Holy Week, etc.

For those of you whose lives don't revolve around the Christian liturgical calendar, today is Palm Sunday, the day we Christians remember Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We have just begun Holy Week, during which we remember and celebrate (in a minor-key sort of way) Christ's institution of the sacrament of communion, His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, and subsequent trial, suffering, and death. Of course, the best part comes on Saturday evening/Sunday morning, when we begin the Easter season, celebrating Christ's resurrection and victory over death. I LOVE this time of the year...even the gloominess of Good Friday. These are really the "high holy days" of the Christian faith---and they should take precedence over Christmas in terms of importance.

Because I believe so strongly in the importance of observing Holy Week, I've really "pulled out all the stops" in planning for this week. I may regret it later, but I'm having fun right now! Today, we passed out palm branches, heard the Gospel reading outside, and then processed in, waving our palm branches. I've planned services on Holy Thursday AND Good Friday. On Easter Sunday, we'll have our usual 11 am service, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt. Please pray that word gets out about that, and we have a decent number of children present! Our congregation doesn't currently have any children, but we're trying to change that and attract some young families.

I've begun to feel much more comfortable in my role as "Pastor Patti" now that I'm nine months into my tenure, and I know that I'll be here until at least June 2008. I'm much more comfortable with expressing my opinion and vision and trying out new avenues of ministry. My congregation has helped with this, too. They're very willing to try new things so they don't get "stuck in a rut." My newest project has been learning new songs. Today we began learning "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley. We'll sing it every Sunday in April, and by the end of the month we should know it well enough to add it to our repertoire. Hopefully by the end of 2007 we'll have learned four or five new hymns. In 2008 I'll begin trying to teach them some more contemporary songs.

Everything is going well on the pregnancy front. One of these days I'll get around to posting "belly pictures" for your viewing enjoyment. James and I have begun searching for nursery furniture in earnest. We've decided on getting a "convertible crib" that can transition into a toddler bed and then a full-size bed. This is the one we're seriously thinking about getting. The picture shows it being used as a toddler bed. It's made by Stanley Furniture, and is mostly solid wood. It's a little pricey, but we've seen other cribs that cost the same and aren't nearly as sturdy and high-quality. Hopefully this will last Baby Money many years:

We'll probably get a glider with matching finish at Babies R Us or Target, because they have the lowest prices and decent quality. We'll get a dresser than can double as a changing table, but it may be cheaper to buy one unfinished (maybe from GoodWood or someplace like that) and finish it ourselves. We shall see. The baby's room isn't that big (10' x 12'), so a crib, dresser, and glider should fill it up fairly well.
The church has graciously agreed to let us paint the baby's room to match the decor. We're waiting to find out if Baby is a girl or boy before we make the final decision on the bedding theme. I'm excited about decorating the room; it should be fun!
OK, I've rambled on enough. Time to get the laundry out of the dryer and do some folding! Have a wonderful Holy Week!