Dozens of families take part in interactive Easter trail

DOZENS of families visited Trinity Church in Henley on Good Friday to join its Easter trail, writes Lucie McHugh.

A map led participants to eight stops in the churchyard, each containing a clue to the Easter story. There were also various characters that feature in it.

James Moy, of Henley, who attends Trinity Church, performed as the disciple Peter.

He said: “I did performing arts about 20 years ago and just thought this would be a bit of a laugh. It’s a lot of fun with the kids, I give them a little bit of a blurb to help them solve the story.

“It’s a fun, interactive way to get kids interested and slightly divert them away from chocolate and at least give them a sense of the story in a way that they might remember a bit better than just an old man telling the story in a sermon or something.”

Rev Duncan Carter, who retired as vicar last September, was dressed as a Roman Centurion at one of the stops. He said that he had “mixed feelings” about his final Easter weekend with the Church before completing his handover with Rev Sam Brewster, who will take over.

He said: “This is a lovely event because it opens up the church to people with very little children because it can be a struggle to do a service suitable for young families. I’ve known a lot of these families here for years, so it’s great to be a part of it.”

Rev Brewster, 38, said that it was encouraging to see so many people visit the church when the world feels “increasingly hopeless”.

He said: “I just love the opportunity to speak about the good news of Jesus and I think that’s what Easter is. It’s lovely to have so many people come to church, I am finding church is quite busy at the moment anyway, so that’s encouraging.

“I think in a world that feels increasingly hopeless, the Easter message is one of amazing hope. Good Friday looks like the most famous dead-end ever and Jesus dying on the cross, it looks like darkness has totally won. But then Easter Sunday is the ultimate comeback where Jesus comes back to life, our sins are paid for, he promises his new life to us.

“This is a very hopeful message and we are finding increasingly that it’s a message that is genuinely changing people and so it’s amazing to see so many people genuinely engaging in this message, sometimes for the first time, and finding it has a kind of transforming power in our lives as well.

“About three or four weeks ago we had 12 adults getting baptised and confirmed and these are people who are discovering Jesus in a personal way that is bringing positive transformation to their lives. I just think if we see more and more of that, it has to be a good thing, in a world that can feel so bleak.”

Rev Brewster, who initially came to the church to lead Trinity at Four, a separate congregation which meets at Christ Church, said that he has been fortunate to have Rev Carter’s support as he transitions into the role.

He said: “Duncan has just got so much experience, he has been here 35 years. But in September, I became the vicar and he will retire on May 18.

“It’s not very common in the Church of England to have this sort of overlap period so we’ve been really fortunate to have it and it’s given me a bit more time to kind of get in to the role, and given him a bit more time to step back and think about the next step.”

After the trail, families were invited into the Church where hot cross buns and refreshments were available.