Preparing for the Total Eclipse

Couldn’t you just wish that the total eclipse were ten days earlier? Imagine if it were on Good Friday, the dramatic effects of the darkening sky in the early afternoon, culminating only minutes after three o’clock in complete darkness. Then, the slow but surprising emergence of light after all.

Now, though, is the time to prepare for this celestial event. Communities across northeast Ohio are expecting an extravagant number of guests to watch for the eclipse. If your congregation has property within the zone of totality, now is a good time to consider your hospitality to the traveler and the stranger, the gridlocked and the frustrated, the awestruck and the overwhelmed locals. How will your congregation transform someone’s experience that day? Consider having snacks or drinks to hand out to people stuck in the parking lot because the roads are a parking lot; eclipse glasses for the neighbors who tried too late to buy them online; opening a relief station for city workers trying to keep everyone safe and moving, or a safe space for strangers of all genders to use the restroom.

If you are not within the zone of totality, remember that Bellwether Farm is hosting an eclipse festival, with discounts for Episcopalians. And wherever you are, our Total Eclipse Bible Study is available online, inviting reflection on our relationship with creation, and our Creator’s continuing revelation of its mysteries; an invitation to care for the garden of earth in which we have been planted.

Holy Week and the Day After

In February, I attended a Gun Violence Prevention Summit at the Ohio Statehouse. It was scheduled for the day after Ash Wednesday, being also the day after the anniversary of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. As it turned out, it was also the day after the Kansas City Superbowl parade ended in death, injury, and the trauma of thousands.

But the day after Good Friday, our Saviour was already harrowing the furrows of hell, weeding out misery and turning over death, preparing the ground, the earthen floor of the tomb for resurrection. 

February’s resources include ideas for preaching a Lenten fast for peace; as we move toward Easter, this month’s offering includes Prayers of the People rooted in Resurrection.

During General Convention, there will be a special opportunity for high school youth to engage in organizing to end gun violence. More details will be forthcoming; contact the Rev. Anna Sutterisch, Canon for Formation, or the Rev. Rosalind Hughes, Missioner for Peace, to register interest.