It's an ancient custom, going back to the early Christian church, to celebrate the second Sunday of Easter with joy and mirth. Many church traditions observe Holy Hilarity or Holy Humor Sundays. After all, this is the God who played a real practical joke on those who thought they had snuffed out the Jesus Movement for good.
On April 19 Compton's sanctuary was decorated with balloons, rainbows, flowers, and smiling faces. We sang joyful hymns and anthems, and everyone had a bell to ring every time the word "joy" was uttered in a hymn, reading, or prayer. Norm was the liturgist who greeting everyone with a giant sunflower.
Lorrie and Brenda, who co directed the service, answer a question from Coulton before the service. Jacque looks a little nervous; she is just a regular person in the pew for today.
The sermon came from people in the congre- gation sharing memories of how laughter or a light hearted moment brought healing or a new understanding of The Word. There were excerpts from children's letters to God, and a version of "who's on first" acted by Mary and Martha. After worship, everyone was invited to a special festive coffee hour that included rainbow gummy worms and kazoos. And people were still telling jokes about church life or sharing funny stories of faith until the coffee ran out.
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