Discovering the Easter Festival with First Century Sneyd Green Pupils

A new Easter programme has been trialled at Englesea Brook with the help of eighty pupils from Sneyd Green Primary School. Three crosses recently installed on the hill above the car park provided a dramatic backdrop to a retelling of the Christian narrative from the perspective of Simon Peter and a cynical Roman soldier. The children dressed up as people visiting the sites of the Easter story a year after the drama unfolded.

A variety of activities helped the children explore not only the significance of Easter in the Christian tradition but similarities with festivals of other religions. The Easter theme of new life was also explored in seed-planting, games and an unusual but true story of some Filey fishermen who thought they'd had their chips at the mercy of a German U-boat in World War One but lived not only to see another day but to find some degree of reconciliation.

Thanks go to the staff and pupils of Sneyd Green Primary School for participating in this event, to Stephen Hatcher for another mad idea that worked, to Margaret Veal for pulling the various strands together in time and to all the volunteers who contributed by making costumes and helping on the day whether in a supporting role or, as was the case with David Jones, agreeing to be our very own Filey fisherman.

We hope to run this programme again in 2010. Interested schools, churches, or other organisations can get more details from our education officer, Margaret Veal.