Experiencing Easter all year round

I wonder have you heard of the expression ‘Easter People’? The phrase ‘Easter People’ comes from the Christian belief that the benefits of Easter are not just for Easter, but can be experienced at any time in the whole the year! So, what does it mean to experience Easter and be a Christian?

When it comes to Easter, there are some lovely things that give us some clues about the message of Easter…..the lighter mornings, the spring flowers and of course the chocolate Easter Eggs we all love so much…at least I love them! We often think of these things to say Easter is about ‘New Life’, but what kind of new life? There is of course a tremendous depth to Easter which is hard to put into words, but here are a few bible verses which I hope you might feel helpful to reflect upon, and let speak for themselves:

“He is the atoning sacrifice (meaning ‘propitiation’ from the Book of Common Payer) for our sins.” 1 John 2v2

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53v3

“For the son of man did not come to serve but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4v25

How are these verses to be experienced personally? God in himself, through Jesus on the Cross, ‘atoned’ (took the punishment and paid the ransom price for our sins) so that we might be justified before God ‘just-as-if-I’d’ never sinned in the first place. This is the message of Good Friday, which Christians celebrate at Easter and we can benefit from at any time of life. Where does the resurrection come in? After all the sin of our lives is taken away on the Cross, the resurrection is then receiving all that is good as a present. Easter is the experience of the ‘divine exchange’: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”2 Cor 5v19 “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3v18

How might we imagine this and so to experience it? The pictures above depict the answer. The treasure of a new life from God is exchanged for the rubbish in our own lives. As is told in the Pilgrim’s Progress story, the burden of sin and guilt we carry falls off our backs and rolls away, and in return we are given a new life and a new start.

So, how might we take the step of receiving this Easter Experience and be a Christian? The apostle Paul gave the answer: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10v9

In summary, even though Easter celebrations might be over for another year, the message of Easter is that the benefits of Easter are there all year, and you can become a Christian at any time!

With my prayers for April.

Revd James Hunt – Rector St Peter’s and Blessed Mary

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect. The church is open every day during daylight hours and you are always welcome to come in to sit quietly or pray. We have lots of events and groups during the week, but the main times we all get together are on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at St Peter's main church building (details here) for our Sunday Services:

8 - 8.45am Reflective communion (no songs)
9 - 10.15am Traditional service (organ & choir)
10.30 - 11:45am Informal service (band with children's groups)

When you arrive, you'll be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits between the traditional and informal services - usually 10.15 - 10.35am. It is a great way to meet people and all refreshments are free.

Travel
There are seven parking spaces available in Maypole Green and some on-street parking on Free Street otherwise please park in the town centre car parks - or even better, walk or cycle if you are able!

Accessibility
There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is a disabled toilet.

Our Services

8am Reflective Communion

This is a quiet, said service, with no singing, using traditional words from the 1984 Church of England Book of Common Prayer (BCP). When you arrive you'll be greeted by the welcome team and given a song book and a service sheet that have all the words you'll need if you want to join in with the congregational parts, but you're welcome to just sit quietly. The services all follow the same format of wording each week, interspersed with prayers and a short talk, and finishing with shared communion.

9am Traditional Service

This service is a traditional Church of England service. When you arrive you'll be greeted by the welcome team and given a song book and a service sheet that have all the words you'll need if you want to join in with the congregational parts. There is a mix of spoken words and prayers (some by the vicar, some you can join in with) and traditional hymns played on the organ and usually accompanied by the robed choir. Free refreshments are served at the end of the service so do stay and chat over a coffee.

10:30am Informal Service (with kids work)

Join us for free refreshments from 10.15am. The service begins at 10:40am with a time of sung worship, led by our band or recorded music. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. All the words you need appear on the screen if you want to join in, but don't feel you have to! The service will usually include notices, prayers, a reading from the bible and some other songs. One of our leaders will give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song.

Children

What about my kids?

There is a kids area at one side of the church that your children are always welcome to use during any service.

We run a dedicated kids programme alongside the 10.30am service for children aged 3-11. The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there's a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Young people 12+ are encouraged to stay in the service and have their own separate group that meets on a Sunday evening.

For more information see the Children and Youth page.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Babies, toddlers & pre-schooler groups during the week

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership

James - Rector

James has been rector of St. Peter's (and Blessed Mary, Upham) since 2008. Married to Rebecca with three grown-up children, James is a keen golfer.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

James