Churches eggciting campaign to reclaim Easter

Churches in the UK are planning to distribute more than quarter of a million Easter stories inside Easter eggs this year as part of a national campaign to plug a gap in knowledge about the religious festival. 

Despite Easter being one of the most important occasions in the Christian calendar, recent surveys show that nearly half the population does not associate Jesus with Easter, placing him fourth in relevance behind Easter eggs, hot cross buns and the Bank Holiday. Even more worrying is news that Jesus is only six points ahead of the Easter Bunny in relevance.

Across England, Scotland and Wales people younger than 24 are the least likely to connect Jesus with Easter. They are also the group which is less likely to believe in the resurrection. However, nearly 70% of those aged fifty and over are clear that Jesus is connected to Easter.

The Real Easter Egg 2018 campaign is designed to reverse the trend among young people by encouraging people to give them a Real Easter Egg, which comes with a copy of the Easter story in the box. The congregation of Greyfriars church, in Edinburgh, helped kick off the campaign. Greyfriars is one of the city’s most famous churches and welcomes tens of thousands of tourists a year.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, David Marshall, from The Meaningful Chocolate Company, said; “It was quite a surprise to discover that nearly 60% of under 24 year olds do not connect Jesus with Easter. There’s an opportunity for those over 50 to buy a Real Easter Egg and pass on knowledge of the festival to younger parents and grandchildren. We hope to distribute 250,000 stories with our eggs and reach more than a million people.”

Helen Godfrey, from the Mothers’ Union in Edinburgh, said; “I have bought these eggs for my own grandchildren. It is so important that we share and celebrate the Easter story with younger generations.”

Rachel Farey, Manager of One World Shop, which stocks The Real Easter Egg, said; “We are delighted to be stocking The Real Easter Egg. We stock hundreds of Fairtrade products and it is good to have an Easter Egg which reflects the season fully.”

The Real Easter Egg is available from www.realeasteregg.co.uk and One World Shop, St John’s Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ www.oneworldshop.co.uk