The Rector of Whitby shares his message of hope this Easter

This March, for the first time since moving here, I went to Farndale to do the Daffodil Walk.

As many readers will know it is delightful and very popular in springtime.

In the northern hemisphere the Christian festival of Easter happens in spring, though the moveable date and changeable British weather mean that the conditions at Easter don’t always feel spring like!

Apparently, it snows more often on Easter Day than Christmas Day!

Easter is of course so much more than a celebration of spring though some of our customs are drawn from what is happening in the natural world around us.

For many around the world it occurs as autumn begins and it’s an event of significance for the whole world.

The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus bring many hope in the darkest of circumstances.

The Son of God has shared in the fulness of our human existence with all its joys and sorrows.

His ministry of teaching and healing was valued by many.

However, the claims that he was a King, the Messiah and the one through whom people would find a true relationship with God led to the religious and political leadership combining to execute him.

For his friends and followers his death was devastating and they faced the grief we all do when someone dies.

The discovery of the empty tomb, and the encounters many of his disciples had with the risen Jesus transformed their lives.

And not only their lives have been transformed but those of millions around the world in the past two thousand years.

The resurrection of Jesus can give us hope that death is not the end of our existence; that ultimately love will triumph over cruelty and suffering.

The wounds of Christ healed in his risen body, but with the marks still there, are a sign of hope that God is alongside us in the terrible suffering we see in pour world, and will bring healing and hope.

May that hope fill our hearts as we celebrate Easter and all the blessing it brings.

In Whitby Easter will be celebrated with a number of events;

Maundy Thursday (April 17) 7.00pm – Eucharist, stripping of the altar and vigil until 10pm at St Hilda’s on West Cliff

Good Friday (April 18) The Way of The Cross from St Mary’s Church, Abbey Plain at 10am walking down the 199 steps to the top of Tate Hill steps, along Church Street, across the bridge, to Dock End, outside St John's Church, along Baxtergate

and finishing at The Whitby Mission and Seafarers’ Centre Haggersgate for a short service at 11.15am.

Good Friday 2.00pm Liturgy at St Hilda’s on West Cliff

Easter services

Easter Eve (April 19) 8.00pm – Easter Vigil at St Hilda’s on West Cliff

Easter Sunday 20th April;

9.30am Eucharist at St Hilda’s on West Cliff

11.15am Eucharist at St Mary’s, Abbey Plain

11.15am Eucharist at St John’s on Brunswick Street