One of my favorite pictures is of Jesus throwing his head back in a glorious laugh so I love the old Easter custom begun by the Greeks in the early centuries of Christianity – “Holy Humor Sunday.” For centuries in Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant countries, the week following Easter Sunday, including “Bright Sunday” (the Sunday after Easter), was observed by the faithful as “days of joy and laughter” with parties and picnics to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Churchgoers and pastors played practical jokes on each other, drenched each other with water, told jokes, sang, and danced. The custom was rooted in the musings of early church theologians (like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom) that God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead. “Risus paschalis – the Easter laugh,” the early theologians called it.
In 1988 the Fellowship of Merry Christians began encouraging churches and prayer groups to resurrect Bright Sunday celebrations and called it “Holy Humor Sunday,” with the theme: “Jesus is the LIFE of the party.” Many times, I believe our worship and faith would benefit from a bit of levity and joy for we are often too straight-faced and straight-laced! The Lord’s Supper ought to be more like a celebration than a funeral service. When “Family Circus” cartoonist Bil Keane first began putting religion into his work in the 1960s, some religious conservatives took offense at the irreverence of mentioning God in the funny pages. Later, when one of his young characters reinterpreted a commandment as “Humor thy father and thy mother” or threatened to tell his mother that a sibling at prayer is “goin’ over her head,” he got accolades from the same group. The English writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Never forget that Satan fell by force of gravity.”
The Fellowship of Merry Christians publishes a Joyful Noiseletter and here are some samples from it. * A paramedic said his most unusual 911 call came from a church, where an usher was concerned that an elderly man had passed out in a pew and appeared to be dead. What was so unusual about that? “Well,” the paramedic said, “we carried out four guys before we found the one who was dead.” * A good sermon should have a good beginning and a good ending, and they should be as close together as possible. A few years back, North Bay Community Church in Clearwater, FL, celebrated Holy Humor Sunday. The Rev. Daniel McDonald said, “Laughter releases tension, and we have enough of that these days. I think we all need to stop taking ourselves so seriously. We need to recognize that this is really God’s world, and He has so much in store for us. We put too much emphasis on what’s wrong and what’s bad with it.” That Sunday Rev. McDonald “gave one of the world’s shortest sermons. He announced that the focus of his talk would be on sin. ‘Don’t do it,’ he said from the pulpit. ‘Amen.’ Then he sat down.” I think I’ve got my sermon for this Sunday! Rejoice and be glad this week, my friends, and be sure to have some fun and laugh! *
February is Black History Month and Beatitudes Campus provided the 3rd Annual Black History Month Program with great flair and panache. On Thursday, February 18th, this year’s event centered on a music festival theme and was a spectacular gathering of residents, staff, and guests. The program featured piano playing, singing, readings, and dancing. Music history facts were shared by the readers and touched on topics such as how:
As with any program of this magnitude, many thank you’s must be shared. It could not have been possible without the participation of Beatitudes Campus residents Louis Smith, Barbara Beerling, Doris Lyke and Dosia Carlson who highlighted the show with singing and playing the piano! Shirley Kendrick and Ella Adams (members of the Campus Housekeeping Department) showed up and cleaned the dance floor putting on an amazing performance of “Baby Love” by the Supremes with Chris Mason (Life Enrichment). I must also give a shout out to the staff in the Health Care Center and Housekeeping Departments that graced the dance floor in a praise dance performance, shared quote filled readings, and so much more!
Special thanks must be given to Josie Gay (Staffing Coordinator, Health Care Center, 17 year Campus employee) and Chris Mason (Life Enrichment Specialist, Health Care Center, 9 month Campus employee and a firecracker recruit from Wisconsin last spring). Josie was the original catalyst behind the Black History Month program three years ago and just when we thought her energy and passion couldn’t be matched, she teamed up with Chris. These ladies tirelessly planned, encouraged, practiced and executed an educational and fun event in addition to their daily work here at the Campus. Co-planner Chris Mason stated, “We just want to thank everyone who participated, especially our audience, we couldn’t have asked for a more involved and encouraging crowd.” Our congratulations also go out to, Louise McCarthy and Bob Mulligan, who each won a raffle prize of an amazing gift basket full of unique items put together by the Black History Committee. Enjoy!
A beautiful water sculpture will soon grace the Central Park Mall, creating a wonderful space for everyone at Beatitudes Campus to enjoy. The sculptor, Arizona-born Fred Bendheim, and the Bendheim family generously donated the water sculpture to Beatitudes Campus in the hopes that it would be enjoyed by more people – residents, family and friends – as a public art sculpture than if it were placed in a private setting.
The water sculpture will take a few weeks to install. Work is now being done to create the colored concrete base and water source. The base for the sculpture and construction costs are underwritten by generous donors to the Art Fund at the campus.