Activities | History | Nurture

April 2026 magazine

stjohnstmarkchurchburySaturday, March 28, 2026

Here’s our April 2026 magazine, paper copies of which are now available in both of our churches.

This Easter edition is jam-packed with news about forthcoming events, poems and reflections, as well as reports from most of our groups and organisations.

The April 2026 magazine also contains this perspective on Easter from Alan Thew…

Easter Praise

For me Easter is the best season of the Church’s year. Many people would choose Christmas, but for me, Jesus being resurrected is the highlight of the year. The Gospels and letters record for us Jesus’ resurrection appearances. My favourite is in Luke 24 (v13-35), the walk to Emmaus. Two disciples, not belonging to the original twelve, were very sad as they walked home to Emmaus. They must have witnessed what had happened.

Jesus joined them and heard them talking about the things that had happened in Jerusalem. We are told that their eyes were kept from recognising him. He asked them about what they had been discussing. They seemed surprised that he didn’t seem to know about the crucifixion. Jesus used the prophets to explain why the events of Holy Week happened. They were amazed at what they heard. They invited him to come to their house until morning. When they were there, they had a meal and during the meal, Jesus took some bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Luke tells us that their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. They probably saw him doing the same when he fed the 4,000, the 5,000 and, maybe, they were in the Upper Room during the Last Supper, possibly as observers. The four actions are part of every Holy Communion Service.

The first mention of the Holy Communion service can be found in 1 Corinthians 11 verses 23 to 26 which preceded the writing of the gospels. 

Thine be the glory

There are lots of wonderful hymns and anthems about the events of Easter. Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son with music called Maccabaeus by George Frederick Handel and This Joyful Eastertide which I used to enjoy singing when I was a choirboy. I still enjoy singing it but for some strange reason it is normally reserved as a choir item, which is a pity.

The resurrection of Jesus is an important historical event, not only mentioned in the Bible, but historians, like Josephus, have also mentioned it. Because of the resurrection, the power of the Holy Spirit which descended on the disciples, still locked inside the Upper Room, experienced the ‘wind and fire’ of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Puzzling

The resurrection of Jesus is also a puzzling historical event. It was beyond the experience of the people at the time and even us today. However, this remarkable event, witnessed by so many people, was very real. The change in behaviour of those once frightened disciples, hidden away (for fear of the Jews and Romans) in the room where they had experienced the Last Supper, can only assume that something extraordinary had happened to them. At Pentecost they were no longer frightened people but felt compelled to tell anyone they met what had really happened when they were blessed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We read about this in Acts chapter 2.

I wish you all a Happy Easter, Alan Thew

The cover image is with thanks to pixabay.com