April / May 2026 Newsletter

The Season of Becoming

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new season. A   season not marked by an empty tomb alone, but by a living presence. A season the Church has long  understood as a time of becoming.

For forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared repeatedly to His disciples and to many others. Scripture tells us that He taught them about the Kingdom of God, opened their understanding, and  prepared their hearts for what was to come. These were not random appearances. They were intentional, formative, and deeply relational. This was a sacred in-between time; no longer the grief of Good Friday, not yet the power of Pentecost. It was a season of transformation.

This forty-day period culminates in the Ascension of Jesus, when Christ commissions His followers and promises the gift of the Holy Spirit. But before that moment, He walks with them, speaks peace to them, and gently shapes them into who they are becoming.

We see one of the most powerful examples of this in Gospel of John 20:19–31. The disciples are   gathered behind locked doors, fearful and uncertain, when Jesus suddenly stands among them and says, “Peace be with you.” He breathes on them and speaks of the Holy Spirit, a foretaste of what is to come.

And then there is Apostle Thomas. Thomas was not present for that first appearance, and when the others tell him what they have seen, he struggles to believe. He wants to see for himself. He wants to touch the wounds. He wants a faith that is real and grounded.

And Jesus meets him there. Rather than rejecting Thomas’ doubt, Jesus invites it into relationship, “Put your finger here… Do not doubt but believe.” In that moment, Thomas offers one of the most profound confessions in all of Scripture, “My Lord and my God!”

Because of Thomas, we are reminded that questions are not the enemy of faith. They are often the doorway into deeper faith. We, too, long to see what we cannot physically see. We wrestle with what we do not fully understand. And yet, the risen Christ still comes to us, still speaks peace, still invites us to trust.

 This season of becoming is not only something we read about in Scripture, but also something we live through in our own lives.

In these next few weeks we will see high school seniors preparing to graduate, standing on the threshold of a new chapter. Families will gather to celebrate accomplishments; to honor long days of study, growth, and perseverance. There is joy in these milestones, but also a quiet ache. Endings and beginnings often arrive hand in hand.

At the same time, creation itself bears witness to this sacred rhythm. The earth is in full bloom. Trees bud, flowers open, and the world seems to come alive again. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and yet, even this beauty reminds us of change, of seasons passing, of life moving forward whether we are ready or not.

This is the tension of Easter. It is a season of both beauty and pain, of celebration and uncertainty, and of resurrection and becoming.

The disciples knew this feeling well. Their world had been turned upside down. They were filled with hope, yet still unsure of what came next. And amid it all Jesus kept showing up.

So how do we encounter the Living Christ in this season of becoming?

We encounter Him:

· In gathered community, where Christ is present when we come together in His name

· In Scripture, where the Word becomes alive and speaks into our lives

· In the quiet whisper of peace that settles our fears

· In acts of love and service, where we become the hands and feet of Christ

· Even in our questions, seeking leads to deeper knowing

This Easter season is not just something we remember. It is something we embody. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive within us. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Epistle to the    Romans 8:11, that Spirit is still giving life, still renewing, still transforming.

We are not the same people we were before Easter. And yet, we are not fully who we are becoming.

Like the disciples in those forty days, we are being shaped, taught, and prepared.

 This is the Season of Becoming.

We are becoming a people of resurrection hope.
We are becoming a people who trust even when we cannot see.
We are becoming a people who carry Christ’s peace into a changing world.
We are becoming a people filled with the Spirit, ready to live and love boldly.

So, as you celebrate graduations, as you marvel at the beauty of spring, as you navigate both joy and uncertainty know the risen Christ is with you.

Christ is risen, and in Him, we are becoming.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Amy

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