Letter from Alan, Easter, 2011

D   ear Friends,
  A couple of years ago while hurrying through the Nashville airport on my way home from a conference my progress was suddenly halted by the sound of my name echoing above all the activity of the crowded concourse. I stopped . . . listened . . . and there it was again . . . clear and loud . . . "Alan!" Startled, I looked around. Then out of the crowd there emerged a man whom I did not recognize. Coming up to me he enthusiastically grabbed my hand. "Edwin . . . Edwin Jones . . . remember me?" And then it came back to me. Yes . . . Edwin Jones, a colleague in ministry back in South Africa in the late ’70s. Wow! After all these years, and so far from ‘home’. No matter what the circumstance, time or place, there is something about hearing your name that gets your attention.

Standing in the shadows in the early morning of that first Easter Mary anxiously questioned one she supposed was the gardener. However, everything changed in a heartbeat at the sound of her name. "Jesus said to her, ‘Mary’ ". John 20:16

The Christian celebration of Easter is more than an occasion for new clothes, Easter egg hunts or family gatherings. It is an invitation to find a quiet moment; a corner of silence; a place where you can hear your name. My wish for you this Easter is that you will hear your name spoken with such love that you will know the One who calls. May this encounter with the Risen Lord forever change your life.

Rosemary joins me and the entire staff of First United Methodist Church in wishing you a very blessed Easter.

With warmest regards,

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