Last year was the first year that I attended and enjoyed it so much that we decided to attend it again, as a family, on the Eve of Easter.
It's a time that individuals, couples, families and groups can come together to church and reflect at different stations about the true meaning of Easter.
In my younger days, I had a Catholic friend who introduced me to the 'stations of the cross' one Easter where we attended a church which had several visual images in various areas around the church that depicted the different stages of the Easter story and the journey that Jesus took on his last days on earth.
For myself as a Christian, it's about putting aside some time to consider or reconsider the importance of the Christian faith in my life, of seeking a time of quietness and solace in re-engaging with the reasons for why Easter is special to me. Quite apart from the easter bunnies and easter eggs etc. it's a time to reconnect with a God who sacrificed His life for ours.
The contemplative evening that we attended last night had only three areas named as: Salvation, Communion and Prayer and as we walked into the space, soothing music welcomes us in, we were each given a card with the details of each station and thoughts to reflect on as we moved to different areas for reflection.
At the Salvation area, in a seated area, we were encouraged (through the card) to consider the time that we first made that decision to become born-again Christians, the lessons and blessings that we had learnt since that time and where we were now. On the card, we were able to write down our reflective thoughts about this which brought back many memories for me in my faith journey.
At the next station, I moved into the communion space with our youngest and read out the notes, shared a prayer and then eat a small piece of bread and drank from the small communion cup. It was a symbolic reminder of Jesus body that was broken on the cross for us and His blood that was sacrificed for us.
We then moved into the prayer space where one could pray individually, with others or one could ask for prayer from leaders who were stationed there to support. Again, it was a beautiful place to contemplate and consider where my life's journey had taken me and it allowed me time to commune with my saviour.
Upon leaving, I felt refreshed in my faith and renewed in the reminder for the real reason for the season, the transformative impact that the Easter story has had in my life, in the world throughout history and for generations to come ...
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