Dear Friends in Christ,

It’s April 15^th, and Federal Income Tax forms – with any payments owed – are due for mailing today!  Have you filed your tax forms?  And, if necessary, have you rendered your payment unto “Ceasar?”

Few are happy about making payments to “Caesar.”  And, many are especially unhappy this year because they’re not so pleased with “Caesar’s” conduct these days.  Especially since his Easter Sunday tweet and subsequent Eastertide expressions, decisions and actions. 

Interestingly, some of “Caesar’s” expression has focused on Christianly, and Christians, as well as Jews and Muslims.  A lot of it has been wildly unkind, and has riled many a Christian leader, some of whom have offered their not so grace-filled expression in return.  

So, I want to share with you one Christian leader’s expression with you today. It’s an Easter Pastoral Letter from Rev. Darrell Goodwin who serves as Executive Conference Minister and President of our neighboring Southern New England Conference.   See what you think.  And, let me know…

Blessings of Rendering Unto Caesar the Things that Belong to Caesar,
Pastor Ed

Dear Beloved,

Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed.

Each year we proclaim these words as an echo of the empty tomb, but this Easter I find myself holding them not just as tradition, but as a deep and urgent truth for the world we are living in right now. We are surrounded by so much that feels fragile and fractured; war continues to devastate communities across the globe, divisions run deep within our own nation, and many are carrying a quiet exhaustion that comes from wondering if things will ever truly change.

And yet, Easter meets us here.

It does not wait for things to be settled or peaceful before it speaks. It does not arrive once the world has put itself back together. Instead, resurrection breaks in right in the middle of uncertainty and reminds us that God is still at work, even when the evidence feels hard to see.

This is what makes Easter so powerful. It is not simply a remembrance of what God has done. It is a declaration of what God continues to do, bringing life where there has been loss, hope where there has been despair, and connection where there has been division.

In a moment like this, the Church cannot afford to shrink back or grow quiet. We are being invited, once again, to remember who we are. We are a people shaped by resurrection, called not only to believe in it, but to live it in ways that are visible, tangible, and transformative.

That is why our shared theme, The Ties That Bind, feels especially meaningful in this season.

Because in a world that is constantly pulling itself apart, God is still drawing us together. We are bound to one another in ways that go deeper than agreement or familiarity. We are connected through a shared calling to love, to serve, and to show up for one another in ways that reflect the heart of God. When one part of the body suffers, we all feel it. When one community rises, we all are strengthened. This is not abstract theology, it is the lived reality of what it means to be a Covenantal Church.

And if I am honest, I believe this is one of the most important witnesses we have to offer right now. Not perfection. Not certainty. But connection. A refusal to give up on one another. A commitment to stay at the table, to do the hard work of community, and to embody a different way of being in a world that often chooses separation over solidarity.

We really are stronger together than we are apart, and this Easter invites us to take that truth seriously. So I want to encourage us, in this season of resurrection, to lean into both action and prayer in ways that reflect the depth of our calling.

Let this be a time when we show up more fully in our congregations, in our neighborhoods, and in the public spaces where decisions are shaping the lives of so many. Let us be present with those who are hurting, attentive to those who are overlooked, and courageous enough to stand for what is right, even when it is not easy. And alongside that action, let us deepen our commitment to prayer. Let us pray for a world that is aching for peace. Let us pray for leaders to be guided by wisdom and compassion. Let us pray for communities that are carrying grief and uncertainty. And let us also pray for the Church, that we might be renewed, strengthened, and reminded of the sacred responsibility we carry in this moment.

Resurrection is not something we simply celebrate. It is something we are invited to embody. God is still rolling stones away. God is still calling life out of places that feel lifeless. And God is still gathering us together, binding us in love, and sending us out as witnesses to hope.

My prayer this Easter is that we will have the courage to rise into that calling, not alone, but together, trusting that the ties that bind us are stronger than anything that seeks to divide us.

With hope and in resurrection,Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin Executive Conference Minister and President Southern New England Conference