This is an underrated time of the year on the church calendar – those Sundays after Easter, when the prevailing thought is that attendance and energy dwindle as summer and vacations approach.

Not so.

We honored our high school seniors this past Sunday, their parents wrapping blankets around their shoulders, the congregation saying a prayer as they stand poised for life’s next step: “Wherever your journey leads, no matter how easy or how difficult each step may be, we will support you with God’s love and pray for God to strengthen you so that you may live in grace and peace.” I hope you savored their photographs in the bulletin – hairbows and missing teeth way back when, all grown up today…

Later that Sunday, the youth of the church wowed us with You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, their musical gifts from God there on stage, for all to be inspired by.

This coming Saturday (April 28), the preschool holds its annual Spring Carnival from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Parish Life parking lot, a day devoted to laughter and being together.

At the 11:00 a.m. service on Sunday, May 27, we’ll welcome our confirmands into the life of the church, a rite of passage for them, a moment of optimism for a church in need of their innocence and passion.

Then will come summer, and mission trips, Vacation Bible School, Summer Fun Days, Freedom School for at-risk children, and so much more.

The church. It never rests.