WOULD YOU like to see all the non-church people in your region deeply touched by the real meaning or Easter?
The the strategy for Regional Community Celebrations we have found a way that works. It requires hard work and the raising of some funds. There are stresses involved in working with others to see it happen. It requires extending ourselves to work with the local media.

But if you are willing to pay that price you could see your region impacted by the Gospel in a new way! It's already happening effectively in hundreds of regions across Australia. And experience has shown time and time again that it only requires a small group of friends to reach out to God in faith and to their neighbours in love to make it all work. In some cases just three or four have gathered others around them, followed the strategy, and ended up with 4 or 5,000 people at their first attempt.

It's specific and strategic role in the Awakening program is to make broad legitimate contact with the Australian community at a time (Easter) when they are more inclined to think about spiritual things-about the meaning of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. This contact can then lead them sensitively into other parts of the pro- gram.

Churches coming together for mission.
Organising a local Easter festival is an exciting way for the church to make contact with a whole community and a way to bring your local churches together for mission. We can no longer assume that the majority of the Australian population will enter the doors of a church either for the purpose of social life or for religious education. For many the church is unfamiliar and often uncomfortable territory. Therefore, many people in our society no longer get to meet Christians or to see and experience God's love at work in His people.
Rather than expecting people to come to us, we are seeking during Easter to take the message of the gospel to where the average Australian is. An Easter festival provides an ideal opportunity in which to do this and we would like to introduce you to this non-threatening way of sharing your faith with your neighbours.



Giant puppet heads help color the festivals and mural painting is a big hit.


Stage Area
-visible, central
-on high point or raised
-no access behind 10 public 0 backdrop - ego E '93 banner G candle nearby
-space in front for children
-donkey access shade

Power Access
-for urns
-for stage
-for wind tunnel fans

P.A
-quality system & operator

-sufficient microphones
-speakers raised

Access
-colorful... balloons

-inviting
-convenient

Wind tunnel
-If not on grassed area use carpet underlay
-visible, but not restricting access
-fans away from refreshments and stage

Toilets
-enough available

-nearby

Signs & Information
-easy to read from a distance 0 prices Cor FREE) clear
-layout map near entrance

-outside signs pointing to entrance
-signpost
-Extra posters and
-colour" materials

Water Supply
-for urns
-for foo1w:lshing 0 for face painting



Children's Area
-safe, central
-seating for parents to watch
-suitable activities

Purpose:

The general purpose of the Easter Festival is to create a setting where Christians have an opportunity to interface with their non-Christian friends and in a warm and Australian way, raise some of the core issues of Easter.

The goal is to create an open crowd where visitors feel welcome and Christians can bring their friends and neighbours to participate in a range of family based activities. In the context of hospitality, the question is raised of how self-interest is destroying the country, our families and even our own potential. We then move to discover that Easter is about the death of selfishness and the coming alive of our true humanity through the power of Christ's resurrection... which leads to a discovery of life - where it becomes possible to reflect the nature of God, i.e. his justice, mercy and compassion. An invitation is given to come to any other Easter events and to local church services.

An important mission manual

Detailed plans for a festival including a complete how-to guide for planning, choosing activities, management, promotion and available resources are all included in the "Easter & Family Festivals" Mission Manual. (Available from your Awakening '95 office, by using the enclosed order form or from most Christian bookshops.)



Above:Box hockey is another simple to make and popular festival activity. Below: At Huskisson their Easter festival was held in the Anglican church grounds.





Other Programs Before and During Easter
YOU may not be ready to organise locally a full regional family celebration, but don't let that stop you reclaiming Easter as a Christian celebration for ordinary Aussies.
Here are some other optional activities you may like to take on:

-Mayoral Prayer Breakfast (see manual)

-Good Friday ecumenical march of witness

-School Seminars and lunchtime activities (see manuals)

-Community Bush Dance
-Christian Rock Concert

-Dawn Prayer Service on Easter Sunday morning
-Joining with friends to watch the special nationally televised Sunrise Service on Channel 7 led by Rev. Gordon Moyes
-Simply making a gift of Granny Smith apples in a local shopping centre as an alternative to Easter eggs.

Arrange a Public Showing of the "Jesus" Film
Backed by 5 years of research and filmed entirely in the Holy Land, 'Jesus" is a highly accurate account of Jesus , life based on Luke's Gospel. Released in 16S languages, and seen by 500 million people, (not including those who have seen it on television), it provides a unique opportunity to invite your friends and neighbours in, to see it in your home or in their homes... in small groups and schools. It is a special part of the Re- claiming Easter program.
The cost of the video is $48 for a single copy, $44 for 10 or more copies; and $58 for a non-English version.

Use the response sheet to order a copy. Buy one as a church or fellowship group and pass it around.
The video is suitable for small group use and some suggestions are provided here:
-Arrange a suitable time and venue and invite some people to the viewing. We suggest that a mixture of Christians and non-Christians would pro- vide a good audience for effective non- pressure evangelism.
-Encourage the group to get to know each other before viewing the video. Show the video right through to the end.
-Over a cup of tea or coffee, invite people to talk about their feelings with regard to the video.

