The late George Burns and Gracie Allen were a popular comedy team in the days of vaudeville. On their radio and television shows, Gracie played the role of a lovable airhead, whose misunderstandings made people laugh. For example, at the end of the show, if George would tell her, “Say good night, Gracie,” she would say: “Good night, Gracie.”

In their real lives however, Gracie was very much the brains and heart and soul of their partnership and their relationship. So before she died, Grace left a love note for George, hoping to soften his pain and to give him the courage to continue in life. And that note contained these words:

And even though for a time George felt that his life was completely empty and finished, it definitely was not. George Burns went on to play God in a couple of movies, and continued to live and entertain up to the age of one hundred!

“Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” That is the message of Easter! Many thought Jesus teachings and ministry had been ended by the cruelty of death. They placed a period at the end of that terrible day. But God placed a comma on that Friday, and the result was resurrection.

Resurrection is not just a story about what happened to Jesus, but a story about what happens to us as we open our lives to the Holy One who places a comma in our lives. Resurrection can happen to each of us. It is happening among us as the people of Prairie Church. The recent “Night To Remember” event, which was part of our visioning process, was a time when God placed a comma in our ministry. We expressed appreciation for our past strengths, but recognized that God was giving us a new future. It was a wonderful time of sharing and discovery.

Recently, I met for breakfast with a group of folks from Prairie Church who are deeply committed to moving the vision of Welcoming forward in a more comprehensive way, through engagement/assimilation, new member process, connecting people with people and engaging people in new ministries. Since that time, others have expressed interest in lending their support to this work. For a time (about a year ago), the “welcoming” idea was having trouble getting off the ground. Now it seems we have seen the comma which God had placed there all along, and are allowing the resurrection power to move us forward. I am very excited and hopeful about this new step in faith.

Although we have completed 150 years of ministry, God has placed a comma at the end of this era, and is calling us forward in faith to new expressions of ministry. This year as we celebrate the story of Jesus’ resurrection we also celebrate the new life and hope stirring among us as we let God raise us up with new energy and hope for the future…………