To the editor: I remember bringing my young family to Easter sunrise services in the park. Everyone exchanged pleasant greetings as we gathered in our new Easter outfits. 

Our dear old pastor would share a special meditation that would always warm our hearts, and my wife would sing with the small choir. My children loved watching the sunrise with their family and friends as the ducks and geese swam by on the river.

There might be a little snow on the ground but Easter was always a time filled with new life. The trees began to bud and the early flowers started to open. It was a time ofrebirth, resurrection and renewal.

At Easter we celebrate the time of rebirth when Jesus rose from the dead. This gives us the hope and promise of eternal life by asking Him to forgive our sins, come into ourhearts and be our Savior. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Regardless of our backgrounds, let’s celebrate this special time of the year together through God’s love – a season of rebirth and renewal, a time to begin again by living life to itsfullest, a time of forgiveness, love and renewed hope.

May everyone have a wonderful and happy Easter this year.

Rev. Doug Forbes

Associate Pastor at the Central Congregational Church in Middleboro.