Churches in the Sutherland Shire have enjoyed some good turnouts over Easter – as people gathered to celebrate the important date.
Many residents and visitors to the shire headed down to local churches over Easter, to join the Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.
The holiday is a big one for Christians who remember the death and resurrection of Jesus – which, in theology, stands for the substitution and payment for sins against God.
Jannali Anglican Church senior minister Neil Fitzpatrick said they had a great turnout of new comers during the Friday service.
“We had a good weekend, we had a lot of people coming and a lot of visitors.
“On Good Friday, we had a full house and we heard from [assistant pastor] Andrew Barry, who talked about how Jesus submitted himself to wicked men and in doing that he accomplished the glorious plan of God – to save people.”
He said he believed going along to church on special days like Easter and Christmas still appealed to a lot of people in the shire.
“I think that many people in our secular and materialistic world still realise there is a spiritual reality and times like Easter, coupled with invitations from regular church goers, really encourages people to come along.”
New Beginnings Uniting Church, in Cronulla and Bundeena, Reverend Simon Lee said the two congregations enjoyed good turnouts to the services over the weekend.
“It was interesting this year in that we had more people attending our service than previous years,” he said.
“I think on the whole, in the area, there is a willingness to look beyond the every day. And it is a special time for a lot of people to remember what Jesus Christ did all those years ago.”
He said during the Good Friday service they did a retelling of the story of Easter with visuals and audio.
Christian Reformed Church Sutherland Shire minister Gerald Vanderkolk said many of their members had left for the holidays, but they still enjoyed meeting together on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.