Dear Friends
I think most people are familiar with the Stations of the Cross, traditionally fourteen way-markers on Jesus' painful steps to Calvary. Less familiar, however, are the 'Stations of the Resurrection', also called the 'Way of Light', a devotion which encourages meditation on some of the Resurrection appearances as recorded in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles: the empty tomb; Mary Magdalene meeting the risen Jesus in the garden; Jesus' meeting with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to name but a few, and culminating in the accounts of the Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost which closes the season of Eastertide.
In church, Easter sees the return of flowers - the Easter lily symbolizes innocence, chastity, purity, piety, hope and life. The bulb of the lily planted in the ground can symbolize Jesus lying in the tomb, and then bursting forth into bud on the day of Resurrection. Many of our congregation pay for a lily or two to add to the general flower displays on Easter Sunday, usually in memory of a loved one. Their beauty, together with uplifting liturgy and Easter hymns, all help us to celebrate this joyful feast, and encourage us to continue to walk in the 'Way of Light' .
A very happy Easter to you all.
Stephen