River Wissey Lovell Fuller

Rector's Letter

March 2002

A dramatic Easter

March is here and we're still very much in the midst of Lent. So if you haven't managed to get to an afternoon Lent group or an evening Lent service yet despite all your good intentions - Don't worry you still have time, just turn up.

It isn't Lent though that I want to talk about. I want to talk about the very end of March. In the last week of March we relive our Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem through the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday which see us leave a bare Church knowing Jesus to be dead and gone. Then on 31st March sadness turns to joy as we celebrate the wonderful events of Easter. The whole story has turned the corner. From Easter onwards we look forward with growing hope to the Ascension and Pentecost.

This may all sound very fanciful and dramatic. That is because the Church year is designed that way. The Church year is designed to get us involved in the great stories of our faith. That is where the drama comes in. Drama, acting out a story helps us to get inside the story. We can't book a package tour to take us back to that first Easter, but through entering into the drama of Lent we can understand ourselves, the good and bad in us, and through this self knowledge gain some insight into why God might have to intervene to put things right. Through entering the drama we learn something of the divine plot that spans all the way back to the beginning of creation, through Easter, and on to the future. In this way the faith becomes our faith. Through the drama we can experience for ourselves something of the divine love and be transformed.

I find that this drama brings me deeper into the mystery that is God each year. But what if you need a way into the mystery. What if you know very little about the Christian faith and aren't sure where to start. If this is you then I would suggest that you come along to our Alpha group that will be starting on Saturday 13th April 12 noon at The Vicarage with a free informal lunch. This Alpha group is not hard sell Christianity it is merely an opportunity to explore the Christianity, to ask those awkward questions in a relaxed setting. There is no commitment on your part and no one will chase you up if you drop out. If you are interested just turn up on the 13th. More about this next month.

Until then join me in the drama. Break a leg,

Revd Nigel Tuffnell

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