A Truce for Orthodox Easter

FILE PHOTO: Metropolitan Epiphanius I, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, prepares to sprinkle holy water to bless Easter cakes which are to be transferred to Ukrainian servicemen fighting on the frontline amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during a ceremony at St Michael's Cathedral before Orthodox Easter, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

 As the bizarre war with Iran stumbles along the focus of the world has moved away from other crucial conflict hotspots, including the interminable war of aggression against Ukraine. A recent report claims that Russia has experienced between 275,000 and 325,000 battlefield deaths, while Ukraine has lost 100,000 to 140,000. The loss of life, including civilians, has been immense and it is all so senseless.

The egomaniacal Russian leader Vladimir Putin has declared that there will be a 32 cessation of fighting this week to mark Orthodox Easter. This pledge has Ukraine wary because of the duplicitous history of the Russians. 

The offer of a brief truce to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ is madness. The war is senseless in the first place, as most conflicts are. You may have read about the truce in the week leading to Christmas during WW! when French, German, and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In some areas, men from both sides ventured into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle, exchange food and souvenirs, and sing carols. They even played soccer/football. 

The birth, the death, and the resurrection of the Prince of Peace might convince leaders that working toward a world without war would be far superior to token truces. For some reason this objective is considered naive by many. On this Good Friday for Orthodox Christians we can mourn Christ's death with them and pray that there will be a return to sanity for our bloodthirsty species. 

A man walks past a damaged apartment building in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, on November 30, 2025. 

Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

The Bridge Hub with a Bridge St Church Connection

                      

                                The nearly completed exterior of the new Bridge Integrated Services Hub 

 Yesterday we dropped in to the new facility called The Bridge in Belleville in advance of its first day of serving the public. According to Quinte News: 

The Bridge Integrated Services Hub, otherwise known as a HART Hub (Homelessness, Addiction andRecovery Treatment), will open Thursday at its permanent location on Alhambra Square in Belleville.

The hub had been operating at a temporary location in an older building on South Church Street, and previous to that had been run from Bridge Street United Church.

The Hub will offer dining, washrooms, showers, laundry facilities, a resting area, a spiritual/smudging room, and several spaces for various medical and social services staff.  It will operate 22 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Partners at The Bridge are the Canadian Mental Health Association Association Hastings Prince Edward (lead group), the Enrichment Centre for Mental health, the United Way HPE, The John Howard Society, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services, and the Belleville-Quinte West Community Health Centre.

Others involved providing services include Loyalist College, Hastings County (Ontario Works and other programs), and Next Step Housing.

                                    Washroom/shower area at The Bridge. (Photo: Quinte News)

Ruth was eager to have a tour of the building in advance of her volunteer shift with the meal program next week. This past Monday some of the regulars at the temporary building asked if they would still see her in the new location and she assured them they would. She began volunteering during COVID and has faithfully been there most Mondays throughout the year, including her birthday earlier this week. 

I'm glad that the article mentioned Bridge St. Church because the congregation has been involved in providing meals, first of all, then other services for a couple of decades. It could be argued that their Christian commitment led to this broader community program. When I was the minister at Bridge St. I regularly reminded those involved that we were offering a meal ministry rather than a program because this was part of our Christian witness. Although we didn't proselytize we were feeding body and soul. With the Inn from the Cold sit-down meal we often sat down with folk and heard their stories and I was often asked faith questions. 

I wish The Bridge well and we were certainly impressed by what will be offered to address a wide range of needs for the vulnerable in Belleville. We will pray that lives will be changed and hope will be restored for those who often feel invisible in our society. 

    Lisa Ali of CMHA HPE speaks to media in the laundry room of The Bridge Wednesday. (Photo: Quinte News)

The Birds are Returning -- Pay Attention!

 

                                                   Turkey Vultures in Flight (not my photo)

1 Birds are singing, woods are ringing,

With thy praises, blessed King;
Lake and mountain, field and fountain,
to thy throne their tributes bring.

Refrain:
We, thy children, join the chorus,
Merrily, gladly praising thee;
Glad hosannas, glad hosannas,
Joyfully we lift to thee.

Yesterday I faced the music, or at least the unwelcome snow, and headed out into the driveway to clean up. I glanced upward to see 17 or 18 turkey vultures glide by, likely returning from the south. When I went to our garage I saw leaves along the double door line and surmised that the robins I could hear had been tossing them out of the crack in search of the first insects. 

I began the day in a foul mood because the Tryant-in-Chief was threatening the annihilation of Iranian culture, a horrendous war crime. The snow didn't help but the birds around me lifted my spirits and reminded me of the beauty of the world God has created and sustains in spite of human folly. 

