An Easter for Unity
For the first time in seven years, Christians will celebrate Easter together.
This week I’ve had the pleasure of writing an essay on Easter for Common Good. Enjoy the first few paragraphs below before heading to their website to read the rest!
Years ago, I sat next to my sister on the wooden pew, my forest green dress scratching beneath my ribs where the velvet bodice met the taffeta skirt. We were doing our level best not to fidget while our legs dangled and we stretched to see beyond the heads of the adults in front of us, toward the wedding at a Phoenix Greek Orthodox church.
A man in a sweeping, gilded robe with a long gray beard placed ornate crowns on the heads of the bride and groom. They looked like they were playing dress up, the way my sisters and I did at home. Then, someone else, I wasn’t sure who, stood behind the couple and swapped the crowns between them, criss-crossing his arms three times. He finished his task by tying a long ribbon from one crown to the other. I remember thinking about what would happen to those heavy crowns if one of them tried to walk away.
On April 20th, for the first time in seven years, the members of that Greek Orthodox cathedral in Phoenix will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the same day as the Roman Catholics down the road — and the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and nondenominational evangelicals around various corners.
In pursuit of Beauty this Holy Week,
