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Easter story brought to life as figures suggest increasing numbers celebrating at cathedrals

4 April 2006

 

More than 1.5 million people are expected to attend Church of England services over Easter weekend, as churches across the country prepare to tell the story of the events leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection in new ways that aim to connect with modern society.

Alongside the BBC’s Manchester Passion project - a contemporary retelling of the last few hours of Jesus’ life staged in the city’s central shopping district – churches are planning an array of events designed to tell the central story of the Christian faith in striking ways. Some examples include:

  • In and around the village of Brighstone on the Isle of Wight, a large-scale dramatic interpretation of the events of Holy Week is taking place based around St Mary’s church, with more than 100 people taking part as cast members
  • In Marlow, Buckinghamshire, All Saints Church is hosting Enter the Passion, a recreation of Jesus’ journey from Gethsemane to the Cross and then the empty tomb. The event promises visitors 12 zones of art installations and multi-media effects with the aim of  helping visitors experience the story of Jesus’ passion with all the senses
  • At St Chad’s Bishop’s Tachbrook in rural Warwickshire, an Activity Day is taking place on Good Friday, using Chronicles of Narnia as a theme for exploring the events of the Easter story: “Places on the day were fully taken within 24 hours! I am finding that using books, films and other contemporary material is a first step towards relating biblical truths. The Church is making connections with contemporary culture in ways that were once ignored,” comments Priest-in-Charge, Revd Mervyn Roberts.

Whilst Easter attendance figures in parishes have remained relatively static over the last five years, statistics from last year suggest that cathedrals in particular are experiencing an increase in the number of people joining worship over the festival.

The figures show a snapshot of Easter celebrations in 2005: St Paul’s Cathedral welcomed around 7,200 worshippers to services on this key date in the Christian calendar, an increase of four per cent on the previous year, whilst Southwark Cathedral also saw a four per cent increase on 2004’s congregation size to more than 1,400. The Dean of Southwark, Very Revd Colin Slee, comments: “It is our experience that there is a real thirst for quality liturgy with colour and drama, which Holy Week and Easter have in plenty, combined with a thoughtful preaching of the Word.”

In St Albans, cathedral attendance was up 13 per cent to more than 2,300 worshippers last year. Durham Cathedral, meanwhile, saw numbers up 10 per cent to 1,400, for services including a 5am dawn vigil and breakfast.

Meanwhile, in Coventry, the cathedral is expecting a busy Easter season: “Over the last two years, attendance at our Sunday morning Eucharist has increased by around 70 per cent to an average of 240 people. Many more people have worshipped here this Lent than during the same period in 2005 – we saw more than double the number of people at our Ash Wednesday service this year than two years ago - and it will be interesting to see how this translates on Easter Day,” says the Precentor, Revd Canon Adrian Daffern.

Overall, national figures for cathedral attendance on Easter Eve and Day in 2005 indicate a small rise of 3.5 per cent since 2000 – with all the indications that this rise will be further built upon this Easter.

Revd Lynda Barley, the Church of England’s Head of Research and Statistics, believes these figures point to the quality of connections made throughout the year: “The significant draw of major festivals is a welcome sign of the wider success of the year-round ministry of cathedrals. We know that many people feel an innate connection with their local cathedral as a symbol of the spiritual life of their community. Cathedrals are increasingly leading that latent spiritual quest into participation in the worshipping community through innovative events and outreach work.”

She added: “In addition to these encouraging signs from cathedrals, many more thousands of people will chose to celebrate Easter in their local church, where the Church has a long tradition of seeking creative ways of expressing the central story of the Christian faith – that of Jesus bringing hope of new life to the world.”