The 'Jesus" film is also available in a 16mm format from Gospel Film Ministry.

In 1991 a group of churches in the Diamond Valley Eltham area of Victoria, combined resources to show the film on Good Friday evening.

-The Eltham Community Centre was hired. . A local music group was asked to provide music for a is-minute singing time.

-Tea and coffee etc were available during the interval.
-A very short word was given as a challenge at the end of the film and people encouraged to talk together about their response.
-Some 300 people were present on the night and all reports were very positive.

The march through Tamworth, the country music capital if Australia

Palm Sunday March &Celebration
All the details of how to run a march are contained in the mission manual entitled "Marches of Celebration". It's very detailed, containing job descriptions, management plans, promotional strategies and everything you need to make the most of your march. We even have information on how to involve your local Christian radio station or get a license for a day's broadcast.

Some country towns choose to march on Easter Saturday when there's far more people watching in the main street, others march Easter Sunday. Increasingly, people are marching to a local park or community area where they have a community outreach festival. Many regions have also found Palm Sunday to work well leaving Easter Sunday for involvement in capital city marches.
At Tamworth (pictured above) organizers expected around 250 to come to their first march (on Good Friday). To their amazement (and excitement) over 1,000 people turned up to march. No-one minded having to share the balloons and
pamphlets.
At Boonah in Queensland's South-East, the town of 2,500 had 1,000 people lining the street to watch their march and then the churches invited everyone to their festival.  On Australia Day the churches were presented with an award for the Best Community Event of the Year for their march and festival.



The NSW country town of Narrabri in north-west NSW have a population of
7,000 and 2,000 turned up to their festival following the Global March for Jesus.

The Narrabri celebration had a lot if help from these children

Stations of the Cross
Churches and groups of churches have conducted Stations of the Cross processions for many years at Easter. The Greensborough Interchurch Council has successfully combined the traditional "Way of the Cross" pro- cession with the Aussie Awakening theme.

By linking with the Reclaiming Easter organization and combining promotions, attendance increased by at least 50%.Stations of the Cross has also become a traditional part of Easter in Canberra under the direction of Archbishop Francis Carroll.
In Kiama the churches including the Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Uniting and Kiama Christian Fellowship use a Stations of the Cross event with giant 5 metre pup- pets (3 people are needed to work each one) to represent the events of Easter- the appearance of Jesus before Pilate, the scouring, carrying of the cross and ultimately the crucification. Starting in a local park the procession moves to each of the local churches, pausing at each for readings etc.

Here are Some Suggestions for Organisation

-Appoint a sub-committee to make all the arrangements. . Make arrangements with Local Government Council and Police if streets are to be used.

-Select a route with strategic positions for the Stations.

-Prepare a program involving as wide a section of the community as

The fourteen stations of church tradition are generally called "Stations of the Cross", and the whole series is known as the via Calvaria or via Crucia.

Each station represents some item in the passage of Jesus from
Judgement Hall to Calvary, and at each station the faithful are expected to kneel and offer up a prayer in memory of the event.
In 1975, The Congregation for Sacred Rites suggested a list of
Stations of the Cross more in keeping with the Gospel-accounts.

1. The Last Supper Matthew 26:26-28
2. The Garden of Gethsemane Matthew 26:36-39
3. Jesus before the Sanhedrin Mark 14:60-64
4. Jesus before Pilate John 18:33-37
5. Jesus is whipped and crowned
with thorns
6. Jesus carries his Cross
7. Jesus is helped by the Cyrenean
8. Jesus speaks to the women
of Jerusalem
9 . Jesus is stripped and nailed
to the cross
10. Jesus and the Good Thief
11. Jesus speaks to Mary and John
12. Jesus dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is buried
14. Jesus rises from the dead

John 19:1-3 John 19:17
Mark 15:21

Luke 23:27-28

Luke 23:33-34 Luke 23:29-43 John 19:25-27 Luke 23:44-46 John 19:38-42
John 20:1-9

possible. (A copy of the Greensborough program is available via the Response Sheet).
-Promote the function well in advance throughout the Churches.

-Liaise with local media for publicity before and after the event.

-Advise the Reclaiming Easter office of your event. .

-Some have used the "Aussie" symbols to blend with traditional gospel stories.. (Greensborough had "Simpson and his donkey" as part of their event.)
-Use the Response Sheet to get in touch with someone who has organized one of these processions already.



Tenebrae Celebration for Easter Thursday

Time: Approximately 2-21/2 hours.

Outline: This service follows the readings from the four gospels relating to Easter Thursday, using up to four different locations. It includes a meal hand-washing and a psalm.
Equipment:
One or more lamps or flares on sticks. Fire...suggest it is in a metal bucket (like a kerosene tin)
basins, towels, torches, chairs, grape juice and glasses also jugs bread-whole loaves
dip and dishes for same
Ground sheets or folding chairs.