On Easter Sunday morning a member of Trenton United Church pushed a sheaf of papers into my hand which turned out to be the meticulous record she'd kept of all the birds she'd seen at her feeders and elsewhere during the season of Lent. I had invited folk to be Bird-brained with St. Francis during the liturgical season, in part as a tribute to Francis who was reputed to preach to the birds and listen to them as well. I was delighted that this person had taken the assignment so seriously and wanted to share the outcome of her attentiveness. 

                                                                               Wood Ducks 

The other day I passed an osprey nest just outside of Belleville and the pair was on it, the first spotting of the Spring. I've seen wood ducks, with the males in full breeding splendour and caught sight of trumpeter swans in two locations. The bald eagle pair at a nearby conservation area have added to their already impressive nest. 

All this activity has been a spiritual uplifting and brought to mind a hymn in the "For Little Children" section of the Blue Hymnary of yesteryear (587)

The birds of our feeders sustained us through what was a cold and snowy Winter. Bring on all the returned species in the days ahead!

Refrain:
We, thy children, join the chorus,
Merrily, gladly praising thee;
Glad hosannas, glad hosannas,
Joyfully we lift to thee.

2 Waters dancing, sunbeams glancing,
Sing thy glory cheerily;
Blossoms breaking, nature waking,
Chant thy praises merrily.

Christ the Redeemer in Lebanon

 

                     Christ the Redeemer Jabal Al-Salib (Mount of the Cross) Lebanon

Most of us are familiiar with the Christ the Redeemer statue which towers above Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Are you aware that another large Christ figure is under construction? This one is made of fiberglass rather than soapstone, and considerably smaller (16 metres compared to 30 metres).

A hundred years ago Brazil was still predominantly Christian but I was surprised that a giant Jesus would take shape in Lebanon, a country currently in the midst of turmoil. It's near the the Lebanese town of Al Qaa,close to the Syrian border in the north, Al Qaa's population is predominantly Christian but in area that was held by ISIS militants, a decade ago. About 30% of Lebanon's population is Christian, one of the largest Christian communities amongst Arab nations.  

We've been hearing that Christians in the south are under threat due to the incursion (not excursion) of the Israeli military and they are pleading that this is not their war, they have nothing to do with Hezbollah. A few weeks ago beloved parish priest Pierre al-Rahi a beloved was killed during an Israeli bomb strike as he was responding to another bombing of a home. Why? 

The French Catholic organization L’Œuvre d’Orient condemned the attack stating: "L’Œuvre d’Orient condemns in the strongest terms these acts of war, which aim to destabilize all of Lebanon and kill innocent civilians. The death of a priest who refused to abandon his parish is a further escalation of senseless violence.

Perhaps this new statue should be weeping over the sorry state of our world. And while our siblings in Christ are dying we can pray for all the innocent people who are suffering in the countries of the Middle East, regardless of religion. With the terrible threats of obliteration levelled against the citizens of Iran come to a head today we can pray for an end to the madness. 

                                                                    Christ the Redeemer, Brazil 

The Way of the Wind

                                   Storm on the Sea of Galilee -- Rembrandt 1633

  On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  

And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Mark 4: 35-41 NRSVue

1 I feel the winds of God today; today my sail I lift,

though heavy oft with drenching spray and torn with many a rift;

if hope but light the water's crest, and Christ my bark will use,

I'll seek the seas at his behest, and brave another cruise.

Voices United 625

Some writers are astonishing in their breadth of interest with an ability to encapsulate concepts and facts. One of the best is Simon Winchester who has written a gajillion books on every subject imaginable including what I think is his most recent The Breath of the Gods: The History of and Future of the Wind.

I found it to be both informative and entertaining. Winchester reminds us that the wind has shaped history -- think Spanish Armada -- and allowed for exploration and trade long before there were engines to propel boats. The US bombers deployed to firebomb Japanese cities during WWII discovered that fierce winds at high altitude made their missions risky and inaccurate and led to the discovery of what we now call the jet stream. Early in the book he offers:

Wind in short, seems universal. Air in motion finds its way into just about every activity and inactivity of man, beast, plant, and thing that exists in the world above its waters and as we shall see later, the connection between wind amd waves is intimate and of immense importance, it works its way and its will on the surface of the waters too...

Air moving across reeds, single or double, produces music of ethereal beauty; sounded through brass it resonates and stirs to action. t generates power, flies kites, performs work, lifts water...Wind alters the moods and attitudes of human beings --in France one can still beg a court's mercy for the malevolent mistral that impelled you to commit a murder. 

                                                                  Nativity Shepherd holding his cap

I found it quite charming that in that region of Provence Nativity scenes often have shepherds who are holding on to their caps, a reminder of the incessant wind.

