"We feel awe for life, even in the knowledge of its contradictions and hardships"—some spring photos and a note about tonight's Good Friday service at the Cambridge Unitarian Church

Today is Good Friday—the darkest day in the story about Jesus, the day upon which tradition tells us that, at the behest of the Roman and the Jerusalem Temple authorities, he was executed. As always this evening at the Unitarian Church in Cambridge we’ll recount this sad, human story and quietly reflect upon what it might mean for us today. If you want to read/use the liturgy yourself please click on this link to download a pdf.

But today has also been a beautiful sunny day and so my wife, Susanna, and I took a little time out to visit the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens before the promised bad weather comes into town over the weekend.

The juxtaposition of this saddest day with today's spring beauty put me in mind of some wise words sent to me by some German Unitarians about a photo of some spring blossom I posted on the day of the attacks in Brussels:

“Wir empfinden Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben, 

auch im Wissen um seine Widersprüche und Härten.”

[We feel awe for life, even in the knowledge of its contradictions and hardships.]

"Genau", as my German friends say. So in honour of the awe we feel for life even on such a sad day here are a few photos from today's brief walk. The first three were taken as we walked through Emmanuel College, the remainder were taken in the Botanic Garden. They were all shot using Hipstamatic's "Tintype" app.