Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Our joyful cry comes on Easter Day after observing 40 days of Lent and reflecting upon and experiencing the highs and lows of Holy Week. We will have processed with palms, remembering how Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. We will have moved through the week with opportunities to receive Holy Communion on Monday or Tuesday; chance to think about Holy Week and what Jesus means to us on Wednesday, before the Triduum – the sacred three days before Easter. So we will have remembered Jesus having his Last Supper with his disciples and washing their feet; we will have had opportunity to reflect upon Good Friday; the silence and sadness of Holy Saturday (when Jesus is in the tomb) bringing us all to the glorious events of Easter Day. Each of the four Gospels tells us of women who went to the tomb only to find the stone rolled away. Imagine their alarm and their panic. They had gone to complete the burial rituals but their Lord had gone. No two Gospels give us the same stories of what happened but as Christians our belief is this – that Jesus died, was resurrected and that he was then seen in various places over the next 40 days until the Ascension, and that he sent His Spirit to be our helper. All around us are signs of new life. Snowdrops have been glorious this year, and as I write there are beautiful daffodils beginning to emerge from the earth, and bright gold and vivid purple crocuses brighten up the flowerbeds and the grass verges. My tortoise has woken from his winter sleep. I love the promise of spring. It’s no coincidence that Easter occurs during spring. We have so much to thank God. We have the promise of eternal life, living in God’s kingdom now, trying to make a difference as Easter people with our eyes firmly on the ‘hope set before us’ – working together to share Jesus’s message of love and care for everyone. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia! Anne