Celebrating Easter at home!

Dear Parents/Carers,

Greetings – as we approach the holiest time of the year in the Christian calendar, the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This situation we find ourselves in has presented us with all sorts of challenges to overcome, not least the effects our isolation can have on our social life and our spiritual life. I know that churches up and down the land are moving mountains to provide opportunities to their churches to worship together online through apps such as zoom, you tube and their own websites.

As a Church of England school we believe our faith is essential and our ethos represents that we believe God is at the core of our success, wellbeing and life as a community. I have been posting prayers daily on my web page Year 6 (Stevenson ) and we as a staff team take great comfort from a daily prayer on our staff ‘What’s App’ group. We recognise the importance of keeping God central to what we do as teachers and staff as we support the children’s learning at home.

Please feel free to look at these prayers, on my class page, and join us in putting our days and overall health and wellbeing in God’s care.

Missing out on our Easter celebrations, for many, will be really tough as churches follow the isolation precautions and guidelines outlined by the government. With this in mind, I thought I would post some activities that you could do as a family to help you remember this time is special to the Christian church.

Before I do so, lets offer up a prayer.

Kind Regards
Mr Perry
RE Leader

Matthew 28 vs 6
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see where he lay.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this most essential part of our worship of you – Easter. Thank you that you can overcome anything, including death, and you are far bigger than this tough situation we are all going through. Help us to remember the joy we can experience at your resurrection and the love we can share with each other celebrating Easter.

Amen .

Here are some activities you could do on your own or with your family. There are also Easter based tasks for each year group on their My USO page and on the site ‘Busy Things’. These are under the RE section of the site.

Palm Sunday suggested activities:
• Make your own ‘palm’ cross out of paper or card using this video.
• Families/households: make your own cross out of paper or card, and blu-tack to window.
• Make a banner to welcome Jesus at this time as King.
Maundy Thursday suggested activities:
• Forms of Bible study (Mark 14.22-26, Luke 22.14-23, 1 Corinthians 11.23-25).
• Washing each other’s feet in the home (between members of the same household only), or something in relation to hand-washing.
• Making bread, or dough twisters, with a grace about Jesus being the living bread.
Good Friday suggested activities:
• Dramatic reading of the Johannine Passion narrative (John 18.1-19.42).
• Music and art, as well as other sensory stimuli, might be creatively used, especially today, such as making your own wooden cross for the garden.
• Painting prayers/symbols on large stones and creating a tomb in your garden or on your window sill.
Holy Saturday suggested activities:
• Preparing an Easter garden (whether using plants or as a craft activity); preparing and painting Easter eggs.
• Making a donation to an appropriate charity.
• Write a card to Jesus thanking him for what he has done for us .

Easter Day suggested activities:
• Practising spiritual communion as this is a day on which all ought otherwise to receive Holy Communion in church.
• Lighting a candle at dawn using the following prayer:
• Create a banner celebrating the joy of Easter and the fact ‘He is Risen’.
Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all ages; to him be glory and power, through every age and for ever. Amen.
• Observing the Easter Vigil in some form at home.
• Joining in with the ‘Sing Resurrection’ initiative from CTBI, which encourages everyone to sing the hymns Jesus Christ is risen today and Thine be the glory outdoors at 10 am (words and tunes included at the link).

I hope these are helpful.
We at St Stephens wish you all a blessed time this Easter.