tradi-tions, people may en-gage in the festivitieswithout really under-standing the origins be-hind the fun. It can beinteresting to unearthjust how such egg huntswere hatched.

As with many reli-gious traditions, Easteregg coloring and huntstrace their origins topre-Christian societies.These societies devel-oped rituals surroundingnature, the seasons andmore. Some traditionswere adapted to link

them to the Christianfaith. Eggs held associ-ations with new life and

spring. However, earlyChristians turned theegg into a symbol of theResurrection and theempty shell became arepresentation ofChrist’s tomb. Eggs alsowere important compo-

nents of the Easter holi-day, as they were pro-hibited (like meat)

during Lent. But onEaster, fasting endedand eggs were a part ofEaster celebrations, par-ticularly for the poorwho couldn’t affordmeat.

There are two widely

known accounts of theorigins of Easter egghunts. The religious ver-

sion has Protestant re-former Martin Lutherorganizing hunts for hiscongregation. The menwould hide the eggs forwomen and children tofind, which mirrorsResurrection accounts

in the Bible in whichwomen discoveredChrist’s empty tomb.

Another account tracesthe tradition to theDutch tale of the “Os-chter Haws” (“Oster-hase” in German),which was a hare thatlaid eggs in the grass.Children would build

and decorate nests forthe eggs and wait to seeif they would be popu-lated, according to Dis-covery.com. Thistradition became popu-lar in America with thearrival of Dutch andGerman settlers inPennsylvania in the1700s.

By the 20th century,decorated Easter nestswere replaced with bas-kets, and Osterhase wasmore affectionatelyknown as the EasterBunny, who chose toleave eggs as well astreats and candy. Eastercelebrations continuedto marry both the reli-gious and secular toform many of the cus-toms that are knownwidely today.

Easter egg hunts areenjoyed by the youngand old on Easter.They’re a key part ofcelebrations. Just re-member to find all thosehard-boiled eggs in atimely fashion.

Cracking the tradition of hiding Easter eggs


By ReverendJames Dougans

“Is Paul McCartneythere?” asked the caller.“No,” said my mother,exasperation in hervoice. “No, Paul Mc-Cartney doesn’t livehere. He doesn’t live inSaskatoon, he lives inLiverpool.” Hanging upthe phone, she thoughtto herself, it’s a nui-sance to be the only Mc-

Cartney’s listed in thephone book.

If the caller had askedfor John McCartney, mymother could have re-galed them with storiesof her uncle, the famousScottish footballer, andcoach. The one who lostpart of his leg to a terri-ble football injury. Orshe could have talkedon about her sister, the“Wonder Child of theWest.” About the Jean

McCartney hailed as aHighland dancingprodigy, whose earningsas a child helped payher parent’s taxes.

My mother, DorothyMcCartney, looked upto her big sister Jean. In-spired by Jean’s ex-ploits, she sought tomake her own mark.She married at twenty-five in 1950. In 1953,with one child in tow,the family moved east

to Winnipeg, leavingbehind the safety andcomfort of family andthe known, for the newand unknown. Mymother remarks that“she was ready forsomething new.”

An even bolder stepcame in 1957. A Dou-glas DC-7, four pro-pellers thrashing the air,transported my motherand now three childrenfrom Winnipeg to

Chicago. My dad wasnot there to assist, hehad gone on ahead tomake arrangements. Itwas up to my mother tosoothe a crying infantbrother Glenn, andcomfort sister Patricia,age 3. I didn’t help mat-ters with a bout of mo-tion sickness, a lifelongmalady. It wasn’t thesmoothest start to ournew life in the “states.”

Fast forward 63

years, and my mother isstill going strong. Shelives without assistancein her own home. Shehad hip replacementsurgery last year. It wentso well she wondered ifthey had actually donethe surgery! You are aninspiration, mom!

Note: James Dougansis pastor of the FirstPresbyterian Church inMaysville.


When celebratingEaster, many Christiansdon their best apparel to

attend church servicesand family gatherings.On Easter Sunday, gen-

tlemen often put ontheir best suits andwomen their fanciest

dresses. Children, too,wear formal clothing onEaster Sunday. Girls in

particular tend to wearan item of interest thatseems to only appearonce per year.

Bonnets are part ofthe Easter attire formany girls, and evensome women. Bonnetsare part of long tradi-tion of wearing newclothes on Easter thatoriginated in parts ofEurope, such as GreatBritain. In fact, the tra-dition even dates backto Shakespearean times,as an “Easter suit” isreferenced in “Romeoand Juliet.”

