%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 18 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 20 0 R /GS4 21 0 R /GS5 30 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250823175223+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250823175223+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1855 >> stream xuXˎ6WRdˏ6}AtAKŎ$$eWS{.){c˖s/}&iy@_,Wd^顢vDvdUWG-cfU狈VdQ+FRojG;mZG_!n.C2_*uOIdCAş 3{=q'$2]DůKM(pow&nho5כװtۓT/Ӣ Jvy/{$ endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5001>> stream JFIFC    !'"#%%%),($+!$%$C   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$}}" _lPТs\a0g%> A'FZBլa'e4)Q8E6.QtҠ|j ~y(*Mc ٬6 ^psKƲiY=5$354]0;{o>cs>s Ÿf_|#0s5Bo$e5vQJ=Uˬøi&ܧ=lF9l 40(ZTּEy`z9xuRG^9)O=Qk_'!1"2 #ABە0 ;'XfC~M݅a62%rNXNY>c+c~4/DקY dYBh&IKSvfX,O(ZBRp&w<#J\YtS7}.qnqҖ8Z%J(CzפL}:Xa=߆D H5LpNDB3. :ɒY+iY@aBNkEtn2 lTphn8^^d09 "YV>;ʍlPVW5yx`-)N9z:`qJb ̳f8v/)I:J#iivZp٢FPf`Ona56w_*8Bp #&o6LvcqBd-/k֐H2T/XѴz 3El#HRz`98s5wXc@*m;Ea=DZ6Jaн .ސݦOo#juW /bSw HJqu#Iv6qƱŠd __5O{.i4 XnhЪw4 ʻ\Mdᘔ8dmۇ0gddRgbv1.Ѻ6D?`ToNL2c)fxd_8CBc27}fvwytש 4xBDL*PFnC܎UVkw3HF"vɱ뤳erYm:ԛ 3$ r4V| #aEoe}jQwyn0eʴ㸂Vm4lf%*iOGDt|W&of{"OG7̮1m.ArN5y\=u^Mo`@(/'̅/o^QAx9N* EHu6Th>e\IwH{p\2`ngZCpb(*vJ7bũV"cz45ؽ } OFLw8BDKw"/\:p0FhJ]oo($cyWAj7Z8ܧHjk3sG!.l4SCWB%%؃w Ѝ5A#2bDP᷃OrTa(8?9ىoYBelm0Q|,>vmKQ iV1uTF-LK[ƚ l~fBltғVa:~/ĺ!nN9*!1 A?tZ2vwWy -TBg/G5ozg 7?! 1AQ?j yjmV.!b M]cumЁclz ˽"T̐m_&!1AQaq?&HzR#H(*~>61dXm@5SUDRh%A]/k%WIGb9),Qd&' $o j >&<^_U1բd54Nz1c#ޞVoLI(H e"" r Z;9 :(yS9|ڗ)h`@|[IP+EEZ2\TXmO"˵]M?iY0#'$Փ00T[?(0 Bҷ8:<&iz:xT/Ni])q!@' QŽ/[_bŮAMC 7_TQ46~%|5C6H ѯ+Sf~ӛ6y~4ZD 8PjG>B V WB+ޥ׊DO2nՌU▶tLSw.^@tHb 9}\&@{3NZĄvm9)褜&+gl2BP")6!)E> hL_4-s$ݞ8{At\4sA3kG+#q4=:tKR^Kq:ↆL81Ga,0ǜګ 5T=!b:Y{W1P)&KtofH 3CSC +z f z7gF*BWғtæSE`- M7‘8*r[Q>TbJqPBTM9c3fz D]1QQ> endstream endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 17 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 22 0 R 24 0 R 26 0 R 28 0 R 32 0 R 34 0 R 36 0 R 38 0 R 40 0 R ] /Contents 19 0 R >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 3009 >> stream xZrSeYd5_qYK]sY7lqh)˜׮giXسʼnj, W"$s5=%md_*v[.!ʼn+UWC7FjQT lwO栿*T}O0 b`b?m6 gP=,r/\z5Gv#k䭕hCe_՛ ?zl;P`J۾^yeX]XjdIJd)&D "! d3':)f,ydss!3{vO|?QyCRbS _o,~d%.,c_FFpaּ![!__yh͓\nSR2rS-8˴ w$a9v |5!M%^0>S=xA6lt'Pq7M2fO+;5܍tH1["ZJSr}xr7ҍ_nsǯ؆tXԩ9M50NӢ|?C\S,[$E9gz,sʸRˠIO#saXI`/4@戊 AB \r^͜`kF7TʏP'B=06OST1z{ u,j9B|o,קg,w9-}m'P  W+Fﴍz?[?0ylPo/c0Qs?<!\R8RξVڽyփ1 t1֨eQFi9F!Ru$/z9b|fO+4N+Z V7T[!J"fO;rf#։z}fin73>zZ6wcGH6LtHೳw9KKNTO4e`_#br{7Ëx)~. h e@H\(gl9R\{O#)-FiXdGHʗA)4ꥍ$Ʋ9>rױ`H1R~$t#w, DF ]Mr$ܜ֞i飧ns?$ ϔV}5f3 HSV{t\Tf@衚џ:&t9CM^_ͷ*^_s endstream endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 23 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 448.5200 635.3090 523.8680 647.5190 ] >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/hot-cross-buns/) >> endobj 24 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 25 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 437.1920 594.0050 524.5640 606.2150 ] >> endobj 25 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/the-easter-bible-story.html) >> endobj 26 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 27 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 345.8480 535.3970 389.8520 547.6070 ] >> endobj 27 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://thesingingcompany.com/worship-resources/) >> endobj 28 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 29 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 215.0360 364.8770 319.7600 377.0870 ] >> endobj 29 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.facebook.com/newfrontierchronicle/) >> endobj 30 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.67 >> endobj 31 0 obj [18 0 R /Fit] endobj 32 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 33 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 412.4600 222.1970 436.4720 234.4070 ] >> endobj 33 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.facebook.com/newfrontierchronicle/) >> endobj 34 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 35 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 457.7840 207.5450 567.8240 219.7550 ] >> endobj 35 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/hot-cross-buns/) >> endobj 36 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 37 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 455.8400 192.8930 574.5560 205.1030 ] >> endobj 37 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://thesingingcompany.com/worship-resources/) >> endobj 38 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 39 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 91.0040 163.5890 250.3880 175.7990 ] >> endobj 39 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://westernusa.salvationarmy.org/usw_thq/location_search/) >> endobj 40 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /F 28 /A 41 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 65.0000 148.9370 146.3720 161.1470 ] >> endobj 41 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://give-usw.salvationarmy.org/give/229662/#!/donation/checkout) >> endobj xref 0 42 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000429 00000 n 0000000466 00000 n 0000000615 00000 n 0000000718 00000 n 0000002646 00000 n 0000002753 00000 n 0000002861 00000 n 0000002971 00000 n 0000003084 00000 n 0000003200 00000 n 0000003229 00000 n 0000008398 00000 n 0000008457 00000 n 0000008516 00000 n 0000008545 00000 n 0000008725 00000 n 0000011808 00000 n 0000011865 00000 n 0000011922 00000 n 0000012056 00000 n 0000012159 00000 n 0000012293 00000 n 0000012418 00000 n 0000012552 00000 n 0000012652 00000 n 0000012786 00000 n 0000012884 00000 n 0000012944 00000 n 0000012974 00000 n 0000013108 00000 n 0000013206 00000 n 0000013340 00000 n 0000013443 00000 n 0000013577 00000 n 0000013677 00000 n 0000013810 00000 n 0000013923 00000 n 0000014056 00000 n trailer << /Size 42 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<07edfd07aa06f6e490f0f8c9fc57cf3a><07edfd07aa06f6e490f0f8c9fc57cf3a>] >> startxref 14175 %%EOF How to celebrate Easter at home | Caring Magazine
Read Caring Magazine Volume 29

