ALLELUIA!

Westminster Presbyterian Church is one we have visited here before. It is in Irvington, so will probably be walking distance from our home. There are about 900 members; it is Gothic stone and like a ship's knave inside with all of the wood. Nice windows, but not as nice as First Pres SB (Joshua said that).

Joshua and Julia met us there for the 11 a.m. service, which was pretty good. Unfortunately, they do not gather flowers from their members' gardens, but instead purchase them: pots of azaleas which they encourage you to take home with you. No need to ask Julia and me twice! Here's a photo to prove it. They also have a 9 a.m. service on Easter. Probably praise so we didn't chance it.

The service opened with no lights on, although the prelude was a rousing Bach piece, so that didn't quite fit with the darkness. The choir lined up on the side aisles for a beautiful introit, as lights came up gradually. They had banners on the sides of the chancel (much same size and shape as Mary Newman's yellow ones) which were raised with pulley system like Don Dudley constructed for us in the chancel. During the processional hymn, the paschal candle and acolytes were first, then 2 children with baskets of eggs (more on this later) and 2 adults with potted azaleas (?). Then the clergy: an interim and 2 associates.

OK, the eggs. The children's sermon consisted of the pastor telling about an Assyrian tradition of different colors of eggs representing different aspects of the Easter story. And then, the ancient tradition of cracking the egg against your head. It goes like this: Alleluia! Cccrrraaackk!!!! Christ is risen! Hmmmmmmm...

Their benediction response was "Hallelujah". The choir (which is seated in the rear of the chancel during the service) come to the front of the chancel and stand. They invite congregation members to sing the chorus with them, so I did! That was great! Afterwards, the two sopranos on either side of me said, "You need to join the choir!" I made no promises, but was grateful for the invitation.

Coffee hour followed, with lemon muffins, fruit, coffee, tea. Nice. They have a building campaign going on solely for the purpose of making the campus ACCESSIBLE! What a concept!

I am thrilled that Merry Beth, Amy and Robin finished the Alleluia banner in time for the service, and Wanda, Merry Beth and Dale have emailed me photos. It looks great, and I'm sorry I didn't see it! I'll make it a point to do so when we come back for a visit.

Our Easter dinner was omelets at the apartment, followed by a game of Euchre (you midWesterners will know what that is). So far, the women rule!
We are now receiving The Oregonian, local paper. Pretty good. New York Times puzzle every day.

After a day of relooking at the Fabulous Four houses on Monday, we watched Duke win the NCAA championship for the fourth time! Before that, we went by our storage units to get some stuff out of the file cabinet (which the Allied driver had put at the front of the unit so we could access it). It is quite strange seeing all of your belongings packed into four 10x10 compartments! Kind of like visiting a mausoleum. Very quiet in there.

Today (Tuesday, I think) we looked at 3 more houses, then made an offer on one of the Fab Four, and will have an answer by 7 pm tomorrow. Let's hope it's a birthday present kind of offer!

Also went to Costco today! It's kind of far out in an industrial area, but actually only five miles from our apartment. Gas was $2.75. And they pump it. The plants they have for sale in there make it look like a nursery: azalea trees; japanese maples, fuschia, etc.

Cross your fingers on the house!

By the way, Marion, the yard has TWO HUGE DOGWOODS: ONE PINK AND ONE WHITE! And a Japanese Maple. This rhododendron was at one house we looked at; the sunrise picture was Easter morning from the apartment window.

News from Jessica: She was appointed today as Deputy Secretary for Sustainable Resources Management at the California Natural Resources Agency. That's Lester Snow, her boss, Director of California Natural Resources, swearing her in.