A long holiday weekend

Did you know that Good Friday is quite a big deal in Australia?  It is one of three days (Christmas and Anzac Day are the others) during the year when most businesses are closed.  There were more things open on Easter than on Good Friday.  Who knew?  We began our Easter weekend with the traditional hot cross buns!  These sweet buns filled with raisins and marked on top with a cross are historically served on Good Friday in Australia and many other Commonwealth countries!  They were yummy!
hot cross buns
On Saturday, the Queen’s baton relay for the 2018 Commonwealth Games came through our neighborhood park here in New Farm!  The relay started at Buckingham Palace then traveled to 18 different countries in Africa then 14 countries in the Caribbean then 6 countries in the Americas then 10 countries in Europe then 7 countries in Asia and finally 14 countries in Oceana!  The baton will reach the Gold Coast on April 4th where they will read the Queen’s message and the Commonwealth Games will begin!  Pretty cool to get to see!
commonwealth flag  commonwealth runner 2
On Sunday, we decided to visit one of the landmark churches in Brisbane, Albert St. Uniting Church in King George Square, to celebrate Easter.  The present church building was opened in 1889 but the history dates back to the first Methodist congregation in 1847.  The building is Victorian Gothic Revival Style and is quite beautiful.  We don’t have Uniting Churches in the United States so this was an opportunity for us to experience and learn about it.  As we understand it, the Uniting Church came into being in 1977 when the Congregational Union, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches of Australia joined together.  It was a lovely service although just different enough to reinforce that feeling of being what some days feels like a million miles from home.



Upon leaving the Easter service, we headed just across King George Square to an art installation just in front of city hall called one million stars.  This art installation and its  handwoven stars are meant to promote peace, light and hope in the world!  How beautiful is that?  And, on Easter!

As always, thanks for joining us on this journey!  We hope you had a beautiful Easter and that peace, light and hope fill your day today!!  Thank you for bringing light to our life!

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2 Comments on “A long holiday weekend

  1. Really enjoy your blogs.
    I am not homesick at all as I love your Country and can’t wait to get back to 30A. However Italy before then. I feel so blessed. So pleased you all enjoyed Easter. The church service would have been very traditional.

    • I am so glad you are having a wonderful time in the US Rhonda! Even though we are so grateful for this opportunity, we do miss home a bit! Yes, the service was quite traditional but not as much as the Anglican one we visited for Christmas Eve service. We are enjoying visiting some of the beautiful old churches in Brisbane!

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