According to somehistorians, there was anotion that ill-luckwould affect a personwho did not have some-thing new to wear onEaster, and the bonnetis an element of new-ness that fits the bill formany young girls andwomen.

It wasn’t until the19th century that theEaster bonnet gainedpopularity in the Amer-icas. Women and chil-dren participating inEaster parades, notablythe New York City

Easter Parade, could beseen in their finestclothes with intricatebonnets - oftenwreathed in flowers -on their heads. BecauseEaster coincides withspring, lilies, daffodils,azaleas, hyacinths, andother blooms wouldadorn hats and hair.

Even though theEaster bonnet may notbe as popular as it oncewas, many people stillembrace this tradition.In areas of the UnitedKingdom, for example,children and womendesign elaborate and os-tentatious bonnets. Inthe United States, somehat-decorating contestsstill coincide withEaster festivities. Chil-dren in primary gradesalso may design Easter-or spring-themed hatsthat they can wear dur-ing holiday celebra-tions.

Easter bonnets have astoried history. FromEuropean beginnings toparade staples, they’reoften a hallmark of thespring season.

HISTORY

Ready for Something New

Color your own Easter Bonnet!

Easter symbols andtraditions help make theholiday familiar andspecial. Eggs, hot crossbuns and frilly churchdresses help paint thepicture, and so does adelicate and beautifulwhite flower.

The Easter lily plantis native to both Taiwanand the Ryukyu Islandsof Japan. The plant’sflowering season beginsin April and ends inJune. The plant pro-duces pure white flow-ers on top of long stems.Easter lilies often adornhomes and church altarsduring this time of year.

Tradition states thatthe Easter lily origi-nated in the Garden ofEden from the teardropsof Eve that spread whenshe and Adam were castout of the garden. Thesewere believed to betears of repentance.

Historians and bibli-cal scholars say that the

lily has always beenhighly regarded in the

Christian Church. Jesuseven references theflower in Luke 12:27,stating “Consider the

lilies how they grow:they toil not, they spin

not; and yet I say untoyou, that Solomon in allhis glory was not ar-rayed like one of these.”

Legend has it that, afterJesus’ death and resur-

rection, lilies werefound growing in theGarden of Gethsemane,where Jesus is said to

have prayed before hiscrucifixion. They were

believed to have sprungup from a drop of sweatfrom his brow when hishead was bent in prayer.

In Easter celebra-tions, the lily representsChrist’s Resurrection,and thusly new birthand new life. The deli-cate, white blooms canbe viewed as pure, inno-cent and untainted bythe world.

The flower itself isused in various ways totell the resurrectionstory. The bulb is buriedin the ground as a repre-sentation of Christ’stomb. The trumpet-shaped fragrant flowersalso announce life afterdeath, since bulbedflowers often regrowyear after year, accord-ing to the religious re-source All About Jesus.And the trumpet shapesignifies the angelGabriel’s trumpet call.

It’s common forEaster lilies to decoratehomes, churches, gar-dens, and more through-out the Easter season.

Meanings behind the Easter lily



All during Lent, I tossyellow and red onionskins into my old hand-carved wooden saladbowls from Lebanon.The reason? To makehomemade dye for col-oring Easter eggs natu-rally.

Along with the onionskins I’ll use red cab-bage, the spice turmeric,beet juice and other nat-ural dyes. If I have anabundance of wild vio-lets growing, I’ll havethe children pick those,as well.

And I always let thelittle ones help. Theywatch in awe as theylearn their first lessonsin food chemistry: thered cabbage turns theeggs a gorgeous teal todark blue, the turmericgives a sun-shine yel-low hue to the eggs andthe onion skins are un-predictable but alwaysbeautiful in shades ofamber to brick red. Beetjuice produces a pinkishcolor. Purple violetsturn eggs a lovely, palelavender blue.

The children get abonus, too: they learnto be good stewards oftheir environment by re-cycling items that mayhave wound up in thetrash.

I have my Mom,Mary Nader, to thank

for making us such“green advocates”. Shecolored our eggs withonion skins. When wewere kids, we likedcommercially coloredeggs better, but as Igrew older, I came toappreciate just what theonion skin eggs meant.

More than just color-ing, naturally coloredeggs were a way oftelling a story and pass-ing history on to thenext generation.

PERFECT HARDCOOKED EGGS

Everyone has their fa-vorite method. This ismine.

Cover as many eggsas you like with an inchor so of cold water.Bring slowly to a boilover medium heat. Thenput the lid on, removefrom heat and let sit 12-15 minutes. Properlycooked hard boiled eggswill have yellow yolksthroughout, no greenrings.

