Dear Friends,

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Those are the happy and triumphant words with which we greet one another on Easter Day. Easter with all its charm, its hope, its focus upon the victory of God over the powers of sin and death is the very foundation of our faith and, indeed, the basis alone upon which the church had its origin. The church is the human institution which was born in the wake of the Gospel accounts of Jesus' Resurrection and his appearances to Mary and the others as the risen Christ of faith. That is why Sunday is, for those of our faith, also an acknowledgement of the continuing and hopeful reality of the love and grace of God in the risen Christ. Every Sunday, in other words, is a celebration of the gift of the risen Christ.

Easter Day, 2002 was a wonderful day! It began for me and roughly 150 others at a moving sunrise service on Cole's Hill at 6:00 A.M. It was a tad rainy, but the sun did come up, all the same; we just didn't' see it. We did see, however, the darkness flee as dawn appeared, and we did feel the deeper meaning of faith, we did celebrate the truth that Easter is far more than weather conditions!

The grandeur of Easter continued at our two services at the Church of the Pilgrimage. Easter is my favorite day of the year, of course, because it is the sublime affirmation of hope which is given to a broken humanity by the mercy and love of almighty God. The Scriptures are rich in the imagery of hope on Easter and the music is a choral and instrumental accompaniment to the power of the risen Christ and to the never-to-be defeated power of Christ's Word, a Word which is as present today as it was on the first Easter.

We are blessed with the gift of the risen Christ! Learning of that blessing is always as surprising as it was to Mary Magdalene on Easter Day as recorded in John's Gospel. It is the same blessing to us as it was to Mary.

The Word of risen hope was reflected in the choir's music and, perhaps especially, in the "Hallelujah Chorus". But, the power of our faith was just as evident in the joy and smiles expressed on the faces of all who heard the risen Christ's Word as the congregation sang, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."

As the services ended on Easter Day I realized again that the observation of St. Augustine is as profound as it is correct; all Christian life ought to be one loud "Alleluia!"

May the Word of the risen Christ rest upon each of us and empower his church to be the redeemed community of the Resurrection!

Love,

Gary

 (c)The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.

Morning Worship 10:00 A.M. Rev. Gary L. Marks preaching. Holy Communion will be a part of the service.

The Pulpit Daffodil Flowers: in the front of the Sanctuary offer a sign of hope and are a living symbol of the progress that is being made in the fight against cancer.

Penny Sunday-Remember to bring your pennies.

The Children will attend Church School following their dismissal from the worship service

Confirmation Class will meet from 12:00-2:00 p.m. in the Church House Building.

CHURCH RECORD

Hospitalized: Red McKay, Jordan Hospital

Recuperating: James Nicol is now at the Pilgrim Manor Nursing Home.

THIS WEEK

Sunday, Apr 7

Daffodil Sunday Morning Worship 10:00 A.M., Rev. Gary L Marks preaching; The culminating program of the Exploring Islam Series will be held on Sunday, April 7, 2002 at 2:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Christ Episcopal Church.

Monday, Apr 8

Aerobics-9:00 A.M.-10:00 A.M.-Allerton Hall; Girl Scouts Tr. No. 1128 6:00-7:30 P.M.

Tuesday, Apr 9

Rev. Marks office hours 9:30 A.M.-11:30 P.M.; Girl Scouts Tr. No. 1234 6:30-8:00 P.M.- Church House; Aerobics-6:45 P.M.-7:45 P.M.-Allerton Hall.

Wednesday, Apr 10

Aerobics - 9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. Allerton Hall; Staff Meeting, 10:00 A.M., Rev. Marks will be in the office; Den #47 Pack Meeting-7:00-8:00P.M., Church House; Choir Rehearsal - 7:30 P.M. - sanctuary.

Thursday, Apr 11

Troop 207, 4:00 P.M.-5:30 P.M.; Aerobics-6:45-7:45 P.M.

Friday, Apr 12

The Nominating Committee will meet at Steve Triffletti's office at 9:00 a.m.; Aerobics - 9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M.; The Women's Guild will meet at 1:00 P.M. in Allerton Hall.

Saturday, Apr 13

Overeaters Anonymous- 9:30-11:30 A.M.-Church House; Wedding Rehearsal in the sanctuary, 7:30 P.M.

PLEASE NOTE

Daffodil Sunday-Today is Daffodil Sunday-Those who ordered daffodils can pick them up after the Service.
Church Membership-On April 14, 2002 from 11:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. a new member class will begin. There will be three classes. If anyone is not able to attend all three classes, arrangements may be made with Rev. Marks. The classes cover general church history, history of the United Church of Christ, and our local church history including its governance, ministry and mission. Attendance at all three classes is not a requirement of membership, but materials missed will be available from Rev. Marks. Please let Rev. Marks know of your interest in church membership or call the church office to indicate that interest. Childcare service will be available.

