Hello Jubilants,

Tonight is Holy Thursday, also called Maundy Thursday from the Latin word meaning commandment. It was on that last Thursday night that Jesus gave his followers a new commandment … “love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” It is the simplest and most difficult commandment of all. The path of love is one strewn with stories of betrayal and abandonment, denial and defamation. It is also a path strewn with stories of generosity and courage, forgiveness and gratitude. Holy Week includes all of these stories. Nothing is left out. As Franciscan father Richard Rohr has said, “Everything belongs.” 

Marianne Williamson writes, “Easter is not just a symbol; it is a metaphysical fact. Resurrection occurs when the mind becomes purified by unconditional love, or forgiveness ... When we surrender our lovelessness, God … delivers us beyond the ego mind and the suffering it produces (the crucifixion). That is the miracle of Easter: the dissolution of fear and the reemergence of eternal love.”

If your heart breaks with the crucifixions this world continues to create, come tonight and allow yourself to feel the grief. If your heart breaks, come Sunday and dare to imagine that cruelty and disappointment and death never have the last word. 

Love one another. It’s that simple. And that miraculous. 

In love,
Laura

HOLY THURSDAY SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE
6:30pm in-person and on Facebook Live. 
Come to a quiet and reflective service of remembrance, walking with Jesus through his final days. With his friends, he broke bread and shared wine and we will do the same for those who are comfortable. He washed the feet of his friends, prayed for relief, experienced betrayal, stood up to both religious and political authorities, and because he wouldn't bow to them, he was executed. Led by Minister of Transition Laura Collins, we'll reflect together on what these acts of compassion and courage mean in our own lives and how their energy still reverberates in our world.

The in-person event at 46 Wall Street will be ticketed with only 25 Jubilants attending in person. If you sign up and find you are unable to attend, please remove your name so that we can make space for others. Masks will be required and seats will be arranged at a minimum of 6 feet apart. You may sit closer with members of your own household.

• Sign up for the in-person service here
• The online event will be streamed on Facebook Live 

SUPPORTING JUBILEE HOUSE ~ CDCA
Last week...Palm Sunday...Sarah Woodard, one of the founders of Jubilee House - Community Development of Central America (CDCA), provided us with a powerful look at the amazing work her organization is doing in Nicaragua.  If you heard Sarah speak, you know that after weathering COVID, the  after-effects of political upheaval, and two hurricanes, CDCA needs our help more than ever right now. You can learn more and make donations here. 

VIRTUAL EARTH DAY
Since we are unable to gather in person this year, Creation Care Alliance is excited to host a virtual Earth Day Vigil on Zoom. The vigil will be focused on the idea of loving people and place and will include readings, prayers, songs, and information about creation care from speakers from throughout Western North Carolina. The vigil will run from 6-7:15 pm on April 25th and will include regional breakout rooms that will begin directly after the Vigil ends. There will be more opportunities for interaction during the reception.  Register to attend here.

VIA TRANSFORMATIVA SEEDS OF CELEBRATION
We have just posted most of the Seeds of Celebration for Via Transformativa 2021 on the Our Focus This Quarter page of our website, and expect to have the final version posted soon. You can always find the most up-to-date Seeds there, along with the archive of Seeds going all the way back to 2015.

SO MANY WAYS TO SUPPORT JUBILEE!
We know it's not the same as filling the basket in person, but there are lots of different ways you can donate to Jubilee! and the Hunger Basket.  Please give as generously as you can!

~  Online: Click here.
~  GivePlus app: Download the app, enter zip code 28801, then click Jubilee!
~  Text: Text 844-962-2639
~  Snail Mail: Mail your check to Jubilee!, 46 Wall Street, Asheville, NC 28801

Please donate to the hunger baskets or Jubilee!'s operating costs or both.  Jubilee! continues to have expenses to keep running.  All hunger basket donations are going to organizations that feed the hungry, house the homeless and support underserved communities in a variety of ways.