Easter resources for churches

We are aware that journeying together through Holy Week and our Easter celebrations this year will be somewhat different to usual.  There is a lot of material available for churches, and we share some of it with you here. 

If you are planning something different or have come across some other resources you'd like to share with us, please get in touch with the Faith and Society Team.

	An Easter service to share A short service suitable for churches which do not have the capacity to develop their own online service - including a message from Lynn Green (General Secretary), message and prayer from Hilary Taylor (LBA Small Church Enabler), a message from Ken Benjamin (Baptist Union President) and prayers from Diane Watts (Faith and Society interim Team Leader)
	Bringing the Easter message of hope to the coronavirus world Our President Ken Benjamin hosted a seminar on Thursday 2 April to have a creative conversation about our Easter messages. The webinar was recorded and is now available to listen to if you were not able to join Ken on Thursday.
	Easter graphics We have created some new graphics for this year which you are welcome to use in your publicity and Easter services, as appropriate.
	Palm Sunday - The Trader's Tale Regional Minister Phil Jump has shared this video for anyone to use on Palm Sunday - all copyrights are granted provided you are not making money out of it.  This includes using it in your own livestreams etc.   It was originally recorded for Radio Merseyside's Daybreak act of worship.
	Holy Week - let us follow Jesus  We are in the depths and we need Jesus, writes Andy Goodliff - this means being led into the depths of his passion, into the isolation and horror and suffering of the cross.   The first in a series of theological and biblical reflections from Baptists for Holy Week and Easter
	A reflection on the anointing at Bethany We read this story in the light of nurses, chaplains and others who are being present with those who will die... At the beginning of the passion narrative, the unnamed woman is a sign of truth and of hope. By Andy Goodliff
	Easter reflections from the Eastern Baptist Association The EBA team has developed some resources that you can use within your virtual services over the Easter period.
	Reflections for Holy Week As many churches will be unable to offer regular gatherings during Holy Week, our North Western Baptist Association has created these short reflections for use at home. They are based on the set lectionary readings from John's Gospel and will become live at 06:00 each morning.
	Working it Through This series of readings for Holy Week was first published some years ago in booklet form, by the Industrial Christian Fellowship in partnership with the North Western Baptist Association.  It is specifically designed for people who are at work during Holy Week and seeks to look at the events in the final week of Jesus' earthly life through the eyes of working people in the Gospel stories.
	The Way of the Cross: an online retreat for Holy Week Launde Abbey is offering this online retreat free of charge.   Led by David and Helen Newman, this retreat offers the opportunity to enter deeply into the last week of Jesus’ life, to find ourselves there with all our sadness, weakness and vulnerability, and to discover the life and hope that emerges out of the darkness.
	'Christ died for our sins'  How do we interpret this statement from 1 Corinthians 15:3 – and what does it mean for us today? By Edward Pillar
	Virtual Communion With churches unable to meet in one place during the Coronavirus restrictions,  many are considering what they might do in terms of sharing communion.   Here we share some reflections and ideas.
	Good Friday Reflection Baptist minister Linda Hopkins has shared a Good Friday reflection with words, music and photography which she is happy for churches to use in their Good Friday services.  View the video on YouTube or click here to download it.
	Modern Slavery, Trauma and Holy Saturday: Theological and Pastoral Responses This paper presented by Baptist minister Dan Pratt at Theology Live in 2019 could be helpful for wider reflection.  It focuses on Holy Saturday as a location for experiencing trauma and intersects the trauma of victims of modern slavery with the trauma of the cross.  It was later published in the Journal of Baptist Theology in context.
	The day of nothingness Holy Saturday is the pause, the space, the moment in between - and it seems particularly significant now, writes Ruth Gouldbourne
	The Tomb A video reflection for Holy Saturday from the North Western Baptist Association
	Easter message from Lynn Green Lynn has recorded a short Easter message which you can download and share with your church.
	The Comeback The Evangelical Alliance has released a new 'spoken word' film for Easter to bring a bit of hope at this time.
	Online National Easter Conference - 5-11 April Our President Elect, Yinka Oyekan, has been thinking about how can we bless the nation at this time when we are all stuck indoors.  He plans to gather a few friends online and gift to the nation a national conference that is free for everyone.  This will be an interesting conference because it represents a wide ecclesiology from Pentecostal to traditional denominational, from Charismatic to conservative voices.
	Easter reflections in British Sign Language Baptist minister, Susan Myatt has recorded an Easter reflection in British Sign Language to provide churches support in offering worship to those who are profoundly deaf.
	Easter service resources from Engage Worship They've also given permission to freely use their resources in streaming and on social media.
	Sing Resurrection At 10am on Easter Sunday 12 April, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland call on all who want to celebrate the resurrection to go outside and sing Jesus Christ is Risen Today and Thine be the Glory at the top of their voices! You could sing them in your garden, in your street, like an Italian from your balcony!, on your permitted daily walk in your local park, by the sea or by a lake …all of course keeping safe spatial distance.  Click here to download a flyer to let people know.
	Other ideas to consider Click here to find a selection of other ideas which we have been heard of as a way of sharing the good news this Easter.

If you have come across any other useful resources for Easter, please let us know.