Notice: At the December 18, 2001 meeting of the Advisory Board, four church members were appointed to serve on a By-law Review Committee for the church. They are: Debbie Porter, Doug Post, Rich Lancaster, and Paul Scheid, Chair. The purpose of this committee is to study the by-laws and to recommend changes that the committee deems appropriate. The recommendations will then be voted on by the church members at annual meeting or at a meeting convened for that purpose. If you have issues to bring to the committee for consideration, please address them in writing to one of the above members. Thank you, Paul A. Scheid, Chair By-law Review Committee.

Notice from the Board of Trustees-all Committee Annual Reports are due by April 15, 2002. The date for the Annual Meeting has been set for May 19th, 2002.

We have been putting together a scrapbook for Rev. Robin Bickel of stories and photos of her last 15 years here. If you have anything you could add, please bring them to church over the next 2 weeks. If you have any questions call Julie Sears (508) 747-7993.

The C.E. Committee is looking for volunteers for the children's sermons beginning the week after Easter. We have resources available to guide you and give you ideas. If you would like to volunteer please see Jenny Healy or call her at (508) 747-7168 or e-mail her at poetick@adelphia.net.

Attention Parents of Second Grade children-we are in the process of ordering Bibles to be presented to the second graders on Church School Sunday on June 9. Please contact Pam Pawlowski at (508) 746-2819 so that she can get the correct name to be put on your child's Bible. Also, if there are any 3rd graders who did not receive a Bible last year, please contact Pam.

Requiem by W. A. Mozart (1756-1791) at the Kingston Intermediate School on Sunday April 7 at 3:00 P.M. $7 admission, general seating. Featuring: Kelley DePasqua and William B. Richter, conductors and Gwynne Sousa, soprano; Beth MacCleod, alto; James DePasqua, tenor; and Terry Runnels, bass and the combined advanced High School Choruses of Duxbury, Scituate and Silver Lake. Tickets may be purchased from each of the listed schools or call Bill Richter at (781) 545-8750 X 341. Tickets will probably not be available at the door.

First Call for Harvest Fair 2002-Here we go again. I would like to encourage those who contribute to the fair to begin their projects now. We will have a knitting table, Calico Corner (fabric gifts), Country Store, Holiday Table (holiday crafts), books, linens and things (tablecloths, runners and we will add candle holders of all kinds), baked goods, house plants (start dividing now) and other to be announced.

If you are doing spring cleaning, please remember the linen table and we would welcome any items that you no longer use along that line. New this year we are adding candle holders and candles to this table. I would like to find a volunteer who would be responsible for organizing a committee to decide on decorating for the hall on the day of the fair. If you are interested please call Diana Budge at (508) 746-4514. If you would like to learn to knit, I would be glad to help you get started. Call and we can arrange a time.

Memorial Easter Lilies: We thank all who provided Memorial Easter Lilies for our services on Easter Sunday. We also thank our diligent Flower Committee for all that it does to beautify all our services throughout the year. We thank, too, those who delivered lilies to shut-ins following our Easter services.

Plant Sale-The Board of Trustees has approved plans to hold a plant sale on June 1. Once again, Steve Triffletti has offered the parking lot at 124 Long Pond Rd. for the location of the sale. Pat Mudgett will chair the event. Please begin to think of plants you can donate.

Interfaith Ladies Guest Day April 8, 2002, at 1:30 P.M.at The Alliance of First Parish, featuring The Caroline Chapin Ensemble. Refreshments following. RSVP Betty Francis (508) 830-1906 or Ruth Nerboso, (508) 746-2403.

The Good News Jail & Prison Ministry Golf Marathon!-at Squirrel Run Gold Course, 8:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M. Chaplain Dan Croce is looking for golfers and sponsors. If interested call (508) 830-6200 X 473.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plymouth, Inc. is looking for some land!! They have a two bedroom home on Westerly Road in Plymouth that must be moved. Please call Nancy Morse at (508) 746-5213. Also a fundraising effort will be held on May 18th at Squirrel Run Golf Course for Habitat of Greater Plymouth from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. Cost is $65.00 per golfer. Sponsors are needed. Please call (508) 866-4188 if interested.

COMING EVENTS

Apr. 14-New Member Class, 11:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M.

Apr. 16-The Board of Trustees will meet at 7:30 P.M. in the Mayflower Room.

Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - Cliff Sampson; Collector - Thomas Mudgett; Asst. Collectors - Jerry and Debbie Chaskes; Music Director - William B Richter; Secretary - Pam McNicholas; Sexton - Tony Nightingale; World Mission Emphasis - Heifer Project International; Church Building Telephone - (508) 747-1341.