A Chicks Rule Easter

Our Easter program rocked, with amazing music and an all-women lineup of speakers.

Allison asked Izzy to give a short talk. She's one of my favorite kids in the ward and she did a spectacular job. Very poised and articulate young woman.

My talk went well. I talked about the unnamed/less known women in the Easter story as well as the better-known women mentioned in the different gospels. I specifically mentioned the woman who anointed Jesus' head (from Matthew) and that women were present during all the major events in Christ's life and ministry. Even threw in an allusion to The daVinci Code.

I also talked about grief--using the pain Mary must have felt as a lead-in. What it's like to lose a child. What it's like to say goodbye to a loved one. I mentioned DeWitt's memorial service last week.

Quoted Isaiah calling the Savior a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. I asked, did Jesus have griefs and sorrows of his own? I think he must have; the human experience is rife with loss and disappointment and grief as well as joy, love and achievement. I was pleased with how it came together. I may post my remarks here if I can figure out how.

Then Janet A. spoke. Hereremarks tied in art history, the experience of pregnancy and motherhood, the women of Easter and the relationship between Mary and Jesus. She's a powerhouse and I'm not doing her remarks justice in the retelling.

It was an amazing service--and a refreshing change to have all women speakers and the focus on women's experiences.

It was my last hurrah with the choir and possibly the last time I'll speak in Pasadena ward before I move. I didn't cry until after it was all over, but my remarks got some of the choir members teary before was sang "Pieta" (which I was glad we sang after I spoke otherwise I would have been a blubbering mess).

Then mom, dad, John and his girlfriend went to brunch at the Caltech Athenaeum. Afterward, mom said "It's like an old, elegant club." I pointed out it IS an old, elegant club. :) It's another thing I'll miss; I've enjoyed holiday brunches and having a fancy place for special occasion dinners.