This year, as we know, it has been difficult for church communities to meet in person, that has been particularly true for young people. With that in mind Revd Richard Neill , Vicar of The Benefice of The Isle of Wedmore thought this Easter he would try something different to inspire the young people in his parish. So he created children's Stations of the Cross, outside in the churchyard.
"We have previously done Stations of the Cross on Good Friday for children. It has always been quite well received. The children take it in turns to carry the candles and the cross and those that want to can read little bits. We traditionally ended by making Easter biscuits and doing an Easter garden – it’s something for the children to do in Holy Week, to learn about the Easter story and to feel they are part of the Easter celebrations. This year we wanted to do something different as we’ve not had much chance to do things with the children through lockdown.
“This was a great way to be able to get the children back in. I wondered if we could build on what we’ve previously done with outside Stations of the Cross, which were more interactive. It seemed to work, it was more fun for the children, but also helped them enter into the journey a bit more because they were also making a journey. We cut down the number of stations, but it got them following that journey, thinking a bit, wondering a bit.”
For each station there was an action to do, a bible reading, information about the Easter story and an ‘I wonder’ to encourage the children to think about a specific event of Jesus’ last day on earth as a man, and a short prayer. For example at the station where Pilot washes his hands and Jesus is condemned to die, they all washed their hands under the outside tap and wondered, ‘Have you ever tried to blame someone else for something that was your fault?’
Revd Richard said: “I was just so pleased with how it went and how it was received. It was wonderful to be able to welcome the children back. We actually ended up back in church with Jesus being laid in the tomb under a big stone under the altar in the Lady Chapel and the children then helped to create the Easter garden.”