Did you know you can say “Happy Easter” more than once a year? Though some may not realize it, Easter is more than a single Sunday. The longstanding tradition of the church is to celebrate Easter across the fifty days that span the Easter vigil to Pentecost. Called the “Great Fifty Days,” these are days to celebrate living in light of resurrection. Though we at Yates will not be ritually walking though these days like some churches do, we will share some wonderful and unique experiences together in weeks to come. We have decided, in light of requests from church leaders as well as other considerations, to join services on five consecutive Sunday mornings, April 26-May 24. We intend to resume our customary meeting schedule thereafter.
Joint Services will be held on the following Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
April 26 – Women’s Ministry Sunday: The Women’s Ministry will lead our worship hour with a message from a guest preacher, Phyllis Elvington. Phyllis is a dynamic, no-nonsense speaker with a special gift of bringing the Word of God close to each life and heart. Following the service, the Women’s Ministry will host a women’s luncheon in the fellowship hall.
May 3 – SonShine Sunday: On this day, we will celebrate the unique ministry of the SonShine class with members of the class helping to lead in morning worship. Jacob Drake, this year’s ministry intern and staff minister to the class, will be our guest preacher. At the end of the service, we will have a time of sending the Drakes as Jacob’s outstanding term of service concludes and he and Emily prepare to take their next steps away from Durham.
May 10 – Child/Family Dedication: Coinciding with Mother’s Day, this service will include dedication of newborn children, new parents and the whole church to God. The commitment to Christian households is a powerful witness to the world about the difference Christ makes in the living of our days.
May 17 – Student Sunday/Summer Missionary Commissioning: Yates is raising up many emerging leaders who are accepting calls to ministry and missionary service. During worship, we will commission several college students to summer missionary placements and will welcome guest preacher Katie Medlin, a child of the church now in her second year at Campbell Divinity School. Immediate following worship, we will gather for a potluck lunch in the gym to learn more about the building process before our church and celebrate the mission to which God is calling us.
May 24 – Pentecost: On this day, we will remember Jesus’ fulfilled promise to his disciples that the Holy Spirit would descend upon them in power. The Holy Spirit, the life-breath of the Body of Christ, empowers us to be and do more than we ever could imagine in Jesus’ name and for his sake.
I hope you will take the opportunity to embrace the special feeling of being together as we share these opportunities together in worship. I believe that God will indeed provide us with a great fifty days!
Grace and Peace,