04/01/2026
A Pastoral Letter for Holy Week
From the desk of Pastor Dave
Beloved friends in Christ at Benton and Chilcutt UMC
As we enter Holy Week, I find myself thinking about how quietly God often works. Not with fanfare or spectacle, but in the small, hidden places where our real lives are lived. This week is full of moments like that — moments when God slips into the ordinary and transforms it from the inside out.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. No armor. No parade. Just humility wrapped in courage. It is a reminder that God’s power does not come the way the world expects it to come.
On Thursday, Jesus kneels with a towel around his waist and washes the feet of his friends — even the ones who will fail him. It is a reminder that love is not a feeling but a posture.
On Friday, the sky grows dark and the world holds its breath. Jesus hangs on the cross, not because he is powerless, but because he refuses to abandon us in our suffering. It is a reminder that God does not run from the world’s pain — or ours.
On Saturday, everything is quiet. The tomb is sealed. Hope seems lost. It is a reminder that God does some of His deepest work in silence.
And then — before the sun rises, before anyone is ready, before the world has time to catch its breath — the stone rolls away. Christ steps out of the grave, and nothing will ever be the same again.
This is the story we walk together this week.
A story of love that kneels.
Love that suffers.
Love that waits.
Love that rises.
My prayer for you is simple:
May you find God in every part of this week — in the dark, in the dawn, and in the full light of Easter morning.
If you are carrying grief, may Good Friday remind you that Christ carries it with you.
If you are waiting for something to change, may Holy Saturday teach you that God is present even in the stillness.
If you are longing for new life, may Easter morning open your heart to the possibility that resurrection is not just something that happened long ago — it is something God is doing even now.
Thank you for being a congregation that walks this journey with such grace and faithfulness. It is one of the great joys of my life to be your pastor.
I look forward to seeing you in worship — at the cross, at the tomb, and at the empty garden where hope begins again.
With love in Christ,
Pastor Dave
