Hazelwell Weekly Contact5th April2026
4 Apr 2026 • Weekly Notices
Easter Sunday
A Joint All Age Celebration with communion
Light Breakfast served from 9.30
Led by Rev. Matt Churchouse Preacher Rev. Chris Turner
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Please remember in your prayers
Residents of Kings Road andKings Close.
Please pray for Matt and Chris as they prepare for the service this week.
Easter at Hazelwell
As we approach the celebration of Easter, we will be commemorating the events of the final days before the resurrection with a variety of events and services.
Saturday 4th April (Easter Saturday)
Easter Vigil St Bedes 8.00pm
Sunday 5th (Easter Day)
Joint service at Hazelwell including light breakfast from 9.30am
Followed by all age family communion
Reflection on John 20 vs1-18
At the beginning, everything feels lost. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb “while it was still dark,” a detail that speaks not just of the time of day but of her inner state. The stone is rolled away, and her immediate assumption is not resurrection but theft. Even when Peter and the beloved disciple see the empty tomb, understanding comes slowly. Faith here is not instant certainty—it grows through bewilderment and searching.
Mary remains, weeping outside the tomb. This moment is important: she does not leave. While others go home, she stays in her grief, and it is there—in that place of sorrow and persistence—that she encounters the risen Jesus. At first, she does not recognise him. She mistakes him for the gardener. This reminds us that resurrection is not always immediately obvious; it can stand right before us, unrecognised, especially when we are overwhelmed by loss.
Everything changes when Jesus speaks her name: “Mary.” Recognition comes not through sight, but through relationship. The Good Shepherd calls his sheep by name, and they know his voice. This moment suggests that faith is deeply personal—an encounter, not just an idea.
Jesus’ words, “Do not hold on to me,” can feel puzzling, but they point toward a new kind of relationship. The resurrection is not about returning to the old way of being; it opens a new reality where Jesus is present in a different, deeper way. Mary is then given a commission: “Go to my brothers and tell them…” She becomes the first witness to the resurrection—the “apostle to the apostles.”
