It's hard to believe that this Sunday will mark the 17th time we've celebrated Easter together in the Celebration Circle.  How time flies!  Over the years we've conducted this service in nine different locations, and we've addressed this holiday from various perspectives, including the Jewish Passover, the Pagan understanding of Spring, the ancient myths of the Pan-Mediterranean-Greco-Roman cultures, the traditional Christian story of the resurrection, and the New Thought re-telling of that story - all as part of our ongoing attempt to provide each other with the opportunity to deepen our relationship with the great mysteries and promises underpinning this time of the year.
 
Thru the years, three things have remained constant:  (1) Easter is always among the most upbeat, well-attended Sunday Circles of the year; (2) somehow the Easter Bunny manages to find us at each location and hide lots of treats for our children to find; and (3) we enjoy the unique experience of co-creating a floral sculpture for the altar, using the small wooden cross Zet and I made many years ago.  It's nothing special, really.  Just a couple of old boards nailed together, wrapped in chicken wire, and hung from a rusty, wrought iron, birdcage stand.  The rest of the time it remains outside, tucked unobtrusively in a corner of our garden. But on this one day of the year, it becomes something very special. 
 
Here's why:  Everyone is invited to bring flowers to tuck into the chicken wire or mound around the altar.  One person will bring a single rose, another a fistful of daisies or bluebonnets, or perhaps a spray of mountain laurel, a potted lily, a vase full of tulips.   As folks file in and the service begins, each person comes up to the front to add their flower(s) to the arrangement.  Some are meticulous, taking their time to insert their offering just so.  Others just plunk their blossoms any-which-way, or just lay them on the floor. Some years the arrangement turns out to be relatively simple; other times it becomes an exercise in extravagance.  But every single year, the floral cross somehow transforms into a harmonious arrangement, created spontaneously, yet perfectly matched to the vibration of the morning's service -- with a radiance that exceeds anything a professional florist could have planned.
 
So, please consider bringing one or more flowers to add to our altar this week.  But that's just one of the reasons I hope you'll be there with us this Sunday.  It's going to be a deep, but joyous experience, as we continue another Circle tradition by having George Prado and the Regency Jazz Band come play their great jazz for the 11th Easter in a row!  They always lift my spirits, and I'm really looking forward to weaving their artistry into my talk and meditation once again.  Plus, as luck would have it, one of my all-time favorite troubadours, Chuck Pyle, "The Zen Cowboy" from Boulder, Colorado is touring through SA for the first time in way too long - and I just couldn't resist booking him, to add his calm, centered, yet often-hilarious words and music to the morning.
 
In any case, I hope you'll have time to savor the joy of this holiday weekend.  Wherever you are, whatever you do, you deserve to blossom with all the renewed energy, prosperity and possibilities Spring has to offer!

 

With blessings,