Debi Rawlings, the Children and Families Worker at Cove Parish Church has been busy.

Over the last three week’s she’s led ‘Easter Experience’ events at two churches and school assemblies, which have involved a thousand children and parents.

Cove has two churches and eight schools.

Debi, who took up her role in autumn last year, developed an Easter trail.  Supported by other volunteers, these involved a series of Easter eggs which explained the significance of the events of Holy Week.

So, starting with Palm Sunday, each egg offered a different activity. The Garden of Gethsemane egg, invited the children to write a prayer on a post-it note, which Debi took home to pray for the children. The walk-up Golgotha Hill egg contained a plaster, “to remember how much it hurt”. 

Debi did a cut down version of the Easter Experience for two school assemblies.

“The children love it,” says Debi. “It’s been wonderful to engage with some very young children and talk about Easter. What’s exciting is that as I’m doing this, I’m building more and more relationships with these children, who we might not normally get a Christian perspective. It’s been a really eye-opening, wonderful and tiring experience,” she says.

The reception assembly needed 70 bags with items for the children to take home. Debi’s living room was turned into an assembly line. The bags included a note of explanation. “I know those bags went home; parents had to read to their children what each item represented. So, I hope we’ve touch a parent or two as well.”

“We feel so privileged to share our witness with so many,” concludes Debi.