SELWYN CATHOLIC PARISH

Easter is a special time for everyone here in Selwyn. Regardless of our beliefs, it is good that we can take the time to have a break from work and spend quality time with family and friends. As with Christmas, Easter is made special when there are children around, and they get to enjoy Easter Eggs. Easter Eggs are a symbol of new life, and for Christians we celebrate the gift of New Life in

Jesus having risen from the dead. On Good Friday, we remember that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins. This is a sad time, but it turns to Joy on Easter Sunday when we celebrate that Jesus has Risen. All of us know what it is like to experience sadness in our lives, especially when someone close to us dies. It is good to reflect on the life of those who have passed away and to be grateful for how they have touched our lives. It is also good to look forward and to know that death is not the end, just as Jesus rose to new life, so we pray that our loved ones may enter into Life Everlasting.

I wish you all a Blessed Easter and the Joy of Jesus rising from the dead.

Fr Chris Orr, Selwyn Catholic Parish.

Malvern Anglican Parish

Easter is when Christians remember and celebrate that Jesus died and rose again, 2,000 odd years ago. A lot has changed since then, but a lot has not changed. We might wonder what difference it makes that Christians persist in claiming and celebrating Jesus' resurrection. Don't we have enough to think about with the cost of living, war, climate change and the rest? What has the resurrection got to do with any of that anyway?

The early accounts of Jesus' life, the Gospels, are very clear that Jesus' resurrection from the dead was a bodily resurrection. Yes, it transformed Jesus into something new, but he was still recognisable. Jesus was still human, and he still had a physical body.

We celebrate Easter because we look to God to transform us and our world in a similar way. This is known as ‘the Christian hope’.

It is the hope that God will transform us in all our weakness and brokenness and make us new. This hope extends to the whole world and to all of its places and creatures. It speaks directly to the problems we face because the resurrection of Jesus was just the beginning of the transformation of the whole world.

Rev Tom Innes, Malvern Anglican Parish.