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Interim ministry is the ministry provided to a local church or other ministry setting during a pastoral vacancy. Every change of pastoral leadership presents a unique opportunity for the local congregation to assess its mission, consider its strengths and weaknesses, and search for a new pastoral leader in cooperation with its association and conference.

I was truly honored by the luncheon and program Sunday, and I want to begin by thanking everyone involved in planning it and pulling it off. 

The title of this article is the fourth point of outgoing Moderator Phil Certain's Reflections in worship Sunday morning.

I love Easter Sunday in worship. The music is beautiful and uplifting. The church is full with members and visitors. All the flowers make for a beautiful sanctuary. Having that time in our service when so many people come forward to sing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah with our choir is just soul-stirring. And in our church this year, we had the tremendous bonus of having that wonderful liturgical art piece appear for the first time on Easter Sunday morning. Easter, and the worship service that Sunday morning, is inspiring to me.

But then what? We don’t live on Easter Sunday every day. Once Easter is past, do things simply revert to the same old world? Or does the fact that Jesus was raised from death change things for us? John Buchanan is the editor of Christian Century Magazine and the former Senior Pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. He wrote an editorial in the April 18, 2012 issue of Christian Century which touched on these questions. The following is part of what he said.

Curt