Minister's Moment

You gotta laugh, right? And you gotta laugh in church??? Right???

This year, for the first Sunday of Eastertide (in other words, April 12), weare going to worship together in a way that might look just a littledifferent. We are going to observe Holy Humor Sunday!

What is “Holy Humor Sunday?” Amazingly, it is not some new-fangledidea (though I only heard of it a few years ago). It is a tradition that goesback to at least the 15th century.

Holy Humor Sunday is a day set aside to celebrate God’s gift of laughterand joy and comes from the idea that, in the Resurrection, God playedout the best “gotcha” joke of all time – you think the death of Jesus is theend? Just kidding! Jesus has overcome sin and death, and we will singand rejoice! (This is why it is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.)

Traditionally, Holy Humor Sunday – originally known as Risus Paschalis(“God’s Joke” or “the Easter laugh”) – was celebrated by priestsdeliberately including amusing jokes and stories in their sermons, hopingfor a laugh. After the service, people would gather together to playpractical jokes on each other and tell funny stories. The sad thing is thatthis tradition was outlawed by Pope Clement X in the 17th century, butthe tradition has been revived!

We won’t play practical jokes on each other after church, but our servicewill be a little different – laughter, jokes, silliness, and a reminder to usall that there is great joy in the Lord!!!

Bring a friend and come ready to laugh and rejoice!

Peace and Love,

Rev. Ann