An Easter message from the Dean of Wakefield, The Very Revd Simon Cowling

This Easter will be my seventh and final one as Dean of Wakefield: I retire at the end of July.

It has been a huge privilege to serve in this role at the heart of a city I have come to love and among people, both within and beyond the cathedral, whose warmth and kindness have never failed to touch me deeply.

I will leave with both the hope and the firm belief that the best is yet to come for Wakefield and for its resilient and resourceful people.

For Christians as well, Easter is a season both of hope and belief.

Belief that an empty tomb on a Sunday morning in first century Palestine continues to offer hope for a world in which questions and problems are more readily apparent than solutions or answers; belief that this same empty tomb continues to offer the whole of humanity the hope that death can never have the final word.

Belief that the reframing of our reality in the light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ continues to offer hope that the world is not irrevocably set on a destructively downward spiral.

For those of other faiths or no faith, Easter will bring different emphases: perhaps some time away from work, some time with family, or some time preparing the garden for the warm

months ahead.

But all of us, Christian or otherwise, might like to reflect on some seasonal words of Mahatma Gandhi about Jesus which sum up something important about this season: A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world.

It was a perfect act.

A happy Easter to you all.