ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 8, 2012  

2012 Easter message from ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson
12-20-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), shares an Easter message
with the 4.2 million members of this church. The full text of the
presiding bishop's message follows:

Christ is risen! Imagine the power in those words of promise.

When the disciples first heard Jesus speak of his death and
resurrection, "they kept the matter to themselves" (Mark 9:10). But the
news is too good to keep to ourselves. The life of Jesus Christ has been
unleashed into the world.

Because Christ is risen, you can embrace life's complexities and
uncertainties with a living, daring confidence in God's grace. The risen
Christ goes ahead of you, meeting you in the most surprising faces and
unexpected places. Christ's resurrection puts us right where God wants us
to be -- in the thick of life.

Because Christ is risen, you have a word of hope. To those weary from
mourning loss and fearing death, the assurance is given that nothing in
all creation will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The life of Jesus, God's own life, has burst into the world, restoring
community. At the barriers we erect to divide us, the risen Christ meets
us, turning those walls into tables of reconciliation. To those who live
in fear and feel unworthy, the promise is given. "You are no longer
strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also
members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19).

Every morning you awaken with the mark of Jesus' death on your forehead
and the promise of Christ's resurrection on your lips.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

In God's grace,

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United
States, with 4.2 million members in 10,000 congregations across the 50
states and in the Caribbean region. Members of the ELCA believe that they
are freed in Christ to serve and love their neighbor. With their hands,
they do God's work of restoring and reconciling communities in Jesus'
name throughout the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the
German church reformer, Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
773-380-2956 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.ELCA.org/news
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Living Lutheran: http://www.livinglutheran.com