You can boil the eggsa couple of days ahead.Bring to room tempera-ture before putting intodyes.

As far as peeling theeggs for eating, oldereggs are best - mucheasier to peel than fresh.

An old fashioned Easter

ONION SKINSIn a saucepan, place as many papery outer skins of yellow or red onions

that you have. Cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil, lower toa simmer, cover and cook until onion skins have colored the water, about 10minutes. Strain and cool before adding vinegar. Egg colors vary from lightamber to brick red.

BEETSI heat strained canned beet juice to a boil or boil fresh skinned beets and

strain. Cool before adding vinegar. Beets turn eggs a pinkish color.

RED CABBAGEThe little ones’ favorite as it turns the eggs teal blue! Barely cover a good amount of chunked up red cabbage with water. Cover,

bring to a boil, lower to a gentle boil and cook until cabbage loses most of itspurple color and turns a bit gray. This can take up to 30 minutes or so. Strainand cool before adding vinegar.

Now this dye does take a longer time to set — several hours at least(overnight is best) so it’s good to put in the refrigerator while the dye is work-ing. The longer the eggs sit in the dye, the darker the color blue.

VIOLETSPick purple violets, flowers only, from your yard. They should not have

been sprayed with any chemical. For every 4 cups of water, you’ll need 3-4 cups violets, packed.Place flowers in heat proof bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let infuse until

desired color is reached. Strain and cool before adding vinegar. Violets pro-duce a light lavender blue.

TURMERICBring 2 tablespoons turmeric in 1-1/2 cups water to a boil. Cool but don’t

strain. Add vinegar, stir and place eggs in dye until desired color is obtained.Remove, swish them around in cool water quickly to remove particles.Turmeric colored eggs are bright yellow.

PROPER VINEGAR TO WATER PROPORTIONSThe proportion of vinegar to liquid is the same for all dyes: for every cup of

liquid, stir in a tablespoon or so of clear vinegar. A little more or less won’tmatter. This “sets” the dye. Naturally colored eggs take longer to color, so bepatient.

After you make the dye, let it cool before coloring eggs.

REFRIGERATE! Refrigerate hard cooked eggs within two hours after they’ve been found on

Easter morning.

MAKE DYES AHEADYes, you can make the dyes a week or so ahead. Strain and keep covered in

refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.

Dyes left to right: Yellow onion skins, violets, red onion skins, red cabbage, turmeric, beets.

Onion skins.

Rita HeikenfeldRita is an herbalist, educator, mediapersonality, food journalist and author.Her website abouteating.com reachespeople who share their tips, thoughts,recipes and memories. She lives on alittle patch of heaven in ClermontCounty with her family.


By Donna Sutton

In the black and whitephoto, she sat on theground, legs crossed atthe ankles, arms sup-porting her upper body,hands just behind herhips hidden by the grass.She was wearing a plaidsuit and stylish Oxfordpumps as she fixed thecamera, or the persontaking the picture, witha even pleasant look.This picture was takenin the early 1940’s ofmy mom before she be-came a mother. In thisstriking precious pictureshe was surrounded bythousands of daffodils infull bloom.

The blooming daf-fodil is a sure sign of

spring, with their vividyellow heads held upproudly brightening anotherwise drab back-ground. Sometime theybravely hold their beau-tiful little blooms upagainst a late springsnow, managing to in-spire and reassure uswith the hope and prom-ise that spring is comingsoon. Daffodils do notpossess the loveliness ofsome flowers nor dothey carry the fragrancesattributed to perfumeflowers, but they remindus of our faith in betterdays ahead when we seetheir glowing yellowblooms.

In the 1950’s, therewas a special field, theone where my mother’s

picture was taken someyears before, located ona gravel road near myUncle and Aunts farm.Our family had movedaway from this area afew years before makingit necessary for my Auntto let us know when thedaffodils were bloom-ing. The five of us,Daddy, Mom, my twoolder brothers and Iwould pile into the cabof our old farm truck forthe traditional twentyfive mile journey to gopick daffodils. Wewould bring alongbrown cardboard boxesfor our treasuredblooms. Everyone wasin good spirits on thistrip; we was headed toour favorite relatives

house and on a missionof good will. We wouldarrive at the gate thatwas just below theirhouse and Daddy wouldlet one of us childrenblow the horn all theway up the lane, makingus sound like the cele-bration of a newly mar-ried couple!

After greeting Uncleand Aunt with hugs andkisses, we would grabour boxes and head backdown the way we’dcome to the daffodilfield. Since it waswithin “hollerin” dis-tance, we were allowedto go without adults andfelt lighthearted, freeand full of happy antici-pation, we skipped orwalked to the field.

