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Hello, everyone! I began writing this on Saturday of Holy Week, the day “in between”. Much has been said and written about this year—another Lenten season during the pandemic, so much suffering, injustice, violence, hatred, and so forth. Some time ago, Frederick Buechner wrote: “The worst isn’t the last thing about the world … The last thing is the best. It’s the power from on high that comes down into the world … [and it] wells up from the rock-bottom worst of the world like a hidden spring.” Without wanting to minimize the pain, losses, and evil, he rather sums up the Easter story, doesn’t he? Hopefully some of the introspection, repentance, reflection and messages of Lent and Easter will cause real change in lives, communities and nations. I’ve listened to several sermons and talks, read from favorite books, and generally enjoyed some quiet(ish) time. We celebrated Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday morning … aware that many have died in this past year, and so thankful for the promise of resurrection. A few quotes that sort of jumped off the pages of Yancey’s The Jesus I Never Knew: M. Scott Peck: “…the only ultimate way to conquer evil is to let it be smothered within a willing, living human being…” Philip Yancey: “Power, no matter how well-intentioned, tends to cause suffering. Love, being vulnerable, absorbs it.” Dorothy Sayers: “God did not abolish the fact of evil: He transformed it. He did not stop the crucifixion: He rose from the dead.” Again, Yancey: “Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories, like Jesus’ scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. We will have re-created bodies, a re-created heaven and earth. We will have a new start, an Easter start.” What great news! It is now Wednesday after Easter. We don’t have classes this week; public schools and most educational institutions traditionally have these two weeks “off”. While I like my classes and generally enjoy interacting with students, it is also nice to have a break. I have a long list of projects for these days, including writing this update. A couple of reports. Review our church’s constitution and make recommendations for changes that better reflect our reality. Prepare for the rest of the semester. Prepare for some upcoming workshops and talks. And then those ‘personal’ tasks which loom large: organize photos (anyone else have a lot of pictures in their phone or laptop, without a good system for arranging them?), purge files and drawers, revise my will, etc. I have at least washed my clothes – no small task as we didn’t have running water for several days. I took a shower yesterday for the first time in a week; ah, simple pleasures. God is alive and with us. Jesus met his friends on the beach for a fish breakfast. Came alongside a couple walking down the road to Emmaus. Is there in the ‘ordinary’ as well as ‘extraordinary’. And makes all the difference. Next week, we’ll have a faculty meeting and resume Zoom classes. Ordinary stuff, or is it? May your after-Easter time be revolutionized by love … by grace … by Jesus. With much appreciation, Katie Partners in Community International (PICI); P.O. Box 237; Tempe, AZ 85280 P.S. My hair is growing.