A warm welcome to Pathhead Parish Church which meets at 11am each Sunday. On regular Sundays, we offer online worship via Zoom for those who cannot be physically present and this can be arranged by contacting the church office. Whichever way you meet us, welcome! At 6pm most Sunday evenings we have an online meeting for those wishing to look at a Bible passage, chat about it and pray. Just contact myself to get on the email distribution list for the Zoom link. I can be contacted at minister@pathheadparishchurch.co.uk
We also offer Messy Church once a month and there is a Messy Church page on this website where you can find more details of its activities.
From Shadow to Light: Uncovering the joy of Easter
During my Easter holiday, I spent time in York, visiting its impressive Minster. In many churches shaped by the Anglican tradition, a quiet but powerful practice unfolds during Holy Week. Silverware is veiled or removed altogether, bright brass is dimmed, and vibrant colours are set aside. The sanctuary itself seems to enter into a kind of fast, echoing the solemn journey of Christ toward the cross. Beauty is not discarded, but hidden, as if creation itself is holding its breath.
Then comes Easter morning. With the proclamation, “Christ is risen!”, all that has been covered is revealed again. The silver gleams, the brass shines, and the brightness of the sanctuary returns with renewed splendour. This uncovering is far more than a matter of decoration – it is a visible sign of the Resurrection itself. What was hidden is now revealed. What was subdued now bursts into life. The church building becomes a reflection of the empty tomb: light where there had been shadow, glory where there had been grief.
This movement from covering to uncovering mirrors the journey of the Gospel. On Good Friday, hope seems obscured, love appears defeated, and the future uncertain. Yet Easter declares that God’s purposes cannot be hidden forever. Life overcomes death. Light breaks through darkness. Joy rises where sorrow once dwelt.
For us, this is not only something we observe; it is something we are invited to live. The uncovering of the church’s treasures calls us to uncover the joy within our own hearts. Perhaps there are places in our lives where hope has been veiled, where faith feels dimmed, or where joy has been set aside. The Resurrection speaks into those places with quiet authority: “Behold, I make all things new.”
So, in these days after Easter, we are encouraged to live as people of the unveiled life. Let kindness be seen where it was once withheld. Let gratitude shine where it had grown faint. Let praise be heard where silence had taken hold. Just as the sanctuary is restored to brightness, so too are we called to reflect the light of Christ in the world.
Easter is not confined to a single day; it is a season, a way of being, a transformation that continues to unfold. The uncovered silver and shining vessels remind us that the glory of God is not meant to remain hidden. It is to be seen, shared, and celebrated.
May we, like the church adorned in Easter splendour, bear witness to the risen Christ, radiant, joyful, and full of hope.
Every blessing,
Andrew Donald
Minister
It will be a great pleasure to welcome everyone back to worship but for those not able to join us, we shall continue with the Zoom facility so that people can join us from home. Our 6pm Sunday Bible Study will continue on Zoom and if you wish to join the regulars you can find the details along with those of the morning Zoom meeting which is sent out by email.
