Mandy Catto

Q: What do Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday?
A: (1) Chocolate
(2) When he rowed into Jerusalem waving palm trees
(3) Christmas
The above true children’s responses to a recent survey by the Jerusalem Trust would be funny if they weren’t so scary! But it’s not just our under 14s who have some wacky theology. Last Easter, Somerfield’s PR team had egg all over their faces in its attempt to sell more chocolate eggs.
The major supermarket said us consumers were, “set to spend a massive £520 million on Easter eggs this year — but many young people don’t even know what Easter’s all about. Brits will on average be enjoying over 3.5 eggs each over the Easter weekend alone, but over a quarter don’t know why handing them out symbolises the birth of Jesus. . . .”
An amended version changed this to the “rebirth” of Christ. Finally, a third press release accepted Church teaching that Easter celebrated the resurrection of Christ.
We can leave the hand- wringers in our wake as they lament the death of Christian Britain, while we seize this tremendous opportunity to set the record straight with our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours.

A couple of years ago, my son and I were driving past our local Christian bookshop, when we saw this fantastic Easter poster, so good I wanted to dash back and barter with them for it! It featured a hoard of vacant, pastel coloured Duracell- type bunnies thronging round the cross, the bigger ones almost obscuring it. Underneath the slogan read, “Don’t let the bunnies hide the true meaning of Easter!”
That phrase has really stuck with me as, with my friends and small group, we seek to work out how best to reach others with the message of the cross at our most important festival.

Perhaps you have seen earlier Activate articles on reaching people in our workplace, school place and neighbourhoods? Many of these ideas can be used or adapted in the context of Easter.
In the workplace- how about taking in some Easter- themed baking, or just some hot cross buns (from Somerfield, bless ’em?!) if your inner domestic goddess has deserted you? Cookware shops have a variety of Easter- shaped cutters to make some lovely spiced biscuits (very easy), or that childhood favourite, the Easter nest (shredded wheat or cornflakes in chocolate, with a couple of speckled choccy eggs in the middle.) These went down very well in my workplace last year and brought waves of nostalgia to some.
Among your neighbours, how about a pancake party to start the season off? My friends Dave and Kate will be inviting whole roads around the suburb they live to pop round with their children, another neighbour and a filling or something to drink again this year, while flipping madness descends on their kitchen! Apparently even that is a great ice- breaker and chance for chatting.
Other mums I know whose focus is more on the school place will be inviting families their kids have become friendly with over after school for a fun- filled (or chocolate sauce filled) tea time, offering ready- made or pre- prepared pancakes to save stress with sweet and savoury fillings. This was really well received last year and created a great opportunity to deepen those relationships during a follow-up craft event before Holy Week.

My own experience with school mums has been really positive. Last year, my friend Geraldine and I organised a really well- attended “New life” style and colour evening as a PTA fundraiser, and related it to the new life Jesus brings, complete with eggs to take home. This year we’re thinking of one of Activate’s favourites, a chocolate tasting party for the mums. Or maybe we will have a “Make an Easter basket” event with nests and yummy things to eat after a Friday assembly for the little ones to join in while the mums chat, like the head teacher has offered before?
For your families, think about how many texts you received wishing you a happy Christmas or new year. Now, how many folk texted you about Easter? I got none last year, but I texted loads of people to say “Happy Easter- Christ has risen today. Hallelujah!” (and had a really favourable response!)

Ideas by Faye Smith, from an earlier article in the Activate magazine.

Chocolate has been a favourite subject of the Activate team for many years! We have written articles on it in our magazines, waxed lyrical about it in our books and enjoyed chocolate tasting events at our conferences, training days and even national executive meetings. From cream eggs to champagne truffles, with a move towards organic and the fairly traded ‘Divine’, we are all big fans. This week it has been announced that Cadbury’s Dairy Milk bars are going to be ‘fair trade’ by the end of the summer – a step in the right direction.
We have been talking about the unifying and peculiarly feminine draw of the beautifully processed cocoa bean for a long time and encouraging our supporters to use chocolate for events and gatherings. We all remember Mel Gibsons words of wisdom that what woman really want lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate. What could be better than combining the two?

In the present days of economic uncertainty, redundancy and hardship, is there still a place for such a hedonistic pleasure? The research out this week suggests that people are turning to chocolate more than ever. Cadbury says its worldwide global pretax profits were up 30%. The chief executive, Stitzer said the group had seen a particularly strong second half of 2008, helped by the re-launch of its Wispa bar and its new Creme Egg Twisted product. Mars and Nestle are similarly up by 25 and 16% respectively.As consumers face tighter finances they tend to stay in more and seek the comfort of chocolate to boost their well being.
The recommendation to include chocolate themes to your event planning may seem old hat, but it is just as relevant as ever. If your friends and neighbours are struggling to afford nights out, then this is the perfect time to organise a fun and non-expensive treat. Borrow a chocolate fountain or two and try out some different flavours of fairly traded chocolate flowing over fresh fruit. At the Activate November weekend away we experimented with Divine orange flavoured chocolate alongside the traditional milk: it was very popular. Perhaps you could combine a quiz, themed round the cocoa bean and finish the evening off with a short message that includes some chocolate recipes and a recipe for life in all its fullness, as laid out by Jesus. Maybe you could gather a few friends together in your kitchen and try melting and moulding chocolate truffles together as cheap Mothers’ Day gifts.
Here is an internet recipe –

Chocolate Cream Truffles:

8 ounces (227 grams) dark or milk chocolate, cut into small pieces – the better the quality, the richer the taste

180 ml double or whipping cream

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons alcohol (Cognac, brandy, Grand Marnier, kirsch, rum, bourbon, or Kahlua to name a few) (optional)

For Truffles: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur. Cover and place in the refrigerator until the truffle mixture is firm (this will take several hours or overnight).

