Passover

By Bob Province

A. Thursday, April 21

1. Attended Maundy Thursday service.  I sent pictures earlier.  Corliss McBride, a church leader, went to great lengths to show us a Christian Passover meal and service.  She had a Jewish meal consisting of lamb, carrots, salad, matzah and haroset.  We followed the service according to the program that comes with this.  Very, very impressive.

B, Sunday, April 24

1. Easter Program – No Sunday school today.   They had an Easter Program put on mainly by young adults, teenagers and children.  It included a dance performed by children and then a play that included the rest.

2. Church – We had regular church service after the Easter Program.  Had a much larger crowd than usual.  Everyone was in high spirits and full of thanksgiving and praise for God and for the Resurrection.  Someone(s) broke into the church Saturday and did a lot of damage.  Broke a lot of windows and doors and stole the money collected at the Good Friday service.  We prayed for those people.  They had an Easter Egg hunt after the services.

Easter Sunday

My family and I went to our church home this Sunday to celebrate Easter. My sons had speaking parts in the annual Easter program. It was very nice to see everyone. Many people thought we have left Antioch forever. We explained to them that we are participating in a church swap.

We are also making good friends at our temporary church. We discovered  that several of its members have children at our sons' school. This became apparent at their Easter party where we saw two members of our Sunday School class. That was a pleasant surprise.

We are looking forward to going back next Sunday. So far, it has been a wonderful experience.

Church Swap - Second Visit

Our second visit provided a more realistic preview of our new church. We were able to hear the pastor preach and to go to the Sunday school class for married couples our age. We really connected with the members of this class who are very friendly and outgoing. The Sunday School teacher focused on the history of Israel and connected it with what is going on in the region today.

One of the major differences in this church is the number of opportunities offered to fellowship as a couple in small groups. On Sunday evenings, members of our Sunday School class have a potluck dinner, while our children attend a class at church. In addition, each month, college students offer babysitting on Fridays. This is a great idea!

We enjoyed the sermon, which addressed sin. The pastor discussed the importance of striving to do the right thing, but said humans are programmed to fail. However, when we sin, it is important to get back up. He used an analogy of a baby learning to walk, falling, and getting back up. It is important never to give up.

The music was awesome this week. The choir this Sunday included an orchrestra and percussionist. It sounds great!

--Mia Moody