Harrington Easter

Courtney put pictures of the family from Eater Sunday on her blog. http://www.splashinggrace.blogspot.com/ I told her I was going to borrow a couple of them for my blog.
The problem was that I couldn't pick out a favorite, so I just used them all. I have some of the best looking grandchildren around and I'm not too shy to want to show them off to you.

Easter Sunday 2009 at Republican Grove UMC and Providence UMC

Republican Grove UMC and Providence UMC didn't have to listen to the same sermon from the Sunrise Service. But, they did get to hear Joanne sing again. I have to figure some way of getting her to do that more often.

Fred and Theresa's grandsons joined us at Providence, so I got to use my children's message. I had plastic Easter eggs made to look like sheep with candy inside for both of them. We had quite a few left over and Joanne claimed them since they were filled with Hershey chocolate Kisses, her favorite.

As Brian does every Sunday, he read the scripture for us. If I could only have him at each service to do that for me.

We hope you had a Blessed Easter. We did!

2009 Easter Sunrise Breakfast

After Easter Sunrise service, we had breakfast prepared by the men (minus me).
Breakfast was great, we had a great time fellowshipping together.

Unfortunately, the cooks made it out of the kitchen just in time to get the last of all the food they had prepared.

I enjoyed my first breakfast since Ash Wednesday. I gave up breakfast and lunch for Lent. I really missed my ham and eggs.

2009 Easter Sunrise Service at Saint Andrews UMC

Easter Sunrise Service at St. Andrews started at 7 in the morning. Next year I may suggest a coffee pot in the sanctuary.

The choir sang twice during the service. The second time was to close the service.

Daniel Nuchols has been playing for the choir and did a great job.

Joanne got drafted to sing. I ordered an accompaniment CD and informed that she would be singing on Easter. The song is titled the "Easter Song" and she nailed it.

Easter Sunday is the only Sunday of the year that I need to have two sermons prepared. Since there are folks from Republican Grove and providence who will attend the Sunrise Service and then return to their churches for their Easter service at their regular time.

I just can't see making someone have to listen to me preaching the same thing twice. Well, except Joanne, she has to listen to me three times each Sunday. So, I guess she actually she gets a break on Easter.

Good Friday Tenebrae Service 2009 at Republican Grove UMC

We had our Good Friday Tenebrae service at Republican Grove UMC.
We had members from all three churches reading parts during the service. There were a total of 16 parts, with the final reading in total darkness. The readings were interspersed with hymns.

The word "tenebrae" comes from the Latin meaning "darkness." In this dramatic service on Good Friday, all of the lights and candles on the altar are gradually extinguished until the room is in complete darkness. At the moment of darkness, a loud noise occurs symbolizing the death of Jesus.

The last reading is done in darkness. After the final reading all attending leave the church in silence. Tenebrae is a very moving service and offers a stark contrast to joy of Easter morning.

Maundy Thursday 2009 at Providence UMC

We had members of all three churches join us for the Maundy Thursday service.

Brian Daniels read the scripture and sang a solo. Actually it seemed to me that Brian had more to do in the service than I did and I'm not complaining. He has excellent articulation and a fine singing voice. I'd rather listen to him than me.

We finished the service with Communion.

After the service we had refreshments and a nice time hanging out together.

Palm Sunday

The beginning of Passion week at the Mt. Airy Charge. All three of the churches have special services in the coming week. Providence UMC will have the Maundy Thursday service, Republican Grove UMC will have the Good Friday Tenebrae service, and St. Andrews UMC will have the Easter Sunrise service. Providence and Republican Grove will have their Easter services at their regular Sunday times.

St. Andrews UMC Has Spaghetti Supper

St. Andrews UMC had its annual spaghetti supper April the 4th. It one of the few times during the year that they trust the men of the church to prepare the meal.
I'm not sure trust was the right word. It's more of "they can't mess this up but so bad". I was entrusted with cutting the pre-buttered bread after it had been warmed in its bag. You're probably surprised they let me use a sharp utensil.

A.J. Nuchols, Bill Wyatt, and Dave Adams made the spaghetti and sauce. That was all too complicated for me.

We had a good crowd with a few guests. There was plenty of food with the salad and desserts. We all had a good time and a lot of laughs.

Its nice to hang out with friends and to just enjoy being together.

Jean just wanted to say, "Y'all come back next year. We actually may let Pastor Charlie cook something, maybe."

Huggling

One thing you miss being so far away from your grandchildren is hugging and snuggling with them. Joanne's term is "huggling". Sometimes you have to be sneaky about it, especially as they get older. It's almost like when you were dating and you'd fake an arm stretch to get your arm around your date. They get too smart to get their picture taken in such a compromising way
Sometimes its worth reading a book just to get them sitting beside you or on your lap.

There are times when you'll watch five episodes in a row of some kids program on TV just to get them to stay in your arms.

And there are those moments of genius when you say, "Let's each hold our babies". If it works its worth it, it just never lasts long enough.

He Knows My Name

On Sunday we went to church and heard Dave preach. That is always a treat. I try to get cassette or CD copies of Dave preaching and listen to them in the car. They have done a lot of work at the church since we visited last year.

Another Sunday treat was getting to hear Taisie practice a song she will be singing on a future Sunday. The title of the song is "He Knows My Name". Taisie has a pretty voice, but at times is very timid with it. She did have a couple of quality coaches.

She told me that she will video herself when she sings at the church and email it to me. Its times like that that makes me love technology. Not as good as being there, but it'll do for now.

Taisie Gets a Camera

Taisie bought a camera shortly before we came to visit. She saved almost $100 to pay for it, she's become quite a little miser. It is a really nice 8 megapixel digital Canon Supershot. She loves taking pictures. The truth is that the camera rarely leaves her hands. You never know when she'll be catching you and she takes pictures of everything. She doesn't worry about filling up the memory card, "I'll just download them onto the computer".
She has even started taking and making short videos with the camera. She was videoing the TV, I asked her why and she said to watch later.

She and Thomas made a video using their hands as talking heads. It was like some commercial I had seen on TV. I was very impressed.

It looks like another generation has been hooked photography.

Marmee Gets Pampered

While we were in New York, Joanne got some pampering. Taisie would sit and rub Joanne's hand where she had her surgery. I was funny watching them in church on Sunday.

But, Levi wanted to do something a little different. He wanted to paint Joanne's toe nails. So, he put some newspaper down and went to work.

You know some people pay big bucks to get this done and they they only get the polish on the the nails. I guess its like coloring inside the lines.

Hey, We Had A Long Weekend!

The churches I work with have a tradition that the pastor gets fifth Sundays off. I call it my "Fifth Sunday Sabbatical". It just happens that March had five Sundays. So, I had Monday off from the doctors office and I took Friday as a vacation day. Presto, we had a four day weekend. We were in need of a grandchildren fix, so we packed bags and headed off to New York state.

It takes about 11 hours each way with pit stops and getting something to eat. That gave us two whole days to spend with Courtney, Dave and the kids. The picture is Joanne and I with the grandkids. Thomas is 11 (will be 12 in July), Taisie is 10, Levi is six, and Lila is 2. You can't see it in the picture, but I am standing on my tip toes just trying not to look shorter than my grandson. Didn't work did it?
There was an event that Courtney mentioned on her blog, that I was fortunately taking a nap during. http://splashinggrace.blogspot.com/2009/03/picture-taking-3-act-plays.html There are times when a nap really does do a body good.