With walks of witness, plays and praise
CHRISTIANS across Reading came together on Good Friday and Easter Sunday to remember and re-enact the events of the first Easter.
Good Friday sees churches reflect on Jesus being crucified – he is said to have died at 3pm after having had to carry his cross through the streets of Jerusalem before being nailed to it.
Walks of witness, which see people carry life-size crosses through the streets, were held in Tilehurst, Earley, Caversham and east Reading.
In Tilehurst, Churches Together Tilehurst gathered in The Triangle for an open-air service.
A similar event was held in Broad Street, in Reading town centre, at noon, as the Salvation Army band performed and Michael Penny, chair of Churches Together in Reading precided. An address was given by the Revd Julia Binney, minister of Abbey Baptist Church in Abbey Square.
They also came together to lead an open-air service in Forbury Gardens at 8am on Easter Sunday.
More than 50 people came together to sing hymns including When I Survey The Wondrous cross, In Christ Alone, and Shine Jesus Shine.
There was an address by Mauor Adrian Maddern from the Reading Central Salvation Army, while his wife, Major Beth Maddern, gave a Bible reading.
Afterwards, those assembled enjoyed refreshments at Abbey Baptist Church.
The Forbury was also used in the run-up to Easter Sunday by members of The Gate Church in Tilehurst, who set up an openair theatre.
Working with RISE Theatre, the Easter Arts Festival saw a Passion play retelling the events of Holy Week, which was free to watch.
On Saturday, they held a community picnic as well as the performance.
The performances, staged around the bandstand, attracted large audiences.
However, wet weather on Maundy Thursday saw the group flip the venue to its Tilehurst base.
In a statement on Rise Theatre’s social media, the group wrote: “Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the course of Holy Week.
“We are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to perform moments of Christ’s Passion and death and we hope we have achieved our mission to inspire reflection and contemplation for God’s love and mercy over this Easter period.”
Also welcoming people were members of Saint Laurence church in Blagrave Street.
On Good Friday, they opened their doors for an Easter experience, with activities for children, displays to explore, a recreation of the crown of thorns that Jesus would have worn, and a life-sized tomb that his body would have been buried in.