Minister’s Message: Coming together for our community

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 10, 2026

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

This past Sunday, many Christians around the world proclaimed these words during Easter worship.

We said it with excitement, shouting these words that for Christians, Christ’s resurrection means that death does not win the day. It’s a promise that there is more life to come, even when we don’t see it being possible.

And yet, for many of us, even as we shout the Easter joy, this promise of life beyond death seems to fall flat. Life feels pretty… overwhelming, shall we say, in these days.

Our sociopolitical climate reminds me of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. We are in that same type of world where it doesn’t feel like we’re all one, but we’re spread as far apart from each other as humanly possible. We are searching for clues of who is trustworthy and who is not, based on their political beliefs. We are speaking in hushed tones, not to offend someone we love who may not agree with us. We are unfollowing, blocking, muting or even arguing with our neighbors, friends, coworkers, spouses and family members, as we struggle to make sense of everything around us.

On Easter morning, I shouted the words that “Christ is risen!” and while I believe that, I find myself still hovering close to the tomb. There’s a “What now?” feeling that creeps across my skin, like cool, damp cave air, wisping into the world.

What now?

Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikh, Baha’i, people of all faiths and people of non-faith, are all asking ourselves, “What now?”

And while I certainly don’t have the answers, what I can point you to is something out of my Christian tradition on that Easter morning. It was the women who first heard of Jesus’s resurrection and then went to tell the other disciples — to preach — that death did not win the day. The women came to the others with their questions and confusion, and then they gathered together.

I remember craving cooperation during the worst of COVID-19, begging people to see humanity in each other, even if we disagreed.

If we worked together, this virus wouldn’t hurt all of us as much. If we remained separated, distant and argumentative, we had no chance of fighting back.

Dear friends, regardless of your religion or non-religion, your understanding of the world around you, this is the time that we work together. There are powers greater than who we are, as average Alaskans. We are people who will fish alongside each other this summer, pass each other on the hiking trails, and sip a beer (or lemonade) at Music in the Park while we sway to the tunes.

When we find ourselves asking “What now?”, I challenge you to reframe it as “What now for my community?”

Come together and hear each other’s voices, the fears and sorrows, the questions and concerns, the “What now?” in each of our lives. This is what it means to have community, connection, uniting for the sake of all.

Let’s get to work.

The Rev. Meredith Harber serves Christ Lutheran Church, 128 N. Soldotna Ave. Worship is at 10 a.m. on Sundays in person or on Facebook Live.