A New Era…
Dear Friends,
I am writing to you following our Easter celebrations which, for the first time in two years, were able to be in-person and include all the usual festivities as well as some new ones. The Spring into Easter day was a relaxed, all age event and I had a lovely time helping people to make Easter Rocky Road cake in the kitchen. My duties mainly involved stirring melted chocolate, so I was in my element!
It was a joy to be able to welcome Ned the donkey to our Palm Sunday service (and wasn’t he cooperative!). The mid-week services were well attended, the Easter breakfast fed over 70 people and we had to scramble to find extra chairs for the 10.30am service. How wonderful!
We seem to have entered a period that could be described as the ‘Living with Covid era’. We recognise that everyone is at different stages in terms of how comfortable we feel and the toll the pandemic has taken on us, but God is faithful and has kept us together as a fellowship of believers, as well as blessing the church family with new friends and members. The presence of the vaccination centre in our church is proving fruitful in many ways and is clearly a God given opportunity to serve and to share Christian love.
The Easter theme of ‘dying in order to live’ is so very pertinent as we see new life emerging around us in the natural world as well as in the life of the church. Some things that we used to do aren’t happening any longer, but other ‘shoots’ are growing up.
As the lovely Easter hymn puts it … When our hearts are saddened, grieving or in pain, By Your touch You call us back to life again; Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been: Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green. Lucy
