Dear friends, 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! We have entered the Great Fifty Days of Easter, a season that invites each of us to explore and experience the power of resurrection. If Christ is alive, how will His risen presence transform your life and mine? I preached about the power of Easter in my Easter Vigil homily at St. Andrew’s Church, Longmeadow. You can read it here . 

The days leading up to Easter drew many of us to stand up against violence of all kinds – gun violence, racial violence, and violence against Mother Earth. After months of hard work, I was glad when Monday in Holy Week finally arrived. In the company of more than a hundred faith leaders and supporters, I helped to lead an interfaith service on the steps of the Massachusetts State House: Exodus from Fossil Fuels .  In word, song, and prayer, we called upon Governor Baker to take leadership in stopping construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure. As I said in my remarks to the press, “We are holding this event during a time of year that is a holy season for multiple faith traditions, because protecting our climate and God’s creation is one of the most important ways to practice our faith in today’s world.” After a lively outdoor service, which included speakers from front-line communities all across the Commonwealth that are resisting new fracked gas pipelines, we walked in procession to the State House, where I met with a couple of the Governor’s staff members and the whole crowd wrote him postcards. The Berkshire Edge wrote a good short article that can be found here .