From the Manse April 2008
Dear friends,
I'm currently reading a book entitled "Living Easter through the Year", by John Pritchard, and in the introductory chapter he bemoans the fact that, unlike Christmas and Holy Week, which have long build ups and get our focused attention, Easter seems short-lived.
On Easter Day, Christians meet for a morning's celebration of the most astonishing day in the history of the world, we joyfully declare "Christ is Risen!" and then.... We have a Bank Holiday.
As the writer puts it:- "How can we come so close to such breathtaking good news and then just wander off to the airport?"
One 19th century nonconformist minister made a point of choosing at least one Easter hymn to be sung at any Sunday service through the Christian year, to remind himself and others that the Easter message lies at the heart of our faith.
Martyn Atkins, this year's President of Conference, in his Easter message, quotes the late Donald English, "Death and resurrection is not simply what happened to Jesus, but is the deep movement God implants in all creation. The Christian God is a God of death and resurrection."
Dying and rising with Jesus, day by day turning form the ways of self-centeredness and committing to Christ's way of self giving love, these "movements" are part of what it means to live the Easter story though the year.
Telling the story is also part of living the Easter story ~ we can do this in our weekly worship and our daily witness.
Sometimes special opportunities come our way to do this, and into this category comes the Just 10 mission with Christian speaker J John beginning on April 23rd for 10 weeks. Details of Just 10 can be found elsewhere in this magazine - please support it if you can with your prayers, your money and your attendance (why not bring a friend?).
With best wishes to you all,
Revd Trevor.