HAPPY EASTER !

CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL AT CHRIST CHURCH

THE LILY: ICON OF EASTER AND SPRING

Easter Sunday morning, 9:00 AM.  35 degrees F, wind ESE, calm to light.  The sky is clear with some haze in the east.  The humidity is 89% and the barometer is down a bit at 30.09".  Weather in the 40's and 50's is predicted for much of the coming week, which should melt most of the remaining snow, but there is a pile 5' high in the herb garden which may not not be gone until June!
   That said, it is a gorgeous morning; the flickers and geese have returned, and the woods along Old San Road were sparkling with dewed branches, a scene way beyond my poor ability to capture on film (now there's a malapropism in this digital age).  The promise of spring and renewed life were everywhere, and Buddy and I gloried in it all.
   The Great Vigil of Easter was held at Bayfield's historic Christ Church (Episcopal) yesterday evening.  It was a candlelight service, with the lighting of the Paschal Candle, the renewal of baptismal vows and the first Holy Eucharist of Easter.  The sung service, celebrated by Reverand Mark Ricker of the Episcopal church in Ashland, was beautiful, and the diminutive Carpenter Gothic chapel was almost filled.
   These are troubled times, when people seek the comfort and assurance of our cultural and religious traditions.
   I am always humbled when I repeat my baptismal vows, as I realize yet again how far and how often I  miss the mark in daily life.  But Easter is about renewal, about life and hope and faith.
   Happy Easter!