“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
– Znamenny Chant, Hymn 816 from Wonder, Love, and Praise
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My first recollection of this chant was sitting in the candlelit Easter Vigil at the church my family and I attended when our daughter was young. The vigil was the central liturgy of that congregation. It began at 9 pm, it lasted for three hours, the pews were full to the point of overflowing.
The vigil very often included an adult baptism in the full-immersion font that a parishioner had built for the church. It certainly did that first year that my husband, our daughter and I were there – a dear friend, who had found the congregation at the same time that we did.
We gathered by candlelight around the font as she was baptized, praying for her heart to be open, that she would love others in the power of the Spirit, that she would be a witness to God’s love… Then after the baptismal water, the seal, the lights, and those first alleluias, we sang, again and again: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
There was a mystical quality to that liturgy in that place on that day – a beauty in the proclamation of what is and what will be, a hope in witnessing that transformation with my toddler by my side, a joy in sharing that moment with our friend as she made the commitment to a life in Christ.
I felt a palpable confidence in Jesus’ resurrection that day; a promise that I have carried with me. The memory of our celebration nurtured my faith through times of challenge and of joy; it nurtures me now in a moment where so much has been dismantled and challenged – a moment where fear, greed, and brokenness are driving decisions both nationally and globally.  Even now, more than two decades later, I can close my eyes and see us crowding around the font, amid the candles and a cloud of incense. Even now, each time I smell chrism I remember the abundance of it at that vigil.
In this moment of our common life, so much seems unsteady and fearful and fraught. Through it all, I find myself returning to memories of encounters like these, when God is present and the words of my faith – sometimes chanted, sometimes whispered or held in silence, sometimes prayed among the faithful – those words carry a hope that is greater than I can ask or imagine.
As we gather again to remember Christ’s resurrection, we gather again with the saints across centuries who have led and prayed and worshiped through moments of fear. As we celebrate this great mystery, may we remember our promises made in our baptism and commit again and again to the work that we have as disciples of Jesus Christ: to seek justice and peace, to share the Good News, to love others as we have been loved. We can, and we will, with God’s help.

The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White is the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. A lifelong Episcopalian, Bishop White spent time in worship and in service with congregations in the Dioceses of Alaska, Eastern Oregon, Oregon, Chicago, and Indianapolis prior to her election as bishop in 2023. She and her husband, John, live in Cincinnati.

Resilience is the capacity to respond to and recover from stressful events. Research on resilience has revealed that it is not simply something we have or don’t have. What has been discovered is that several key factors—including the choices we can make and habits we can nurture—determine our capacity to be resilient. 
In our work as therapists and in our personal lives, we have found that three “Rs” are key to strengthening our resilience muscles. 
Relationships: Reaching out for support is key to resilience. If we are not careful, when we feel vulnerable, we may isolate or lash out at others when it would be our advantage to do the opposite. We need to ask for the help and support we need. The myth of the rugged individual who conquers all adversity by themselves is just that…a myth. Of course, nurturing relationships is essential for all aspects of our wellbeing at all times, not just when we are facing a challenge or setback. Sometimes, we are the ones helping friends and family through a hard time, and other times, we are the ones receiving that help and support.  
Rest: Healing and recovery always take longer than we wish. Patience is a virtue; it is also a key to resilience. When you experience a loss or a stressful event of any kind, give yourself time to heal. A sprained ankle only recovers when we provide it with rest—not by ignoring it and continuing to walk on it, trying to pretend that everything is okay. Rest is equally essential when our spirit or our emotions are sprained.  Give yourself the gift of slowing down.
Reflection: How we think about a stressful event or challenge and the thought frame we put around it will either enhance or limit our resilience.  A thought frame of “Bad things sometimes happen to good people like me, but I know that I can do hard things,” is empowering. A thought frame of, “I must deserve this because bad things always happen to me, and life isn’t fair, and I’m never going to recover from this,” will likely keep us stuck. Research has shown that our spiritual beliefs and worldviews play a crucial role in resilience. If we struggle with negative thought frames, we do not need to judge ourselves; instead, we can try to observe it within ourselves and remember that it is only a thought, not a fact. We might benefit from reaching out for professional support from a therapist or spiritual guide to help us if we find ourselves stuck in this type of thinking. 
Loss, challenges, and stressful events are inevitable. Bad things do, in fact, happen to good people. Resilience, however, is not inevitable; instead, it is enhanced by the choices we make. 
Focusing today on relationships, rest, and reflection is a good start to strengthening our capacity for resilience, to help us face the struggles in front of us now, and to help prepare us for the inevitable challenges of life.