Winchester also notes that wind figures prominently in the bible with the mighty wind summoned by Moses  allowing the people of Israel to escape Egypt through the Red/Reed Sea while Elijah has his tumultous mountaintop experience. 

He also reminds us that Jesus "rebuked" the wind (wonderful term) to save the lives of his disciples. During my first visit to Israel nearly 40 years ago I went to the edge of the Sea of Galilee for a few calm moments of contemplation before the hectic activity of the day. Suddenly the wind arose, hurtling across the lake from the Golan Heights, blowing beach chairs hither and yon. It was an unexpected demonstration of the capriciousness of the wind in those parts. Winchester doesn't mention that the Rembrandt painting of this gospel story called Storm on the Sea of Galilee -- his only seascape -- was stolen in 1990 and has yet to be recovered. 

All in all, I'm in awe of this book and all it evokes. I've shared bits of two of my favourite "windy" hymns, one older and one newer. Does Four Strong Winds count as a Canadian anthem? 

Spirit, Spirit of gentleness,

blow thro' the wilderness calling and free,

Spirit, Spirit of restlessness,

stir me from placidness,

Wind, Wind on the sea.

                                       Voices United 703

Four strong winds that blow lonely

Seven seas that run high

All those things that don't change come what may

If the good times are all gond

Then I'm bound for moving on

I'll look for you if I', ever back this way... Ian Tyson

In the Bulb there is a Resurrection

 

1 In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;

in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Resurrection is precisely concerned with the present world and its renewal, not with escaping the present world and going somewhere else...

Tom Wright, theologian 

I have noted along the way that I'm not much of a fan of the hymn In the Bulb there is a Flower. For a few years in was chosen by families for what seemed like every church funeral, including by my mother, and I got tired of it. 

But this year I have yearned for Spring so as we arrive at Resurrection Morning I'm giving it another chance. Tulips have emerged in a sheltered spot at the front of our home. Hurray! Irises are up a few inches and the Blue Flag will version are showing in the water trough we have next to our raised beds. I imagine our garlic will be up and running soon. Hope. 

While the signs of Spring are not the same as Resurrection they are glimmers of new life that open my spirit to possibilities. 

There are some -- plenty -- who dismiss the Easter miracle of the Risen Christ and the promise of our faith as absurd I have no desire to earnestly "prove" otherwise. I'm inclined toward the definiton of absurd as "wildly improbable." So much of what is supposedly "real life" seems like perpetual Winter these days. So I imagine the redemption of the world, overcoming sorrow and pain, even if that may seem illogical. The scene in the Chronicles of Narnia after the sacrificed Aslan breaks the power of "Winter, never Christmas" and the signs of a new season emerge.

Christ is Risen!

 3 In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;

in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.

In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,

unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

The Marys of Easter Weekend

 

The Three Marys at the Tomb (manuscript illumination of a 1396 antiphonary -- Lorenzo Monaco 

So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Matthew 27: 59-61

Nearly ninc years after retiring from pastoral ministry my psyche is still oriented toward Holy Week and Easter in a powerful way. When we lived in Sudbury there were services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday (for a few years), and Easter morning along with everything else related to ministry. I was also a husband and parent of three children who didn't see much of me through that time, sad to say. 

I suppose it's understandable that I continue to be mindful of the unfolding of this week in all its drama, from sorrow to celebration. This morning I read the "grave" daily readings for Holy Saturday which focus on Jesus' burial and those who keep vigil at the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Jesus who may also have been a member of the Sanhedrin.

One of the gospels, Matthew says that two Marys were there between the time of Jesus' burial and Resurrection morning, One of them is Mary Magdalene, the woman mischaracterized as a prostitute in misogynist Christian tradition. This Mary was the first to encounter the Risen Christ on Easter morning and the first evangelist because she was the one who informed the disciples, hidden away in shock and fear. 

Honestly, it's a challenge to keep up with the Marys or Miriams in this dramatic phase of the gospels. The writers agree that there was more than one, but how many? Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at the cross, along with at least two other Marys. But who they were is not clear, although Mary Magdalene was a constant. Confusiingly, the gospels aren't consistent in who the Marys actually were -- could the parents have used a little more imagination in naming their girls? 

What strikes me is that in the too often patriarchal history of the church the argument has been made that the disciples of Jesus were men, therefore only men can lead. Yet the gospel evidence is clear that when the men made themselves scarce women mourned Jesus at Golgotha, they attended to his body after death, and the first Christian witness was a woman. What more evidence of true discipleship is necessary?  it's almost as though there has been male collusion against women despite the biblical witness! 

I do feel gratitude for those brave women who continued to be faithful despite their grief and the risk to their safety.

                                                        Christ Carried to the Tomb -- Rembrandt