Some images of Gyodong Church.

The priest and altar of Gyodong, all decked out for Easter.

Members of the congregation clapping at the conclusion of the Easter service.
The Virgin Mary holding Jesus in the courtyard outside the sanctuary.

Today was a beautiful service at Gyodong. The front of the sanctuary was visually stunning, with wreaths of wildflowers adorning the Christ candle, the pulpit, the altar, and the tabernacle. Today the choir pulled extra duty and sang several haunting choruses, with a couple soloists this time (the choir is always seated in the middle balcony, giving their singing an angelic quality). No special hats, frilly dresses, or new Easter duds, but several women wore hanboks (the traditional Korean costume for women). There was just a palpable gladness, for the celebration of Easter I believe. Everyone seemed especially happy today. They even had a special barbeque afterwards, which they urged us to attend. Unfortunately, we'd already been invited to a barbeque at our friend Kris's house, so we had to painfully decline. After four months of waiting for an opportunity like this to stay behind and get to know people better, and we had a separate engagement. We felt really bad about not joining them, and did our best to be polite and respectful about it, but I think we came off as being rude anyway. Oh well.