For many years after I joined SUMC, our family fit the category of attending most services except Christmas and Easter. We spent these special times with both George’s and my families in West Hartford, Connecticut, and we celebrated Easter at the Presbyterian church where I was confirmed (during a service on Maundy Thursday).
One of the treasured parts of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter has always been the music of these special seasons, and, until COVID forced us to stop singing choral music, I sang in the choir at SUMC from 1972 until 2020. I have always been moved by the Maundy Thursday services and during the years when we were away for Easter, I stayed after the service for choir practice so I could sing the Easter music, particularly the Hallelujah chorus. In Connecticut, the choir sang this and I listened. What a joy it has been at SUMC to sing this chorus with the members of the congregation who came to join the choir in song.
Twice, I was far away from New England for part of Holy Week and Easter. In 1996, our daughter Katherine spent her spring semester in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I flew over to spend a week with her there. Each of us was filled with emotion when we saw each other for the first time since Katherine’s departure on January 1. On Easter, we went to Saint Giles Cathedral (The High Kirk of Scotland) for one of the services, during which communion was served in a way that we had never experienced: guided by the ushers, groups of us walked toward the altar and stood on the floor tiles that made the shape of a large cross. A loaf of bread was passed from hand to hand and each of us tore off a piece before passing the loaf on. Each of us sipped from the cup of wine that was presented to us before being offered to the next person. We returned to our seats as a group while the next worshippers came forward. I do not have particular memories of the music, but certainly remember the communion service.
In the afternoon, we joined many families and climbed Arthur’s Seat, a steep hill that looms behind Edinburgh Castle. It was fun watching people of all ages as they celebrated the holiday together, particularly the children who rolled eggs down the hill. For dinner, I roasted a chicken in the flat that Katherine shared with her British and Scottish roommates, all of whom were away with their families. We picked up a rented car on Easter Monday and drove around Scotland the following week.
In 2010, George and I flew to Madrid, Spain, to be with our family during semana santa – vacation begins on the Friday before Palm Sunday and ends on the Tuesday after Easter. We had a wonderful time together, although rainy and cold weather forced the cancellation of the processions that are part of Holy Week. The larger-than-life-size figures of Jesus and Mary could not be carried through the streets in the rain and we were disappointed to miss these very special ways to remember the events of Holy Week.
On Easter Sunday, we attended one of the Catholic masses that are held each hour. I am not terribly familiar with the mass and do not really speak Spanish, but at one point in the service, I was able to recognize that the Apostles’ Creed was being recited by picking up a few of the words and recognizing the rhythm of the Creed. After the service, we went to the Plaza Mayor in the center of Madrid and ate calamari while watching the many people celebrating this special day.
For the second year in a row, we will experience Holy Week and Easter in very different ways; and many of the trappings, such as family and friend gatherings, choral music sung with so many whom we hold close, and worship in a full sanctuary, will again be stripped away. Ideally, this will enable each of us to focus on the essence of our Christian faith and to make each day of this week one filled with contemplation. May it be so.
-Ann Hamilton
Sudbury UMC Lenten Devotions 