Robert Blechl
BURBANK -- Local church leaders may have different views about whether
Easter in the year 2000 carries special significance for worshipers, but
they agree on one thing: the observance of Jesus Christ's resurrection
will be on of the most important spiritual days of the year for their
congregants.
Father Ron Raab of St. Francis Xavier Church said Easter lay at the
core of all Christian denominations.
"Many people think Christmas is the most important feast of the
Christian faith, but it's not," Raab said. "Culturally, Christmas has
taken on a new role, but Easter is the central mystery of our faith. It's
a time to renew our own baptismal promise, which is our direct connection
to Jesus' death and resurrection."
This year, Raab said, there is a heightened element to the day.
"In 2000, we recognize the role of the church in the world to continue
to bring about peace, unity, reconciliation and understanding, and to try
to put into practice that new life which we have received," Raab said.
The Rev. Ron Degges, senior minister of the Little White Chapel
Christian Church, said the only special significance of this Easter is
that it falls on a year that ends in three zeros.
"If there's any importance, it's that we are in the last Easter of the
millennium," Degges said.
Degges, a minister of the Disciples of Christ, the first Christian
denomination formed on American soil, said Sunday, as Easter is each
year, will be an occasion for hope.
"We have an opportunity once again to try and get it right. Easter is
always a sign, a symbol that there is more to come," Degges said. "When
we think everything is over, it really isn't. And it's not only about
God, but about us being co-participants with God in constructing a world
where justice and peace rule."
