Easter Letter 2024

March 2024

We’re going through Lent and looking ahead to Easter. Starting with that sentence, what do you find yourself thinking about? (There’s no wrong answer.)

Looking ahead to Easter, I find myself thinking about the disciples and wondering what it must have been like for them. There was the excitement of being asked to study with Jesus, and the challenges of understanding what was going on. The ups and downs get even more wild as Easter gets closer. There’s all the cheering when Jesus entered Jerusalem — which by the end of the week had shifted to calling for his death. Their attempts at following Jesus change to turning away from him. Then he’s killed. Did Jesus talking about this a few times earlier help? because the disciples didn’t seem to understand at the time… or now when he is arrested and dies – along with whatever hopes they had for a better world.

Would you have stayed or gone home? After all, what could continue after that?

Except they didn’t go home. After this traumatic event, they stayed together. They shared stories and struggles, relationships and then — rebirth. Those early followers of Jesus who left him to die went out and told people how amazing it was to know Jesus. New people joined. Stories were added. They changed. They grew — both individually and as a community.

I’m sure they were unsettled around Easter, but I wonder about later. Did they worry, or just have a peaceful trust that God would help them if they continued to build a community by following Jesus? I wonder about us. We’ve all lived through trauma. We all hear about troubles in the world, and in lives close to our own. How can we reach out? How can we build community? Can we tell others about our experiences following Jesus? Can we share stories — and through this sharing grow individually and as a community?

One way that Kensington wants to help people connect is through making our building safer and more accessible to the many individuals and communities who use it. We need to make stair railings safer throughout the building, and to the original entrance leading to the hospitality hall. Our plans also include installing a push button to open the side door from Avenue Kensington. Our Easter appeal will help support these important and practical projects.

As we finish this journey through Lent and Easter, remember those who followed Jesus ahead of us. May we draw strength from them and also find people to share the amazingness of Jesus with — and through this may we grow individually and as a community.

Christ is Risen!
Rev. Peter Rombeek