Spring is arriving, with the early flowers blooming, as we begin to see signs of the world coming back to life. We have seen the clocks move once more so we can also begin to enjoy those extra hours of daylight, the face covering are largely off and it is as thought we are emerging from hibernation.
It is also a time of change in the Church. We are moving from the preparation and reflection of Lent to the celebration of Easter on 17th April.
You may notice the changes taking place in church, reflecting the ones you have seen out of your windows. During Lent we take down many of the decorations. There are often no flowers and the church seems very plain. We use a deep purple cloth to remind us that it is a time for preparation of ourselves. As we come into Holy Week (the week running up Easter) you may have noticed that even the colours disappear from the communion table, leaving it as bare wood.
We do this to remind ourselves that all is stripped back, back to the core of our Christian faith, founded on the immense love of God expressed through a wooden cross.
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed on our news the violent struggles in Ukraine. As I am writing, the fighting has increased once again and there has been a huge outpouring of compassion towards those fleeing. We long for the situation to change.
On Easter day we witness a marvellous transformation, the flowers and colours reappear in church. The place is filled with the colour and scent of a variety of blooms. The deep purple is replaced by vivid white or gold. The colours remind us of the hope and peace we find in the Easter message, that the death of Jesus on the cross is not the end of the story, but God continues to show his love through Jesus’ resurrection and rising to new life.
All change inside the church, just like we see in the countryside as the bulbs push through and nesting birds begin to gather for their young. A new life and a new start.
All change is what we are praying for where conflict is taking place, for hostility to be replaced by peace.
All change, is an opportunity for us to consider what this new season of life may offer us, whatever that may be. Why not ask God to walk alongside side you and show you his peace, to help you pray for change and hope for what is to come.
Rev Katie Cross