Experience Easter was launched in the Diocese of Gloucester in 2006 with a fleet of buses advertising the resource. Since the launch, thousands of children have had the opportunity to encounter the good news of the Easter story in a creative and engaging way.
Developed by Jumping Fish Publications, in partnership with the Diocese of Gloucester, the Experience resource series has grown to a total of 16 educational tools that bring the key parts of the Christian story to life. Alongside Experience Easter, there are resources for Harvest, Advent and Christmas, an Experience Easter Outside version, and even an Experience after Easter which journeys towards Pentecost.
The model of the Experience Easter resource remains the same throughout all; a series of six interactive stations that are designed to involve children in the story. With the guidance of adults, small groups of children journey through core moments, and respond with their thoughts, questions, prayers and actions.
The Revd Canon Dr Sandra Millar, Director of Mission and Ministry and author of the first edition of Experience Easter in 2006, said: “It’s a great way for the church to make and grow contact with a local school and invite them to come to church where the Experience journey will happen. But it can also happen through school, as schools increasingly look for resources to explore key stories from the Christian faith.
“The high quality resources are now sold widely across the diocese, and even across the world, as word of mouth recommendations spread, and those who have engaged with the resources in Gloucester move to work elsewhere.”
The Revd Becky Allright of St Mary’s Church, Brough, said:
We are planning to use the Experience Easter and the Experience Lent resource this year, as we had great success with the Experience Christmas resource back in December. It helped us introduce the Bible in a fun and accessible way.
“It was so good in engaging the primary schools who joined us for our Christmas services. It was particularly meaningful for the younger children, particularly the children in years 1 and 2, who really enjoyed exploring the story in an interactive way. They loved getting hands-on, making things, and fully participating.
“We found that we could also adapt the resource to our particular needs. For example, we made a few small adaptations to the handout to suit our church’s layout, using LED candles so the children could walk up and place their Christmas wishes in the crib. They felt truly involved in the experience.
“A team of us are excited to bring this experience to life again. We’re looking forward to seeing how they engage with Experience Easter and Experience Lent and hope it will be just as meaningful for them.”
Sophie Simmonds, Jumping Fish Publications Administrator, has received positive feedback from churches and schools who have used it already. She said: “I have had emails saying how helpful the Experience resources have been, and how much the children enjoy it. Somebody told me recently that their church has tailored the resource slightly to use for a wider audience than that of a primary school age.
“One activity I have had feedback on that has been really popular is the Washing of the feet activity in Experience Easter, which the children found exciting. The children are asked to look at their shoes and think about who cleans them when they get dirty. They are then given a biodegradable wet wipe, a cloth or a rag, and are asked to clean one of their own shoes to compare it with the dirty one. They then take turns cleaning a partner’s shoe.
“The activity encourages them to reflect on the humility of Jesus, who, despite being the King of Kings, chose to serve others by performing the task of washing feet. It helped the children understand the deeper meaning of the Easter story but in an engaging, hands-on way.”
Angela Cooper, Priest of Cowbridge Ministry Area and a Diocesan Children’s Advisor, said: “As a lay person, I started using your Experience resources in my church in 2010. Over the last 3 years, I have been advising our Young Faith Matters Team and our Mission Enabler Team with using Experience Easter and Experience Christmas in churches and schools across The Diocese of Llandaff.
“The new Scripts are easy to follow and they easily adapt according to the size of our church or venue. In 2024, 98 volunteers and 975 children from 16 schools used the Experience Easter resource, and 103 volunteers, 1005 children and 82 adults used Experience Christmas. These resources are very important to our diocese.
“The children and adults who have used the Experience resources really appreciate that the stations are interactive, and they allow the participants to deepen their knowledge of the story as well as their faith.”
If you would like to find out more about Experience Easter, contact Sophie Simmonds or visit the Jumping Fish website.
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