ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 30, 1997 TAG: 9703290012
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE THE ROANOKE TIMES
NO MATTER how you look at it - Catholic or Protestant, evangelical or mainline, metropolitan mega-church or tiny country congregation - Easter is not only the holiest time of year for Christian pastors, it's the busiest.
"We'll be packed for both services," said the Rev. Richard Elmore, pastor of Cave Spring Baptist Church on U.S. 221 in Roanoke, who will preach at 8:30 and 11 a.m., as usual. Only today there probably will be about 1,000 people in attendance - up from the usual 650.
In nearly every Christian church, regardless of denomination, there will be more people in the pews today than any other day of the year.
"Part of it is simply tradition and being with family ... getting dressed up in new clothes and getting out and being seen," said the Rev. Alton Washington, pastor of Roanoke's Huntington Court United Methodist Church on Williamson Road.
On the other hand, he said, Easter remains a truly religious holiday, largely unencumbered by the trappings of the secular, commercial culture in which it is celebrated. And that helps draw people to church.
"The Fourth of July is for picnics," Washington said, "Easter is for worship."
At Church of the Transfiguration, the Roman Catholic congregation in Fincastle in Botetourt County, all the extra activity during Lent and Easter necessitates "a lot of lay involvement in the services," said Sister Eveline Murray, pastoral coordinator for the parish.
Besides decorating the church in its Easter best, lay members are needed in all the extra services, participating in Scripture readings, for instance, Murray said. She coordinates all that, working to prepare the building so that "when the priest comes, everything just happens."
Murray is one of 11 pastoral co-
ordinators in the Diocese of Richmond, which includes all of the commonwealth except Northern Virginia. These coordinators are women from religious orders who administer the day-to-day affairs of parishes that are without full-time priests. A priest from Roanoke, the Rev. Tim Huffman from Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church, comes on Saturday evenings, and the Rev. Larry Mullaney travels from St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Clifton Forge on Sunday mornings to bless the bread and wine for Communion and preside over other sacramental functions, such weddings and funerals.
A native of Ireland, Murray was the first pastoral coordinator in the diocese, originally serving the Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Rocky Mount from 1980 to 1990. A nationwide shortage of priests - while membership in the church continues to grow - may lead to more and more such parishes.
During the Lenten and Easter seasons, Murray - like most pastors - is particularly busy. Days that begin before 9 a.m. in the church office often don't end until after 9 p.m. "One of the things you learn to do is try to take a little time [for rest] during the middle of the day if you can," Murray said.
She's not one to lament the long days, however. "The folks who come to these [extra services and activities] have done a full day's work, so their days are long, too."
Besides there is a genuine sense of building anticipation and excitement at the prospect of the nearing celebration of Easter, she said.
In addition to continuing her usual activities - including a prison ministry at Camp 24 in Botetourt County - Murray is completing the training of three new candidates for membership in the church, who began that process almost a year ago.
At the beginning of Lent - 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays - these prospective members made a commitment to convert to Catholicism and began intensive weekly instruction in preparation for full membership in the church, which is celebrated on the evening before Easter.
Lent is traditionally the beginning of most churches' focus on the upcoming celebration of the Resurrection at Easter.
But the preparations begin long before that for many ministers, including Elmore at Cave Spring Baptist. "I plan my sermons out about four months ahead," he said. He spends an average of 15 to 18 hours a week just on sermon preparation.
The long lead time is necessary partly to help make planning for associates such as the music minister easier, but also as a personal discipline to make sure he's finding fresh material, he said.
That doesn't mean there isn't still a level of spontaneity to the services. Last Monday, for instance, Elmore was still considering the incorporation of some dramatic elements in today's services - following a successful dramatic musical presentation on Palm Sunday.
At Huntington Court this year, drama and music will be substituted for the usual Easter Sunday sermon. The second and final part of a cantata, or dramatic choral performance, for the holiday is scheduled for today's 11 a.m. service.
"I love to preach on these Sundays," Washington said, as the Scripture lessons about the love of Christ, forgiveness and redemption lead up to a crescendo at Easter. "It's the centerpiece of Christ's message of love and hope for the world."
But he also believes that the music and drama "can be much more effective than I could ever have been simply by preaching."
"I believe in variety," he said, "using many methods to set forth the word of God."
And this is the Sunday of the year, perhaps, on which a preacher wants to excel at his or her art.
There is a powerful incentive to preach the best sermon, have the best service of the year, today, said Elmore at Cave Spring Baptist.
In addition to commemorating the pivotal doctrine in Christian faith, "For so many in the congregation this will be the only time they'll be here all year. You want to reach them, to give them a reason to come back."
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. The Rev. Altonby CNBWashington is pastor of Huntington Court United Methodist Church in
Roanoke. 2. Sister Eveline Murray is pastoral coordinator at the
Church of the Transfiguration in Fincastle. 3. The Rev. Richard
Elmore pastors Cave Spring Baptist Church in Roanoke County. color.