Update Tuesday

This past weekend marked the first full Easter Weekend celebrations by the Hamilton Fellowships.  It was a true blessing to be able to celebrate all the events of Easter here in the Hammer. 

We began with a Good Friday communion service on Friday morning where we gathered with members from our Fellowships in an intimate time of reflection and sharing the Lord's supper.   Looking to Genesis 12 and seeing the many aspects of Passover Lamb that were fulfilled by Jesus we reflected on what it means to understand Jesus as the ultimate Passover Lamb.  We then entered a time of sharing the Lord's supper in remembrance and proclamation of His great sacrifice.

Friday night my family held a dinner for the guys that I meet with on a street corner here in Hamilton each Monday morning.  Some are homeless and all of them live below the poverty line.  Over a year ago I began meeting with this group of guys who go through recycling bins each garbage day looking for empty alcohol or beer containers that can be returned to the store for a deposit.  I take coffee and sandwiches each week, talk, listen, pray for them and have built relationships with a few of them.  I invited a number of them for dinner on Friday and two thirds of whom I invited showed up (which based on my experience is a really good turn out)!  Those who came shared a meal, a lot of conversation and fellowship staying almost 3 hours.   It was a great opportunity to get to know them more intimately and to further our relationship.  I have a lot more that I will be able to follow up with them about.  I have already had a follow up conversation with one which provided an opportunity to invite him to our Fellowship group on Wednesdays.    

Sunday morning was another great time of celebration during which we shared an Easter brunch together followed by a time of celebrating the resurrection with music and a word from 1 Corinthians 15.  It was great to be together with friends and family, both new and old.