Churches Together All Saints’ Church Melbourn & Holy Trinity Meldreth Pictures of the floral cross and Easter garden, which remind us that we have just celebrated Easter Day when we remembered with joy the resurrection of Jesus that brings with it the hope of new life with God through faith in Jesus. Whilst Easter is always a highlight of the Church calendar, it was perhaps extra special in that we could be in our church buildings worshipping together. We had a service at Holy Trinity at 9.30am and another at All Saints’ at 11.15am. We were unable to sing together, had to be socially distanced and observe the Covid protocols, but it was good to be back and we had lovely organ music to listen to. That joy may be tempered by the fact that not everyone feels able or ready to come back to church yet and it reminds me of the confusion and disappointment faced by Mary and the disciples who went to the tomb on that first Easter Morning. They were dismayed and could not fully understand all that was going on and must have wondered what the future held for them. The things that they held most dear to them seemed to have been taken away and they were unsure of what would happen next. They had yet to meet with the
risen Lord Jesus and hear his words of comfort and reassurance and the disciples returned to their homes leaving the distraught Mary weeping at the tomb. A man appeared, who she thought was the gardener, until he called her by her name ‘Mary’ at which point she realised it was Jesus. Jesus had risen from the tomb, death did not defeat him and in May we will have celebrated the ascension of Jesus to his father God and then Pentecost, where we will recall God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the believers to empower them and help them spread his word. The day of Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the Church, as Jesus’ disciples/followers now carry on Jesus’ work in witnessing to the love of God to all whom they meet despite opposition. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things through God’s Grace. The period after Easter used to be called ‘Ordinary time’ but now we tend to refer to it as Trinity, which may be more appropriate for there is nothing ordinary about a life of faith. It is a life lived in the ups and downs of daily living but strengthened and encouraged by the love and support of one another and God through his melbournmagazine@gmail.com
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