Easter People in a Good Friday World

This Easter we celebrated with the community of Cottingley by holding some special services during Holy Week. Village residents and regular congregation members came together to experience a joyful Easter at St Michael's.

Maundy Thursday is the day we remember the final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. We started the day with our Songs of Praise service. We gathered with friends and were delighted that the Chill and Chat group from the Cornerstone Centre came to join us and brought their lovely cake with them! Not only did we share cake and a cuppa but we shared the Easter Story, from Palm Sunday to Easter Day using songs and images. We were also treated to vocal offerings from the Singing Group and friends from the Town Hall Church.

In the evening we met for a quieter occasion where we were guided through the events of the Last Supper and shared bread and wine with each other. As we did this we were challenged to put ourselves at that meal - How would we have felt? What would we have done?

Our events continued on Good Friday where we had a fantastic turnout for our coffee morning! The church was packed with people who joined us for coffee and hot cross buns and it was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and neighbours for a chat. A backdrop of Easter films were shown throughout the morning which set the scene, and the children had a great time exploring Easter through craft and activities.

Later that day we then had a time of reflection on what the Easter story means through meditations, music and silence at the Hour at the Cross service.

On Easter Sunday we came together once more to celebrate the true meaning of Easter at our uplifting Sunday Service. We explored how we seem to live in a Good Friday world – a world stricken with pain and suffering. But in amongst all the pain is hope, and the knowledge that Jesus is risen empowers us to live as Easter people in a world so full of Good Friday experiences.