In 2020 my congregation didn’t have a Palm Sunday service. Palm Sunday fell on April 5th that year (it’s a bit earlier this year) and that was a few weeks into a complete reshuffling of our worship life. I was tired and I unilaterally decided that we would focus on Easter and take the week off of livestreaming.
I doubt anyone else in my congregation remembers that we didn’t have a service that week. I remember. I remember that I made a cute video and extra reflection sheet that in retrospect, no one really needed. I remember I did an extra Holy Week music livestream on the next Saturday, and coordinated virtual Easter flowers, and recorded for a Good Friday service.
Really, I wonder if I should’ve skipped more.
Those months were a heady time of creation for me. Looking back, I see that I just needed a little bit of permission to do more online video creation, live streams, and non-traditional worship experiences. Many people were overwhelmed by these formats. I was exploring them all.
There must have been times that I simply was adding to the frenzy of that time. We were scared, so we filled the space. Actually I don’t need to speak for you. I was scared. I got busy. When I wasn’t busy, I wanted to justify it.
There shouldn’t have to be a global catastrophe for permission to skip things sometimes.
It’s an easy time of year for pastors to feel responsibility for all kinds of traditions. For part-time pastors, it can be especially tough to decipher what is essential and what can be let go. My prayers for all of you who at this moment are making phone calls asking, did anyone order the palms?!
Guess what, you can skip the palms. We don’t have palms at my church and instead have ribbons attached to sticks. They are very fun to wave and I don’t have to order anything. These also double as cat toys, much to my cat’s joy. It’s a win-win.
I have to be discerning about what I’m doing for me and what my congregation actually needs. As it turns out we could omit Palm Sunday entirely and it was totally fine. May I not forget that ease.
What I’m listening to
Writing music!
What I’m baking
I loved the ease of these Iced Oatmeal Cookies. Also everyone at church gobbled them up. However, they were iced with just a plain mix of powdered sugar and milk. This is just a so-so icing in my opinion. Any ideas for how to make this part of the cookie a bit better? Do I put flavoring in the icing or are there are sugars I can use?
What life looks like
Adding an extra note this week: these end post photos are almost always ones I have taken in the previous week. I have always loved taking pictures and including them at the end of each post is just a simple way for you to get a glimpse into the details of my life. For example this is just a nod to a lovely trip I took the botanical gardens on Saturday. It’s special to me the way the photos included in this newsletter tell a story of what my life is like and the moments that bring me joy.
Butter is the way to make icing better, without a doubt.
Thank you for this reminder. These words are such an encouragement in a season in both church and my other job this year.