Holy Week in El Salvador: Easter Sunday

This is the fourth in a series of stories about Holy Week in El Salvador...

In El Salvador, Easter Sunday celebrations are not nearly as large nor lavish as the processions of Good Friday or Palm Sunday.  In part, this is because Easter falls on the last day of the Holy Week vacations.  Families traditionally spend Easter Sunday at home or visiting with extended family.  Because the public buses do not run from Good Friday through Easter, it also difficult for people without cars to get from one place to another.

As I checked my Facebook news feed and sent Easter greetings to family and friends from afar, I ran across a cartoon that made me chuckle and feel sad at the same time.  I remembered reading a post from a pastor friend earlier in the week, "If there were no women prophets, there would be no church."

Cartoon by David Hayward + nakedpastor.com 
As we made our way into the community and came up the hill, we noticed big pieces of cardboard attached to the fences and gate in front of the church.  Cardboard is typically not the decoration one expects to find on the front of the church on Easter Sunday.  I thought about the sister churches in the US with their elaborate garden-scapes with tulips and lilies and daffodils.

Happy Easter cardboard!

"He has risen!  Run!  Carry the news to the disciples!"

When we got a little closer, we could see that each piece of cardboard featured the silhouette of a woman.  Three witnesses.  Three women proclaiming the miracle of the resurrection.

Women were the first to learn of Jesus' resurrection
As it was on that first Easter, the women of the community shared the Good News with the congregation.  Young women read and reflected on the scripture, and Evangelist Sonia preached for the first time.  Then 3 little girls were invited to take the cardboard off the fence and to share the Good News that Christ is risen with the people in the congregation.  The girls ran from person to person.  "Run and carry the news to the disciples."  Christ is risen, Alleluia!



Other stories in this series include:
Holy Week in El Salvador:  Good Friday 
Holy Week in El Salvador:  Holy Thursday
Holy Week in El Salvador:  Palm Sunday

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