Stages on the Way
'I hope that through the resources I have suggested you will find some material that can be inspiration as you work in preparing your worship over this busy period.'

Well here we are only a short time away from Easter having worked our way through the season of Lent and drawn upon the resources that provide us with insight and opportunities for reflection in the run up the Easter story.

My guess is that many of you may well have sorted out your Easter resources when you were looking for Lent ones. However if you did not manage to do that or if you are still on the look out for some additional resources we will try and provide you with a few ideas.

The Easter season cover such a broad spectrum of themes in a very short space of time. Over Holy Week we move quickly from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the sharing together of the Last Supper with the disciples, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, the time of trial in the Garden of Gethsemane, the arrest, trial and crucifixion on Good Friday and then through the triumphant Resurrection on Easter Day.

Therefore the range of resources that can be incorporated need to provide material for each of these parts of the story and lead people through the story, the emotions and feelings that run with the story and the various acts of worship that accompany Holy Week.

If you read my article last month on Lent resources you will I am sure already have looked at the excellent ‘Count Your Blessings’ resources that Christian Aid have available from this website. However if you have not yet had a chance to do so I suggest that this is your first port of call. Click here to see their resources.

JustWorship Volume 2

I make no apologies in my first suggestion for resource for this period. One of the areas that I am directly involved in is the production of the DVD Video Resource series of JustWorship. This is produced by my company Armadillos Ltd and the current volume in the series (Volume 2) contains a range of resources suited to the Easter season. The DVD consists of nearly 30 video clips which provide material for both Christmas and more importantly for this review Easter. The material is organised into ‘point and click’ based video resources and consists of the following sections relating to the Easter period:

• The Last Supper – NIV version
• The street bible version of the Easter Story – one 11 minute video clip plus the individual parts of the story as separate clips. Performed by Rob Lacey, the author of the book.
• Prayers by David Adam – which could be incorporated into the Easter services
• Reflections – music performed by Revd. David Jenkins a Methodist Superintendent Minister
• ‘Hands’ poem by Carol Pattinson

Included on the DVD are some sermon outlines suited to Easter along with MPEG1 versions of the material which can be incorporated into your own PowerPoint presentations. The DVD is available through Armadillos, CPO and Sunrise Software priced at £19.99.

Living Stones

The second resource that I want to mention is the ‘Living Stones’ series by Susan Sayers which is published by Kevin Mahew Ltd. This series of books provides worship material for each of the three years within the Common Worship Lectionary and for those churches which follow this lectionary the material is excellent. Each of the three books in the series also provides material and ideas for the period of Holy Week and Easter Day and can be a useful resource to dip into for those additional ideas.

Priced at around £21.50 per book the three books together can be a bit expensive to buy in one go. However as the material provided covers every Sunday of the year plus the ‘celebration’ days within the Christian Calendar the investment is well worth while. The prayers of intercession included in the series are very useful and, having used many of these myself, can enable the congregation to interact with them in a challenging and refreshing way. This resource should be available through your local Christian Bookshop or from www.wesley-owen.com.

Stages on the Way

Stages on the Way - Worship Resources for Lent, Holy Week and Easter. This is the second ‘book of bits’ for worship produced by the Wild Goose Worship Group. This book traces Jesus’ road to the cross through Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Its prime purpose is to resource worship that enables people to sense the hope, apprehension and joy of Easter as felt by Jesus’ friends. The range and diversity offers a unique source of elements for lay and clergy worship planners and enablers.

As with all of the Iona worship material this book provides a wealth of material that enables those worshipping to have a deep sense of worship and challenge through the words that are used and the imagery that the material helps to create. A worthwhile addition to anyone’s resource library. Priced at £14.99 this book is available directly from the Iona online bookshop.

Roots Worship

Roots Worship magazine which is provided through Methodist Publishing House is a bimonthly magazine aimed at providing a wide range of worship resources. Subscription to Roots also provided you with access to the online site associated with the magazine Roots on the Web which provides you with additional resources. Once again as with Living Stones this is a general worship resource but one which may provide you additional ideas and resources for this busy Easter season.

The magazine can be purchased as individual copies priced at £4.20 per issue or on a subscription basis. Prices for subscriptions start at £22.00 for a year’s subscription. This is excellent value for money when you consider the broad range of resources that will be available to you not just over the Easter period.

There are several web based resources which may well be worth a glance through in your search for last minute resources. It has not been possible to research all of these in detail but the following sites may prove useful:

• Family Worship – resources (providing a range of resources including drama material, MP3 files, and sheet music for some of their own material. Best of all many of these downloadable resources are provided free of charge!

• Scripture Union – whilst not providing downloadable resources they do have a new range of Easter material available which can be ordered online through their website.

• Anglicans Online provide a range of resources for both the Lent and Easter seasons and is worth taking a look at to see if the material fits your particular situation and requirement. Some of the liturgy material for Holy Week is particularly helpful, regardless of whether you Anglican or not. As with most material it is always possible to select the sections of material that suit and leave out the sections that do not suit. Many of the prayers and reading suggestions fit within any of the Christian denominations and can readily be adapted.

• Expository Sermons and Worship Resources This site provides suggestions for orders of service for Holy Week as well as providing a range of links to various sermon outlines by both well know and lesser know preachers. Worth a look for additional ideas and pointers.

As I find myself saying in each of these review articles I have only been able to touch the surface of the resources that are available for use over the Easter season. I hope that through the resources I have suggested you will find some material that can be inspiration as you work in preparing your worship over this busy period.

If you are aware of other resources that you have found useful please do get in touch as I am always grateful to hear of new resources that I may not already be aware of. You can contact me at richard@echurchactive.net.

Richard Armiger runs his own training consultancy and media production company, Armadillos, and is a Co-Editor of eChurch Active. Tel: 0845 2268507 or visit www.armadillos.biz