ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2003 Easter Message

March 26, 2003 – "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" (Mark 16:3) The question which troubled the tiny band of brave mourners that first Easter morning weighs heavily today. The power of death is terribly real in acts of terror and threats of war, in the devastations of sickness and hunger, in tragedies both surprising and all too familiar. The deadly power of sin - dividing us from each other and from God is plainly evident in our world, our lives, and even the church.

Evangelical Lutheran Church – Jerusalem (ELCJ)

April 8, 2003 – Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, the city of Christ's death and resurrection. At this time of difficulty and hopelessness throughout the world, we in the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCJ) invite you to join us in Palestine, Jordan and Israel as we bring the following petitions to our Lord in our prayers during Holy Week 2003. Gracious God, We pray for those who have lost hope and live in hopelessness, that their faith and hope may be restored...

An Easter Reflection from the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA

April 11, 2003 – Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the tomb. This Easter anthem, drawn from the liturgy of the Eastern Church, appears in our Prayer Book at the conclusion of the Burial of the Dead. It is to be sung as the body is borne from the church. Through the resurrection, Christ not only rises from the dead but destroys death -death in all its forms. And as members of Christ's risen body we are called to trample down death.

WHO WILL ROLL THE STONE AWAY?
Easter Message by Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, The Lutheran Bishop in Jerusalem

April 20, 2003 – As the Christian Church celebrates Easter this year, I have been asked, "What kind of message will you offer your people? What viable hope can you give?" On this Easter Day I feel as if I am walking with the three women - Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. I feel I am walking with them to the tomb of the crucified Jesus, and a big stone has been rolled in front of the cave to protect the body from predators. I feel I am going with the three women to perform the traditional anointing of the dead Jesus. As I approach the burial cave early Sunday morning with Salome and the two Marys, I ask with them: WHO WILL ROLL THE STONE AWAY FROM THE ENTRANCE OF THE TOMB?

Archbishop Peter Jensen's Easter Message

April 16, 2003, Sydney - I have heard it said that Jesus was never in a trench and that he never felt hot lead pass by his neck. He never lost a child to war, and he was blissfully unaware of the complex worries of modern life. It's a common complaint that Jesus doesn't understand what some of us have been through; that he would have little to offer those of us living with today's conflicts, both global and personal. But the Bible tells us quite the opposite about Jesus, and Easter provides an ideal opportunity to clarify your thinking about who Jesus is and how he matters in the here and now.

Easter Message 2003 Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem

Peace from God, the Father and creator of all mankind, and love and greetings from the city of the Resurrection, from Jerusalem. My prayer for each and everyone of you is that you be empowered by the Spirit of the Risen Lord, and that the peace and joy that came from Him who defeated death by dying, Jesus Christ, the first risen from the dead, may be yours and your dear ones throughout the coming days and years.

Easter Message from the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church

April 16, 2003 – In an announcement today, the Most Revd Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, said, "This year, it is not possible to observe the central celebration of the Christian calendar - Easter - without it being overshadowed by the war in Iraq. The military action now seems, thank God, to be at an end. But its consequences will be with us for a long time. "The media has brought this war into our homes in a way no other previous conflict has been communicated. We have watched the technological brilliance of modern warfare, and witnessed the aftermath of its destruction in terms of human lives.