Just as Holy Week and Easter began in a whirlwind of activity, so it has continued. In a period that began with an exhilarating youth mission trip to Washington, D.C. This Easter season has held both sorrow and joy, promise and predicament. All of these movements have been held fast in God's solemn promise to renew the whole creation by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We have walked alongside beloved friends as they approached death and commended them into God's hands. We have celebrated with triumph the joys of Easter with bright colors and resounding song. We have watched the earth turn to the flush fullness of Spring.
During the week of May 9th, I was privileged to attend the National Workshop on Christian Unity in Pittsburgh, PA. I went as the bishop's ecumenical representative for the New England Synod, and as a member of the board of the Lutheran Ecumenical Representatives Network. Signs of new life in the ecumenical movement are all around. From the Newfire movement that brings young adult ecumenists together, to the publication of a statement by the workshop urging the member churches to gather next year in Oklahoma City to witness to God's ongoing work in bringing Christians to full, visible unity, signs of Spring abounded.
On May 15th, after concluding a period of study fourteen young people came to the Lord's table and partook in the Sacrament of the Altar for the first time. It was a day of bright celebration. Just one day earlier, the promise of renewal came in the form of a special ceremony at WPI. After extended negotiations several seniors were allowed to enter the commencement ceremony late as a protest against the awarding of Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson with an honorary doctorate. Following the main ceremony, approximately one hundred and fifty students, parents, and concerned citizens stayed for a counterpoint presentation. It was my honor to serve as master of ceremonies for that event, and to introduce the speaker, Richard Heinberg, the senior fellow in residence at the Post-Carbon Institute. (http://www.postcarbon.org) In the spirit of Easter, I charged the graduates with developing an economy of redemption, where God's renewing work of transforming the whole creation is reflected in our refusal to turn any plant, any animal, any community and any person into trash to be thrown away. What a blessing these signs of renewal have been!