Vol. #29

Hope in Action

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

How to celebrate Easter at home

April 7, 2020
4 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

By Rob and Stacy Birks, Majors–

We are living in an unpredictable time. Day-to-day life has been turned upside down since the pandemic spread. It may seem as if “normal life” is gone forever, but take heart! Some things have not changed. Sunday, April 12, 2020, is still going to be Easter Sunday and the reason we in the Christian faith tradition celebrate Easter also remains a constant—hope.

“Hope doesn’t put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly….” (Romans 5:2-7).

Easter 2020 is going to look different. It will be a unique experience for all of us who usually go to a church building to celebrate and worship with other followers of Jesus. This Easter we are all encouraged to “stay home” with the rest of the country. The corps officer or pastor is not responsible for how we will celebrate the holiday, and instead each one of us has the opportunity to make it spiritually and personally meaningful in our own living spaces.

This worshiping at home thing is not new to our household. We lead a house church ministry in The Salvation Army and are constantly reinforcing the concept that each one of us who follow Jesus—we are the church. Church is not the building. Church is not the pastor and leaders in it, nor the programs offered. Church, we stress, is us loving God and loving our neighbors and serving in his name in our communities. We have had weekly gatherings in our home for over two years. Hopefully, some of what we share here will be helpful to you as you worship in your homes this Easter.

What is important to us in creating an atmosphere of worship is using all our senses. It looks like every piece of furniture, area rug and lamp in the house being purposefully placed. Every decoration on a shelf and picture on a wall is intentional. A home-cooked meal, or the aroma of a home-made dessert. Lit candles are subtle but helpful. The chosen music creates an atmosphere. Providing a private place for individual prayer and meditation is valuable (we’ve used an empty closet under the stairs in our house). We want whatever is seen, heard, smelled, tasted and touched to encourage entering into worship and focusing on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the hope he gives. 

Traditionally, on Good Friday we bake homemade hot cross buns and deliver them to people in our ministry and to our neighbors. It is a labor of love that fills the house with a pleasing aroma and puts smiles on the faces of the recipients. The kneading is meditative, the rising and baking can be spiritually symbolic, the cross of icing on the top of each bun is a reminder of what the day is all about. It is a perfect way to witness to others about the love and hope of Easter. This year will be no different. We plan to make them, deliver them and eat our fair share of them. (Try this recipe to make your own.)

During this unique time in history, we want to encourage you to engage with the Easter story in your home. This can include devotional Bible readings, listening to albums, watching YouTube videos, live streaming from your corps, and so on. A tradition for us is incorporating The Singing Company’s album Holy Week. This work of art leads the listener through the week starting with the celebration of Palm Sunday and ending with the hope of Easter Sunday. This link includes resources, from chords, to Scripture readings and the recorded songs.

Our family is planning to observe our own sunrise service. We probably will be in lawn chairs and pajamas, but the Son will not care. Later in the day we will have a meal together and FaceTime family members in other households. We plan to share in a time of prayer and Bible reading. During this time of keeping to yourself, you can share Easter with someone else by phone or online. Share a testimony of hope or use your social media platforms to share the hope of Easter with the world by creating something inspired by the meaning of Easter and what hope the resurrection brings to you. The Holy Spirit is not confined. 

Finally, join with The Salvation Across the western U.S. for an evening Easter worship service. The service will be streamed live from this Facebook page starting April 12 at 7 p.m. 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him…” (Romans 15:13).

About the Authors: Majors Rob and Stacy Birks are Mission Development Officers for The Salvation Army valley missional communities in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley.

Do Good: 

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like