April's Pastor's Pen

​It is traditionally believed that the ancient Romans gave the month of April it’s name based on the Latin word aperire, meaning “to open.” It received this name because of the flowers and trees “opening up” during the 30 days that make up the month. I think this is a perfect description for the month we are about to experience here at Central Christian Church.
 
During the middle of the April, our spirits get to open up to God in a new way through the commemoration of Holy Week. In addition to our traditional Maundy Thursday service, this year we are partnering with The Gathering Community Church to commemorate Good Friday. This service will offer a blending of the traditional “Seven Last Words” and “Stations of the Cross” which will hopefully create a deeply personal and more touching understanding of the last moments of Jesus life.
 
I believe it is very important to remember the cross and not skip from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday without remembering Jesus’ last week. If we fail to remember Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, his betrayal, arrest, and suffering at the hands of the Roman state then we go from triumphal celebration to triumphal celebration and overlook much of the Easter message. Remembering these moments makes Easter Sunday so much more powerful.
 
Our Easter celebration will truly be a joyous occasion this year. Not only will we be celebrating Jesus’ resurrection in worship, we will also have the privilege to witness the baptism of Ryleigh Aragi. We are excited to welcome Ryleigh in to our community of faith and look forward to celebrating with her immediate and extended family.
 
Two weeks after Easter we will be opening up our doors to the entire Danbury community. On April 30th we will have the good fortune of celebrating our 200th Anniversary as a church. This anniversary celebration will provide an opportunity to remember the people who helped build this church, reminisce on our collective memories and look forward to role and responsibilities as a church as we enter our third century of ministry.
 
At this service we will also be opening up our ministry to the new 2017 Artists-in-Residency cohort. Three artists will be introduced as members in to this pilot program running from May 1st through November 30th. I am very excited for this step into the arts that we are making. I truly believe art opens us up to God in new ways and I hope we will experience this through supporting young artists in the greater Danbury area. 
 
We have a lot going on this month. I truly believe this April will provide us plenty of opportunities to blossom as a community. I look forward to experiencing all of these activities with you.
 
In Peace,
 
Pastor Stephen

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