christos anesti
the Easter story is translated this week in may churches in the south hills
in a way the we can understand it, or we could say the reserection made simple.
Easter sermons planned for this week in most churches in the South Hills will translate the traditional story of the Resurrection into messages relevant for today's world.
Although each church has a different way to celebrate Easter, the holiest day on the Christian calendar, there are similarities among the planned sermons.
Dr. Jay Geisler, pastor at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in McKeesport, will open Sunday's service with a traditional Easter greeting, saying, "Christos anesti," which means "Christ is risen" in Greek. Congregants will respond, "Alithos anesti" -- "Truly He is risen."
Dr. Geisler will also remind church-goers that, "like a loving parent, God will always love us. How we show our thanks for that love is our responsibility," he said. "It's a pretty universal message."
The Easter service will be different from regular Sunday services in many ways, Dr. Geisler said. There will be joyful singing and abundant flowers.
There will also be more people in the pews. "Some clergy tend to make them feel guilty for not coming all year, but the reason they came is to get a message of hope," he said.
Dr. Geisler believes in using contemporary language to translate scripture meanings. He will replace the word "redeem" with "recover" in his Easter sermon.
"Jesus came to recover us," Dr. Geisler said. According to him, "redeem" doesn't carry the same meaning in today's culture. But "recover" is a word people understand.
St. Pius X Church in Carrick is a Byzantine Catholic church. The Byzantine rite differs from the Roman Catholic rite in many ways, according to Monsignor Russell A. Duker.
"We have a very participatory liturgy. The priest chants and the congregation respond. It's not passive, but very active," he said.
Sunday, there will be 12 Gospels read in several different languages, including Slavonic, Greek, Latin, Hebrew and English. "The bells of the church ring after each Gospel reading to signify the message goes out to the whole world," Monsignor Duker said.
Saturday night's Divine Liturgy features the traditional blessing of Easter baskets. "Church members receive a blessing of the Pascal foods they have abstained from during Lent," Monsignor Duker said.
The Rev. Bob McCanless, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Brentwood, said the "best thing you can do on Easter is remember what happened on [Good] Friday."
His sermon will focus on Jesus' final words, "It is finished," uttered just before his death, according to New Testament Bible accounts.
"He died and his whole life and ministry was about forgiving our sins," the Rev. McCanless said.
"The sunrise service (8 a.m.) is more bare bones," he noted, explaining that the focus is on the discovery of the empty tomb.
A later service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday will include festive music, including a solo by Julee Mainawich, 9, of Brentwood.
New Wine Harvest Church will celebrate its first Easter in a new location. Last year, the church purchased the Willock Social Club building on East Willock Road in Baldwin Borough. Since converting the longtime bar into a place of worship, membership has gone up 30 percent.
"I think the atmosphere of a social environment is what's allowed more people to experience our church," said the church's pastor, the Rev. Ken Huhn.
He strives to engage church members. "Young people are not interested in just stories anymore. They're looking for relevance in their own lives," the Rev. Huhn said.
"Everything [Jesus] experienced was a real event experienced by a real man. I try to bring that reality of the events to the people again," the minister said.
At South Hills Community Baptist Church in Upper St. Clair, the Rev. Alan Berg will share a similar message for his congregants. His sermon will be based, in part, on the writing of Richard Bauckham, a New Testament scholar from Scotland.
"There are a number of people that say it was all made up. But modern scholars are being driven by recent findings to recognize that there are eyewitness accounts of the Resurrection," the Rev. Berg said.
Along with many churches, St. Germaine Catholic Church in Bethel Park will begin the Easter celebration with the Holy Thursday Triduum Mass, commemorating the Last Supper. Most Roman Catholic churches also will include a washing of the feet ceremony. In it, the priest washes the feet of 12 selected parishioners, who represent the 12 Apostles.
"It was [Jesus'] demonstration of his service to others," the Rev. John J. Braver said.
Easter services at South Hills Church of the Nazarene, in Bethel Park, will begin with a musical presentation that includes dramatic elements, called a cantata.
The Rev. Ken Culbertson's Easter sermon, titled "Christ the Victor," will follow. He hopes the message will encourage the congregation to "go out into a broken world to distribute grace."
Recently, he has been talking about the issues of self-absorption, asking his church to evaluate what they have been called to do.
"Having two cars in the driveway or the biggest house on the block is not what he is calling us to achieve. The victory is to be shared with the lost, least and last among us, because that is who we are," he said.
As a result, the Rev. Culbertson says his church has become increasingly focused on community service.
"It's time for the church to give itself away because that's what Jesus did."
Parishioners of St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Church in Whitehall will hear the Rev. John Haney describe Easter as "the culmination of our faith year." His sermon will emphasize the need to keep the Easter spirit alive.
"Jesus came back to life and he has to live in our lives every day," he said. "I want people to know he's still around."
Father Haney also plans to challenge parishioners to find that spirit within themselves and others all year long.
Jennifer Goga, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
Is Jesus amoungs us? if yes how do you regonize him? is it through scripture
are can one make a real contact with him may claim to have a living contact with
Jesus hope and trust that he is with them in their every day lives
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