When we got there wesat our boxes down andgot down to the businessof picking daffodils!There were so many itfelt as if we were in anocean of yellow beauty.Each bobbing head ofgolden yellow seemedmore perfect than thelast. As we picked oneour eyes would be look-ing for the next moreperfect, yellower blos-som to pick. When wehad as many as our handcould hold, we wouldtake them and gently laythem in our boxes. Oh,it was such fun to imag-ine the joy they wouldbring! Eventually theboxes were full andlooking about, regretfulto have to leave the daf-

fodil field, we consoledourselves by knowingwe would be back thefollowing year to do itagain.

We would proudlycarry our treasure backup the lane to Uncle andAunts house for our ef-forts to be admired.After visiting a bitlonger and enjoying ameal, we would take ourleave with goodby hugsand kisses.

The next day our an-ticipation was rewardedwhen we presented eachof our teachers with thebiggest most beautifulbouquet of daffodils, wewere sure they had everreceived!


The Daffodil Field

Happy Easter!

For God so loved the world, that hegave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in himshould not perish,but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Explaining the symbolism of candles on Holy SaturdayEaster Week is an exciting time for Christians across the globe. Easter Week begins with Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday, and during the

week, Christians commemorate the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. Come Holy Saturday, it may seemas though there’s little left for Christians to do besides prepare for Easter Sunday Mass the following day. However, some churches hold Easter Vigilservices on the Saturday night before Easter Sunday. During these vigils, some of which may last several hours, priests will light what is known as aPaschal candle. This candle is several feet tall and within it are several rings of incense, which are intended to symbolize the wounds Christ suffered onthe day of his crucifixion. Once the Paschal candle is lit, the priest proceeds to the front of the church, periodically stopping to light various smallercandles. By the time the priest reaches the front of the church, it is illuminated with what Christians believe is the light of Christ. But the Paschal candle’swork does not end on Holy Saturday, as priests will then use the same candle throughout the year during baptisms and funerals.


ByJann Brittain Garner

Trust in the lord withall thine heart and leannot unto thine own un-derstanding. In all thyways acknowledge him,and he shall direct thypaths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

I’m sure many of ushave been taught orheard of this verse in theBible sometime duringour lifetime and I amalso positive there hasbeen times in our liveswhere we had to do thisvery thing. We werebrought to a place thatwas totally out of our

comfort zones. TrustingGod isn't always easy,but with him directingour path we can be as-sured that he has every-thing under control andwill take us step by step.

That’s exactly what Ihave had to do these pastfew years. Here is mystory.

One night I was awak-ened from a powerfuldream. The dream wasso real. I felt as if I waswatching it on a moviescreen. I continued towatch it play out. Thepeople in my dreamwere somehow very fa-

miliar to me though Inever recognized them.

I woke up from thedream, sat up in my bedand felt the Lord’s pres-ence in my room and hespoke to my heart. Hetold me he wanted me towrite a story about themain characters in thedream.

My first response was“'You want me to dowhat?”

The Lord repeated itto me. With much reluc-tance and protest, I saidI did not know first thingabout writing. I told himI was perfectly comfort-able being a pastor’s

wife and helping playmusic at our localchurch.

He told me that if Iwould pick up the paperand pen he would tell mewhat to write and tell thestory. I can’t tell you Iwasn't afraid and hesi-tant but something in-side of me pushedthrough that fear and thatvery day I did as theLord directed me to do.For a solid year, I wrote.It became known as"Promises Unbroken".

This process hasn't al-ways been easy andthere has been road-blocks. But with every

roadblock that came myway, the Lord opened uppath for me to take. Hehas put people in my lifeand a wonderful familythat has supported me.My church family andeven strangers havehelped me on this jour-ney .

He led me to a pub-lisher who wanted to getthe story out and"Promises Unbroken "was recently featured in"First for Women” mag-azine this past Septem-ber. It is available onAmazon and bookstoreslike Barnes and Noble.

The next time God

takes you out of yourcomfort zone, rememberhow much He loves youand will never leave you.His ways are muchhigher than our ways.Trust him and the planhe has for you.

"Promises Unbroken"is about the journey of afirst-year college stu-dent. During a trip to herhometown, she experi-ences a life-alteringevent that changes herlife forever. Her journeyshows how faith, loveand courage lead herinto the next phase of heryoung life.


Trust in the Lord changes a life

Happy Easter!

Easter is the most im-portant day of the yearon the Christian calen-dar. A celebration of theResurrection of JesusChrist, Easter commem-orates the very core ofthe Christian faith. So itcomes as no surprise thatsuch an important day issteeped in tradition.

