This year, Easter falls on the same day as the 42nd anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination. It's a day of resurrection for the folks at First Christian Church. And it's a day of remembrance.

In Oakland, resurrection and loss, resurrection and remembrance, go hand in hand.

On Saturday, we joined with Belinda Gilchrist's Project Darreis as she and other local volunteers hid Easter eggs all over our sanctuary for neighborhood kids to find in a safe environment. Belinda gave out special prizes to kids who knew the answers to Easter trivia ("What happened on Easter?" "Jesus rose from the dead!" "Who does Jesus love?" "EVERYONE!"). And everyone left with an Easter basket at the end of the afternoon. Project Darreis' mission is to end the desperation that leads to violence; and to teach kids that they are loved and treasured, so that they will love and treasure others. And during the easter egg hunt, volunteers sold t-shirts with the image of Darreis as a fundraiser. Darreis was Belinda's very special son who was shot four years ago on his way to the corner store two blocks from the church.

On Thursday, we gathered with a Jewish friend who led us through a Passover seder so that we could share in this powerful ritual that reminds us that we worship a God of love and of liberation. The small, diverse group - black, white, and Asian, Jewish and Christian - all recognized what brought us together: the story of God hearing the cries of God's beloved children in bondage in Egypt and sending Moses to set them free. And we also remembered the many ways our own community remains in bondage - to drugs, to unemployment, to prison, to poor health due to the environmental situation in west Oakland, to violence, to fear, to isolation. In our own congregation we know all of these experiences first-hand.

Last Sunday, COMMON, our small Sunday evening conscious hip hop gathering was themed "One Planet One Soul." We heard performances and twenty of us talked about how to heal the earth. And we recognized the ways we participate in harming it, and we recognized the farm workers who suffer, and the people in our own community who suffer without access to healthy food and air and water.

And yet today, Easter Sunday, we gather, boldly proclaiming ourselves to be People of Peace in the midst of violence. Today we shout "Christ is Risen!" "He is risen indeed! Alleluia!" And the reason we show up for worship, the reason we shout, is we know ourselves to be people of a Saviour who chose death rather than violence, and who overcame both. And we know ourselves to be brothers and sisters and children of Dr. King, who chose courage over silence, who chose peace, who chose solidarity.

In many ways, Easter is our new year at First Christian Church (whose building is in the process of becoming "The Oakland Peace Center"). And this year, we face the day-to-day pain and fear and anxiety with a little more confidence because although we live with loss, although we live with remembrance, we also live with the faith that a God who can conquer death can surely stand with us as we conquer those struggles. And this year, we can be bold in our commitment to peace, knowing that for Jesus, peace was the way to overcoming violence and death.

Christ is Risen! King is risen. And from the little deaths and injustices and pains, we too can rise. And for that reason, we gather with people of all faiths to proclaim that Oakland is likewise rising! Happy Easter!

Sandhya Jha has served as pastor (she prefers the term "spiritual community organizer") at First Christian Church of Oakland for four years. Her passions are Jesus, justice, jazz music and Indian food.