SUMMARY: After the joy of celebrating Christ's Resurrection, the Sunday after Easter can seem like a letdown.
Some people call it "Low Sunday" because attendance often decreases along with worshipers' enthusiasm. But, with little extra effort, you can make the second Sunday of Easter a high and holy day.
Consider these ideas for maintaining the season's energy and vitality:
- Make the Sunday after Easter "Confirmation Sunday." Welcome confirmation students into church membership.
- Designate the day as "Bright Sunday" or "Holy Humor Sunday," suggests the Fellowship of Merry Christians, an ecumenical group of religious humorists. Encourage people to dress wildly, allow parishioners to share jokes or give a sermon that consists largely of funny, but appropriate, stories. For more information, call (800) 877-2757 or visit www.joyfulnoiseletter.com.
- Begin a Sunday morning class for adults who don't attend Sunday school. You will have plenty of time to establish a new class before late spring and summer travels begin.
- Begin a sermon series that gives worshipers a common thread to follow for several Sundays.
- Celebrate "Children's Sunday" with children leading worship; serving as acolytes, ushers and greeters; and assuming other roles.
- Host a cantata of Easter Resurrection music.
- Plan a significant service project and invite the community to join you.
—Jane Dennis, Little Rock, Ark., freelance writer, Interpreter Magazine