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"Alleluia. Christ is risen": the Easter greeting Christians all over the world use on and after Easter day. And today, like the first Easter, others will say, "How ridiculous, to believe the impossible. How insufferably arrogant, to think you are right." And, looking at the failings of Christians they know, " How hypocritical". And they are right.
Christians are ordinary, fallible human beings, believing extraordinary things. And we do believe we have found the only way we can truly be fully alive, and we know, only too well, how often we fail.
So how can we say "Alleluia"? Not because we are the world's greatest thinkers, but because we
choose to put all our (Easter) eggs in one basket and say "I believe". Not because we have incontrovertible proof, but because we feel captivated by the man we meet in the gospel stories, and what an extraordinary person he was, and is .
Such a dynamic and explosive mixture: a deeply religious and law abiding man, who prayed day and
night, anywhere and everywhere; uncompromising in challenging hypocrisy in opponents and followers alike; the greatest exponent of tough love ever, testing, even teasing, both the respectable people and the outcasts; offering all friendship, requiring from all radical change; a man of consummate tenderness, with healing words and hands which blessed children, stilled winds and
waves, washed feet, broke bread; teaching us that God's love is not just for one group, race, gender or class of people, but for everyone in the wide wide world, and calling us all to love God as our father and to show his love, care for all his children, and his world, especially those who are in need. That's why, when Christians hear the resurrection stories, we say "Alleluia".
Easter is, for us, the most precious time of year. Even if you do not share this faith, I hope that, surrounded by the signs of Spring and sunshine and new life, you too are touched by such joy, such a sense of being fully alive, that you too can say..."Alleluia".
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Members enjoyed an in-house Art and Craft evening this month. Seven ladies held 'look and try'
demonstrations for the rest of the members. The activities on offer were making flowers for cake decorating from moulding icing with Mary Wear, spinning with Margaret Wear, greetings card making with Jackie Dunn, fancy scarf and Easter Chicks knitting with Pat Hume, calligraphy with Jeanette Coram, patchwork quilting with Rona Luckham, and painting with water colours with Liz Shorney.
Members spent time at each activity, with some very satisfying results. This was the first time that this long-established evening has been held for two years and many members were so absorbed that they found it difficult to stop for tea. The evening was all the more successful due to our fantastic increase in numbers at meetings: this week we welcomed another new visitor, Gerry Cleeves,and we hope we shall be seeing a lot more of her in the future.
So to all ladies out there, we still have plenty of room for more people. Come and join us; you will be made very welcome. Our next meeting on 12 April is a talk by Alan Freke entitled 'Zigzagging Across The Dolomites' - story of an intrepid Victorian female traveller called Lizzy Tuckett.
I shall also be asking members for wish lists for the 2012 programme. An advance notice for 14 June - this will be a ladies’ open evening, when Patricia Wright, will give a demonstration of Belly Dancing, so please come along and join us for these evenings.
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