Easter 2013

Some Easter Thoughts

1. The Paschal greeting is an Easter  custom among many Christians. Christos Aneste ("Χριστός ἀνέστη!" - "Christ is Risen!" in Greek) and its response Alithos Anesti ("Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! " - "Truly He is Risen!" or "He Has Risen Indeed!")  On this day, instead of greeting one another with, "Hello," or even, "Happy Easter!" you might want to say to your fellow believers: 

"Christ is Risen!  

and wait for the response:

                       He is Risen, indeed!"

Keith & Kristyn Getty

2.  Have you ever wondered how the life of Christ might have played out "online" if the Roman Empire had Twitter?  Here is one possibility:

3.  Hey kids!  Here are 3 Easter songs that you might like to sing!  (Grownup's can sing along, too!)

4.  Test your Easter Bible knowledge (answers at the bottom of this page)

a.  Judas (one of the original 12 disciples) betrayed Christ and subsequently committed suicide.  Who took his place?

b.  What was the name of the hill where Jesus was crucified?  (hint: it was called "Place of the Skull")

c.  How many trials was Jesus subjected to before being crucified?

d.  How many of these trials were legal under the law?

e.  Who was the first person to see Jesus on Resurrection Sunday?

5.  How about some non-Biblical Easter trivia?  (Stump your friends, before they stump you!)

•  Egyptians were initially the ones who exchanged eggs to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. It was later that the tradition was passed down to early Christians.

•  Hot cross buns, made by European monks, are counted amongst the earliest Easter treats. They were given to the poor people, during the month of Lent.

•  On Easter, 76% people bite off the chocolate bunny ears first, while 5% bite the feet first and 4% eat the tail first.

•  Easter has been named after Eastre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess. The symbols of the goddess were the hare and the egg.

•  Red jellybeans qualify as the most favorite food stuff for kids on Easter.

•  The first Easter basket was given the appearance of a bird's nest.

•  In the mid-20th century, it used to take as much as 27 hours to make a marshmallow peep. Today, the time has been reduced to six minutes.

Test answers:  a) Matthias (Acts 1:12-26)  b)  Golgotha    c)  six        d)  none      e)  Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9)  

dm

Passion Week

This holiest of weeks on the Christian calendar is summed up in one word -- "passion."  The term evokes strong emotions.  The streets of Jerusalem resound with exuberant "hosannas" on Palm Sunday; however, by Friday they echo with the harsh cries "Crucify Him!"  Thankfully, excited whispers of "He is risen!" restores hope to the faithful on Easter Sunday.

Pastor Myers challenged the congregation on Palm Sunday to observe the depths of Christ's Passion between the two celebration events which anchor Passion Week at both ends.  We must not overlook the significance of what comes in between.*

Girdwood Chapel will host a service on Friday evening at 7 p.m.  The gathering will be a combination of Maundy Thursday (the "Last Supper," the Garden of Gethsemane and the betrayal) and a Good Friday service.

Easter Sunday we will have two occasions to celebrate.  First, we join with the community at the top of the mountain at 8 a.m.  (Please note the time change.)  Supt. Dave Beckett will deliver the message.  Because there is only one operational tram, folks are encouraged to arrive early (first tram leaves at 6:30 a.m.).  Dress warmly, as the wait time will be considerable, especially after the service ends.

We follow this with a service at the chapel at 11 a.m.  (There will be NO 8:30 service.)  At the conclusion of the 11 a.m. service, there will be a fellowship time.  If you are able, please bring snack foods to share.

May you have a "passionate" week!  We hope to see you on Friday & Sunday!!



* For a brief chronology of events outlined in the Gospels that occurred during Passion Week, please click on the following link:

Passion Week Chronology

dm

Increasing Our "Visibility"

The Girdwood Chapel Steering Committee is looking for ways to increase our "visibility" in the community.  The congregation already believes that "Church is a Verb," so we recognize our role in being a visible form of Christ in our community.

But we also recognize that we need to be more creative in helping folks learn about us in other ways.  Not only have we increased our "visibility" on the Internet through this website and on Facebook; we are exploring other methods, as well:

Sunday morning - directional signs

Bumper/Window Decals

We are also in the process of designing a "rack card" that can be placed in various places around our community (e.g. the hotel, B&B's, community bulletin boards, etc.).  Please note that the design and wording of the rack card is not final.  Your input is important as we discuss and define who "we" are as a congregation.

Front

Back

If you have additional ideas that could increase Girdwood Chapel's "visibility," please let us know!  Hopefully, you will see more of "us" around town in the coming months!

dm

It's that TIME of year

A timely reminder ...

dm

Mrs. Blackburn's Visit

We had a good turnout for our first-Sunday-of-the-month breakfast potluck.  Our special guest was Mrs. Nora Blackburn, whose generous donation of land to Girdwood Chapel has enabled us to pay down our mortgage debt!  

During the service that followed, she was presented two gifts of appreciation.  She then spoke to the congregation briefly about her memories of Alaska, including Girdwood Chapel.  

Rev. Walt Hays followed with a message that described the history of not only Girdwood Chapel's beginnings, but of the Methodist Church itself.  

After the service, Mrs. Blackburn traveled to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  Her behind-the-scenes visit was arranged by Tom Yaeger, operations manager at the AWCC and husband of Lenore Yaeger, our chapel's Steering Committee chairperson.  She writes:

"(Tom) arranged the tour. It went very, very well. Mona had an absolutely great time watching the brown bears, who were out. She was then able to feed the Sitka deer babies, a porcupine and the moose. She really, really loves moose who apparently really, really love bananas and feeding them I think was her highlight. It was a very good day. Mona was truly gracious and humble."

To learn more about Mrs. Blackburn, pick up a copy of last week's Turnagain Times.  A reporter from the newspaper attended the potluck and service.  Hopefully, we'll be back in the Turnagain Times again this week!

** Please click on the "Scrapbook" page for photos from the potluck & service.**