Easter traditions suchas Easter Sunday Massare widely known. Butthere are many uniqueEaster traditions acrossthe globe that, while

they may not be aswidely known, illustratethe power of this veryspecial day in the Chris-tian community.

• India: India may notbe the first nation tocome to mind whenthinking of countries inwhich Christianity has astrong foothold. Andwhile only a small per-centage of people inIndia identify as Chris-tian, Easter celebrationsin the country are elabo-rate. For example, in the

small state of Goa,Easter celebrants hostcarnivals and exchangegifts with fellow Chris-tians. Those gifts includethe Holy Cross, which isexchanged after Easterchurch services haveended. Such services arethen followed by Easterparties, where familiesand friends gather andbreak bread together,much like Christian cel-ebrants do in other partsof the world.

• Italy: Residents of

Florence celebrateEaster Sunday with agenuine flash. In a tradi-tion that dates back sev-eral centuries,Florentines load a cartwith fireworks beforeexploding it outside thefamed Florence Cathe-dral.

• Europe: Many Euro-pean Christian commu-nities burn an effigy ofJudas Iscariot as part oftheir Easter celebrations.Christians believe theapostle Judas betrayed

Jesus Christ, a betrayalthat led to Christ’s cruci-fixion. Despite somegroups denouncing theburning of Judas as anti-Semitic, the practicecontinues in many coun-tries.

• Spain: Holy Weekcommemorates the en-tire week precedingEaster Sunday, includingHoly Thursday andGood Friday. In theSpanish town of Verges,Christians commemo-rate Holy Thursday by

reenacting scenes fromthe Passion, which refersto the short period at theend of Christ’s life. The“Dansa de la Mort(Death Dance)” is partof that commemoration,and during this dance,participants dress up likeskeletons.

Easter celebrationsacross the globe aresteeped in tradition, in-cluding some that mightsurprise even the mostdevout Christians.

Unique Easter traditions from across the globe


By Phillip Yunker

A few years ago I wasin Honduras with amedical evangelicalteam working in a veryrural Elementaryschool. One afternoonwhen the temperaturesbegan to cool down toaround 80, I was takinga break and found someshade for some coolingoff.

There were lots ofpeople, especially lotsof children millingaround and playinggames. The team wasbusy and had been allweek long and it hadbeen a good week; in

fact it seemed like awonderful week. Therewere many workers forthe project from thelocal churches there,more than were on theteam from the UnitedStates. While I thoughtabout this I realized thatI was looking at 3 guysthere with me on theplayground but alsoseeming to movearound through the proj-ect. These 3 weredressed immaculatelydown to the shoes theywore which were per-fectly shined. Theirwhole outfits lookedlike haute coutere formen.

They did not speak tome, I did not directlyspeak to them but as Iwatched them I realizedthat this was a spirit,this was our savior, thiswas our God there withus during this project. Iwas actually speechlessif you can imagine thatfrom me. Everywherethey went things wentwell it was their pres-ence that gave us the en-ergy and the desire andthe pleasure of workingwith the hundreds, and,I believe was part ofwhat drew the Hon-durans who came formedical services and forspiritual guidance, both

of which were provided.The spiritual guidanceand encouragement wascontinued for weeks andweeks and months andeven years after the oneweek project ended.

During Lent do wegive up or do we give?I think that it is a re-minder of the opportu-nities we have to giveduring the rest of ourlives. If you have run-ning water, electricity,and access to publictransportation, you livein the 99th percentile ofthe world for standardof living. Most of ushad nothing to do withachieving that, but we

were born into it. Thatis, we were given thosethings. What is it thatwe have that has notbeen given to us; I thinkvery little or nothing.

Jesus Christ gaveeverything for our livesand told us what hewanted us to do withour lives. I think that’swhat we can give forLent. I think that’s whatEaster is all about is alife like Jesus, a life ofgiving not being served.

How you treat peoplewhen you leave yourhouse or when youtravel abroad to serveon a foreign missionproject; your mission is

to respect others and bekind and to share someof what has been sogenerously given tous… Either throughsupport or through ac-tual physical workingwith the projects orholding the door forsomeone who needs ahand.

These are not thingswe do to get to heaven;these are the things wedo out of gratitude forthe grace that has beengiven to us through thesacrifice by Jesus, andhis resurrection.


Missions or some memory about Easter

Documents

Layout 1 (Page 1)€¦ · and palm fronds in front of Jesus. Holy Monday Matthew 21 and Mark 11 indicate that Christ returned to Jerusalem this day and cleansed the Temple area from