Easter wasn’t cancelled in Campoverde
EASTER is the most important time of the year for Christians and this year we in Campoverde Church in the Community weren’t going to let lockdown, self-isolation and a deadly virus stop us remembering the death of Jesus on the cross and then celebrating his resurrection.
In many ways the message of Easter is even more pertinent this year than normal. The new life and the new hope for the future that is the central message of Easter is something that we all need right now.
We knew we could celebrate Easter on our own, in our own homes, but we Christians do like to get together. The lockdown kicked our innovative spirit into action to find ways of doing just that.
We managed to have a full programme of communal remembrance of sacrifice and celebration of resurrection. We investigated various ways of coming together to worship and decided that something live and interactive which would enable us all to see each other and join in as appropriate was preferable to simply watching someone else.
So, on Palm Sunday we had a virtual service of Holy Communion, led by Rev Terry Baxter, via the wonders of Zoom. We shared videos and photographs of Palm Sunday processions from years past via Facebook. On the Monday of Holy Week, when Campoverde should have been having its own procession through the village, we showed a video of last year’s procession via YouTube. On Good Friday we had a virtual service of reflections, for which people were invited to read accounts of the events leading up to death of Jesus on the cross.
Then came our big celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Over 75 people attended our virtual service of Holy Communion. It was a very magical and joyful service, made even more joyful by an Easter bonnet competition, organised by one of the members of our congregation.
But, as the Church in the Community, we have an equal desire not just to worship but to take care of everyone in our community. Throughout this lockdown we have been involved in efforts to identify and help people in our community who need it.
We have established a register of volunteers and we drop off leaflets to houses where people are suspected of being in need.
We helped Iceland supermarket with their collection of Easter eggs for the children of the San José Obrero foundation children’s home in Orihuela, which in the end received over 200 eggs.
We have provided details of local charities in dire financial need and how people can contribute to keep their vital work going. We post a community prayer of hope every Tuesday for people to pray collectively at 18.00, a weekly ministry of music recording every Thursday and a reflection every Saturday.
We have a Ministry Team willing to talk to people feeling in despair and in need of assurance. And we continue to have our virtual service of Holy Communion every Sunday at 10.00.
Everything we are doing is publicised on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ churchinthecommunitycamp overde
Anyone wishing to be involved in our virtual services should email Rev Terry on telbaxter@googlemail.com
For any other information visit our Facebook page or email maggieruthdew@hot mail.com