Place your coatings for the truffles on a plate, (cocoa powder, coconut or icing sugar are suitable). Remove the truffle mixture from the refrigerator. With your hands, or else a melon baller or small spoon form the chocolate into round or mis-shaped bite-sized balls. Immediately roll the truffle in the coating and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or tray. Cover and place in the refrigerator until firm. Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen for a couple of months. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Makes 30 small truffles.

If you have given up eating chocolate for lent, then apologies, just enjoy planning an event now to make the Easter celebration all the more special this year!

It’s a case of “New Year, New Job” for me this year. I’m now part of the “Qualified Teacher Team” for the six SureStart Children’s centres across our town.

Children’s centres are places where children under five years old and their families can receive integrated services and information. These services vary according to centre but can include early education and childcare, support for parents, access to specialist services for families, child and family health services and helping parents into work with links to the local Jobcentre Plus.

Sure Start grew out of the recognition that deprivation was blighting the lives of too many children and families in disadvantaged areas. The remit was to bring together early education, childcare, health and family support for young children and their parents. By 2010 there will be 3,500 children’s centres, one for every community to ensure that every child gets the best start in life. The Government’s vision is that every child and young person should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The aim of Sure Start Children’s Centres is to improve outcomes for all children. As you can imagine, these aims sit very well with my faith.

I’ve only been in the job six weeks and already I have noticed lots of opportunities for all of us to make a difference in the context of SureStart Centres.

Local authorities have been given responsibility for childre

n’s centres. They are planning the location and development of centres to meet the needs of each area, in consultation with members of the local community. This is a great opportunity to be involved. Our area is looking to set up locality forums for each centre, at least some of which hope to include local church leaders.

And there are really easy practical ways to get involved too. Some centres accept donations of baby equipment (prams, cots etc) for distribution to those who could not afford to buy them. Some centres are looking for volunteers to contribute to the activities running in the centres. But most of all, it’s a great place to take your pre-school child or grandchild and meet people. Some people think that you have to be receiving benefits to access the centres but this is not the case. So pop down to your local centre, have a chat, meet some new people and maybe you’ll stumble upon a wealth of opportunities down a new path that God has prepared for you.

PS. Some of the centres have coffee shops – so rest assured us Activate girls can be kept in the level of coffee and chocolate supply that we have become accustomed to!

Last week we had the most amazing snowfall in the South of England, the best I have seen in five years of living in Dorset and the biggest for 18 years according to locals. Of course, there were disrupted plans, blocked roads and the pavements became treacherous for vulnerable people. But I was struck by the beauty of this new white-clad, sparkling creation as I woke up that first quiet morning. My children dashed outside before breakfast and came back in freezing and glowing at the same time.

There were difficult decisions to be made about journeys, work and school commitments. But as this snow is such a rare occurrence, I did my best to ensure that we were out finding a good place to sledge as soon as possible. Being originally from Northern Scotland, we still had a sledge in the garage and were able to dust it down. When we arrived at what I thought would be a quiet hill, there were lots of others who had the same idea and the excitement in the air was as noticeable as the screams of delight from children and youngsters hurtling down the slopes. What surprised me was the amazing assortment of sledging materials that people had gathered and were using. We saw a family jumping in together to an inflatable rubber dinghy. There were toddlers being gently pushed on baby changing mats. There was a family making brave attempts on an upturned surf board and quite a few on improvised kitchen cupboards or plastic bags. Living in a sheltered part of the south coast meant that very few families had custom sledges waiting for them in the garage or shed, there isn’t much point when it snows so rarely. Trying to make it to the sports or toy shop to buy one might have used up precious time. Waiting for a bargain one to arrive through an email purchase was not an option. The fresh shining snow was destined to only last a few hours and those who improvised and just got on with it were the ones to enjoy.
As I stood at the top of the hill I thought of the phrase ‘seize the day’. For us, it was even more immediate, ‘seize the hour’ perhaps. There were those who stayed at home, waiting for the chance to get prepared, buy a proper sledge in the future. Maybe next week, perhaps next year.
When it comes to sharing our faith, I wonder if we sometimes sit around and wait for better preparation, another course, a different day. Do we catch ourselves saying – ‘when I know them better’, ‘when I have more time’? Someone said to me recently – ‘Why has no one told me about Jesus dying for me before?’
Seize every opportunity to listen, be open, talk frankly. It doesn’t have to be custom built, just be yourself and go for it. God sent that wonderful snowy day and all we had to do was walk out into it. God will give you opportunities to chat about Him, look out for them. Whizz down those slopes…