Archdeacon of Warrington and St Helens, The Venerable Simon Fisher shares his Easter message for the town

In a volatile world the Easter story is more needed than ever.

The world seems a very cruel dangerous place at the moment. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Gaza unfold with tragic consequences for the innocent of those regions. They also threaten to destabilise the whole world dragging countries and peoples into a dangerous spiral of conflict. So it is easy to be full of despair.

Yet I want to give a message of hope. It’s an ancient message, It’s a Christian message. It’s a message that starts from a place of despair.

It’s the story of Jesus at Easter. A story that starts at the same place that we are at in the world today. Jerusalem was a dangerous place and Jesus, with his message of peace and love and his actions of looking after those at the margins of society, had upset the authorities to the point they wanted him dead. And they achieved that in the most brutal fashion possible with Jesus being tortured and crucified – the most barbaric punishment known.

It could have ended there. In the despair of defeat. However, God turned this around and Jesus rose again to take his place in heaven and to give the world the promise of eternal life. He turned despair into hope.

In today’s volatile world we need that story of hope. We need a God who, through experiencing brutal suffering, can relate to those in difficulty and pain.

Those in the war-torn regions need that message of hope. However those in our communities, in our families, our neighbours and friends need this hope. Those suffering with illness, through poverty need that message of hope.

Hope exists. It exists in the Easter story and it exists with the thousands of Christians who, as a result of that story seek to do good for others. My prayer is that it can exist for you.

May you have a happy and blessed Easter