What a lovely time of the year Spring is! A time of new life in creation with the beautiful blossoms, Spring flowers and the sounds of the new born birds and animals around us. We so need the beauty of our surroundings as we live in this somewhat disordered world – it gives us hope, restores our soul and assists us in what we call in our modern world – our wellbeing! We are drawing to the end of Lent now and as this month begins we mark the beginning of the Easter Season with Palm Sunday, a day when we celebrate with Jesus his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his way paved with palms. The triumphal atmosphere doesn’t last long however as the excited crowds who welcomed Jesus are replaced by a baying mob and demand that he be crucified. Each year we read the story of the Passion and this year it is the turn of Matthew’s gospel as we perform a dramatised reading of the events leading up to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. This acts as a springboard for the rest of Holy Week and allows us to enter into that journey through the pain and suffering which bursts into the glorious new life on Easter morning.
It is certainly for me the most special time of the year and the events of Easter underpin my own faith and those of other Christians. To help us with this, the choirs of St Peter’s Church Newdigate and our own church choir here in Capel have been rehearsing the St Luke Passion by J.S. Bach which we will sing for you on Good Friday at St John the Baptist Church at noon. Hot cross buns and other refreshments will be available later that afternoon at 3pm in church also. The church otherwise is still laid bare as is traditional until that glorious Sunday morning when we unlock the church doors and are welcomed by festoons of glorious Spring flowers wherever we look along with their glorious scent. The flower fairies have been again – aka Joy, Helen and their wonderful helpers!

Speaking of flowers we are all very much looking forward to the King’s Coronation and for the first time in many, many years, Capel Church is holding a Flower Festival. This is very exciting and the first one in my tenure for sure! The Coronation will be the theme and local groups are represented by the different arrangements. Teas will be served in the afternoons which will run from Saturday through to Monday. The festival is just part of the Capel Community Coronation programme and we are looking forward to the other wonderful events being planned. I am particularly looking forward to watching the Coronation itself in the Village Hall on the big screen with lots of you I hope. The evening before that we hope to raise much needed funds for playground equipment at Scott Broadwood School on the Friday, through Capel’s Got Talent. After the Coronation we plan to enjoy some patriotic singing at The Crown and of course on Sunday our churches will be hosting special services of commemoration. At Capel, we are hoping many families and children will join us, dressing up(?), with the crowns they made earlier (!) followed by a chocolate treasure hunt afterwards. You will see further details for all events elsewhere in this magazine!

Easter is the time we proclaim the risen Christ. Many said and still say “I don’t believe it!” I pray that you may believe it, that you will encounter the risen Jesus in a way that speaks to you. That may be in worshipping with us or visiting our churches in a quiet moment but also as Mary encountered her Lord in the garden, Christ is simply all around us in his wonderful creation.
Happy Easter!

All blessings
Liz