The Sun Shone Brightly on Easter Day

I spent today with the family and I enjoyed it very much, but I can't help feeling it seems slightly peculiar on reflection. We enjoyed an eclectic mix of high tech motor racing from the far east and as is tradition in our family, Easter celebrations that consisted of chocolate eggs, daffodils and bunnies. The children loved it, but there was a complete lack of anything Christian about the day, apart from the glimpse of Easter service on the TV whilst switching from BBC1 to 2 for the Grand Prix.

I am a less than committed Christian, but not every Easter Day has been this way. At lunch last week with @flojok I recalled that it has been some time since I'd been in a church on Easter Sunday. As it turns out, it was nine years ago at her son's Christening. That day was a bright sun-lit one, reflecting the mood inside the church where hand bells from a local group entertained the congregation along with hymns, readings and holy communion. I didn't partake in the latter (having been mostly absent from the church) but I was engaged with the rest of the service, which was most enjoyable and in my lay opinion embodied a celebration of the most significant Christian event in the calendar.

In contrast, another Easter service held at around the same time (within a year or so) was unexpectedly a sombre affair and in spite of my fellow worshippers assurance, it didn't feel like a celebration at all. It was held at a related Christian church, born further south in Europe, but I'd like to think that it was more a reflection of the way the service was conducted rather than of the church as a whole (I am anything but an expert, but I am an optimist). By the same token, I'd like to think that a bright, cheerful, engaging Easter service can be accredited to the way the service has been conducted.

So all thanks go to the wonderful Rector of our local church, a person I have admired since and when the sun shines on Easter Day, I'll forever be reminded of how a celebration should be enjoyed and how a congregation engaged in the celebration will remember its importance for many years to come. I hope you like it.