Churches Look Forward to Big Turnout this Easter

|TOP|With a high turnout last year, churches across the country are hoping for the same success this year with many holding innovative events to connect with the local community and bring them to the deep meaning of the death of Jesus and his resurrection this Easter.

Cathedrals in particular enjoyed a good turnout last year, with both St Paul’s Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral marking a four per cent increase in attendance from their 2004 Easter services.

“It is our experience that there is a real thirst for quality liturgy with colour and drama, which Holy Week and Easter have in plenty, combined with a thoughtful preaching of the Word,” said the Dean of Southwark, the Very Rev Colin Slee.

This year the Church of England is expecting more than 1.5 million people to turn out for its church services over the Easter weekend and preparations are already underway to bring to the local community the story of the events leading up to the death of Jesus in a whole new way.

|QUOTE|Just some of the fresh new ideas for Easter this year include the large-scale dramatic interpretation of the events of the Holy Week that will take place in St Mary’s Church in Brighstone on the Isle of Wight, which will join together a cast of more than 100 people.

Meanwhile, visitors to All Saints Church in Marlow, Buckinghamshire can enjoy a wander through 12 zones of art installations and multi-media effects which are intended to help visitors experience the story of Jesus’ passion with all the senses.

And some places are already reporting a sell-out. The Activity Day to be held at St Chad’s Bishop’s Tachbrook in rural Warwickshire will feature the Chronicles of Narnia as a new context for exploring the Easter story and is already fully booked.

Priest-in-Charge at St Chad’s Bishop’s Tachbrook, Rev Mervyn Roberts, commented: “Places on the day were fully taken within 24 hours! I am finding that using books, films and other contemporary material is a first step towards relating biblical truths.

“The Church is making connections with contemporary culture in ways that were once ignored.”

|AD|Coventry Cathedral is another of hundreds of cathedrals and churches across the country banking on a high turn out this Easter.

“Many more people have worshipped here this Lent than during the same period in 2005,” said Precentor the Rev Canon Adrian Daffern.

“We saw more than double the number of people at our Ash Wednesday service this year than two years ago — and it will be interesting to see how this translates on Easter Day,” he added.

Britain’s cathedrals have experienced a 3.5 per cent rise in attendance on Easter Eve and Day since 2005 and are hoping to consolidate this success with a further rise this year.

Rev Lynda Barley, Head of Research and Statistics with the Church of England, attributed the welcome rise in cathedral attendance to the quality of the outreach undertaken by the cathedrals.

“The significant draw of major festivals is a welcome sign of the wider success of the year-round ministry of cathedrals. We know that many people feel an innate connection with their local cathedral as a symbol of the spiritual life of their community. Cathedrals are increasingly leading that latent spiritual quest into participation in the worshipping community through innovative events and outreach work.”

She added: “In addition to these encouraging signs from cathedrals, many more thousands of people will chose to celebrate Easter in their local church, where the Church has a long tradition of seeking creative ways of expressing the central story of the Christian faith – that of Jesus bringing hope of new life to the world.”