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Looking Forward
I hope your Easter celebrations have been a good opportunity to take time out in this busy world, although the reality I guess is somewhat different. Yet saying that we must never forget why we celebrate Easter in the first place. By watching the various productions of Jesus’ Passion on TV or even attending Church services in the week running up to Easter (Holy Week) or Good Friday or Easter Sunday it has given us all the opportunity to think again why Jesus died and was raised to new life. My hope and prayer is that through the Easter message we will think afresh of where God is in our lives.
As we now look forward to the coming summer months, there appears to be a growing sense of optimism to celebrate both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. These two great events I believe, will galvanise the country to celebrate all that is good within our communities. All too often we reflect upon what is not good within our society, especially as we continually cope with economic uncertainty. I believe that it is in times of hardship when we are at our best, when neighbourhoods start to care for one another, and of course we have a great tradition in this country for doing exactly that. So with that in mind I look forward to all the celebrations that will be taking place, either locally, or the big events arranged by the Southend Council. At St Laurence we will also be celebrating with a “Family Fun Day” on the 30th June which we hope will bring our community closer together.
Of course for us as Christians this is what we believe the message of Jesus to be all about, a message that brings people together through the love of Christ. Unfortunately, all too often, in our increasingly secular society, Christianity is seen as either irrelevant, boring or both. Maybe we have not helped our own cause by looking inward instead of outward. But the message of Easter shows us that the cross on which Jesus was crucified looks out. We believe that the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives hope to all people, and like the Jubilee and Olympics is something worth celebrating, not just at Easter, not just in this special year, but every day and every year. So as we look forward let us be proactive in our communities and proactive in our faith as we embrace all that Jesus’ love has to offer.