Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” 

 Moving from the Easter season to Pentecost we can appreciate and nurture the friendships that fill our lives.  Friends, near and far away, are those whose support and laughter, whose concerns and tears, enrich our days, giving us countless opportunities to share in the human experience. 

 It is also with friends that we can share the joy of our faith.  Whether our friends worship in the Christian tradition or feel removed from the church, letting those close to us know how God’s presence enriches our lives is an important way of sharing who we are with those we care about.  This can happen in little ways as we talk about our faith or as we express the joy we feel in being a part of a loving community like Payson Park Church.  We are people of the resurrection who know that “love never ends.”  Sharing it through our words and actions makes it real.

 With special services in May and June we might all think of a friend we can bring to church.  From Mother’s Day to Youth Sunday we’ll have unique opportunities to fill this place with, as in Emerson’s words, the ornaments of friendship.  For as we seek to become an increasingly vital congregation we remember we do it together, all in the spirit of new life found in the empty tomb.  Reaching out with Christ-like care is a way we bring to life another of Emerson’s powerful expressions:  “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

 Easter blessings to you from The Rev. Lael Atkinson