Dear friends
This is certainly the strangest Easter we ever remember.
Normally Holy Week and Easter are hectic times, going from one event to another, working out just how many communions we can fit in on Easter Sunday, planning where to go and what to do on Easter Bank Holiday Monday (look for a change of scenery but try to avoid the worst of the crowds).
This year we are all confined to barracks, restricted in our interaction, and there will be no bank holiday crowds. And yet we continue to be church, even though the buildings which so often define us are denied to us. We continue to be Christians even though we are not permitted to gather as a family. The significance of the season has not changed, only the way in which we mark it.
And maybe that is not a totally bad thing, that we are forced for one year to lay aside the busyness of Holy Week and take it at a steadier pace. It has been a real gift to Kina and myself to spend time reflecting on the readings for this week, and to share those thoughts through the Circuit Facebook page. It will be odd not to lead congregations face to face in our Easter celebrations, but again through the miracle of modern technology we will lead worship together for those who can join in online.
For those who are not online we have been able, with the help of colleagues, to produce written material for people to share in, though again it is only because we have email that we are able to make this happen. However, there is nothing quite like being together as a family and like so many, we look forward to the day when we can once more gather together in God’s name.
Easter is a time of hope, of new life, of resurrection, and we hold those thoughts close during our current separation We may not be in church to celebrate it this year, but Jesus is alive and wherever we are, and whoever we are with, we will celebrate that most glorious reality.
Have a great Easter
Paul and Kina