Personnel:
Four readers
Co-ordinator
Someone to lead the psalm in plainsong
Someone to gently shepherd people from place to place Solo;. (optional)

Preparation
3-4 weeks previous to service Find personnel and explain job, allocate readings
Find or make fire bucket and lamps
Co-opt people to make dip for bread
Obtain permission from authorities to have fire.

Service:
Announcer:
Welcome
Enjoy meal
Explain movement from place to place
Announce Good Friday services etc
Ask people to leave in silence at the end.

1. Outside. Reader 1 Luke 22:1-13

2. Come into hall and sit at tables Reader 2 Luke 22:14-23

3. Eat meal in fellowship together

4. Reader 2 Luke 22:24-27 John 13:4-17,34,35

5. Elders or equivalent take around basins and towels for people to wash their hands.

6. Reader 2 Matt 26:31-35

7. Reader 3 John 17: 1-5,9,11,13,15,17,23.
8. Song leader leads in plainsong.
Suggest Psalm 100 or similar
well-known psalm.
10. Move to nearby park or open
area. Fire lighter prepares fire at
scene of 1 and 12.
11. Park (Mt of Olives) Reader 3 Matt 26:36-46
John 18:2-14
Matt 26:55,56
12. Move back to courtyard as in 1. Fire should be burning.
13. Reader 3 John 18:19-24
14. Soloist "Lead me to Calvary" or similar
15. Go home in silence.

Kiama at stations 9 and 10 during their procession on Good Friday.




5.0 Other Awakening Outreach Options

Operation Reconnect

Reaching out to children, teenagers, in High Schools, single young men and women, 20-35 year-olds, isolated mums and the elderly - new outreach activities have exploded across Australia over the last 12 months.



50 Days 0f special focus on mission to Australians between Easter and Pentecost each year.

Following the tremendous surge of outreach activities which came about as a result of 1994's "Operation Reconnect" between Easter and the June 25th Global March for Jesus in that year, Christian leaders have decided in Australia to make use of the period between Easter and Pentecost to focus the attention of our community on the per- son of Christ.

As this Action Manual goes to press close to 70 manuals, some with accompanying videos and all loaded with simple steps have been prepared by experienced practitioners from across Australia.

And now great interest is being shown in these packages from across the world as Christians, impatient to find outreach methods that work, are discovering this Aussie treasure chest. The following pages provide an overview of this explosion of activity (23,000 manuals were sold in 1994) and provide an order form if you are itching to get your hands on some of the material.


 


Hitch- hikers Guide to the Mission
Road-Tested Material

All the Awakening manuals have been written by people who have 'been there and done that'. The ideas work; That doesn't mean you will want to simply copy other people's ideas, but in your planning it means you can start with ideas that have worked.

Interactive Material

This year you will find new manuals, revised manuals, re-edited manuals, expanded manuals-all because of
people like you sending in ideas and reacting to what is in the manuals. That's what we want-you to respond- then the manuals get better every year.

Hitchhiking is a dangerous activity these days but the idea's a good one - get around the country cheaply by hitching a lift with some- one already on the road. That's the idea behind the Awakening Manuals.
They are designed so you can 'hitch a lift' with an experienced practitioner of the faith and take yourself along the journey of , sharing your faith' with their help.
That's why the manuals and packages are inexpensive, user-friendly and very practical.

User-Friendly Material

There are 60,000 professional theologians in the world today! The church probably needs them but the world needs ordinary people. like you to help them learn about Jesus. You don't need to be a 'professional' Christian elder,



deacon or anything else. You just need to be someone the Holy Spirit has convicted with the need to effectively share the good news of Jesus. That's why the manuals are non-technical, as far as possible jargon-free, and remind you of all the practical things you need to do to get a programme going. Yes, these manuals are for you - ready to use - just add enthusiasm and a dependence on God.



Help on The Way

Like everything else, sometimes we get stuck - we lose the way and can't find directions or the car breaks down altogether! This happens too when we are reaching out with the gospel - that's when we need help from someone else who understands the problem. Users of manuals are invited to join a network of others who are interested in similar opportunities to yourself Networks are forming of those who are interested in working with children, youth, families, etc.
When you buy a manual you will be invited to join the appropriate net- work. As the network gets up and going, we hope to have occasional newsletters and meetings as a way of encouraging and helping each other along the road.

~

A Solid Core

The Aussie Awakening is a cross-denominational movement and we have drawn on the best experiences and practices from a wide range of different churches with the following basic principles kept in mind:
a) that Jesus as Lord and Saviour is central in every mission activity 

b) that the Bible is handled with integrity

c) that people are treated with integrity - no manipulation - no cheap gospel.

However, the manuals are offered as working tools - you will need to adapt the material to fit your own context and expression of the faith. That's OK That is what the writers expect and hope that you will do.