Passover begins, this year, the evening of Monday, April 22 and continues through April 30.  Passover recalls the story from Exodus when the Jews were freed from bondage in Egypt.  During a ceremonial dinner, called a Seder, the story is remembered and reflected on.  Symbolic foods point to details of the story.  Children are encouraged to participate and learn.

The Passover story is a powerful story of liberation.  The story asks us to think of the ways we find ourselves in bondage in our lives:  bondage to bad habits, or fear, or self doubt.  Passover urges us to set ourselves free from whatever is holding us back.  A full reading of the story requires that we identify not only with the Jews but the Egyptians as well.  How might we be preventing others from finding their liberation?  As Abraham Lincoln said, in words included in our hymnal, “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.”