A BARROW Reverend has delivered a message of hope for readers this Easter.

Reverend Robin Ham, joint leader of the Barrow Mission Community, said: “If you want to summarise Easter in one word then I reckon hope is a good shout.

“I heard someone on the radio say, ‘There is nothing good about this virus. But that does not mean good cannot come out of it’.

“Undoubtedly, we’ve seen it in spades across our peninsula. We’re so grateful for our Furness key workers serving sacrificially on the frontline, as our Thursday clapping demonstrates. Talking with Debbie Wilde, Chaplain at Furness General, it was wonderful to also hear how much difference those acts of public support make to hospital staff.

“Then there’s the growing sense of neighbourliness we’re seeing. Rainbows on windows. People signing up to be ‘Good Samaritans’.

“But despite these signs of hope, there’s no getting around these remaining hard times. Many of us will be anxious about the future - money, health, loved ones. And for some of us, this virus has already left its mark permanently.

“We keep hoping, of course. Hoping a cure will be found. Hoping the worst is behind us. Hoping that our kids make it through another day in the house without destroying each other!

“I really love Psalm 23, ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’, from the Bible. Of course, we all like the idea of someone upstairs looking out for us. But at times like these, we might well wonder, ‘Is it just wishful thinking?’

“But that’s where Easter changes things.The apostle Paul said if Jesus wasn’t raised, then Christians should be pitied more than anyone else. I’m with him on that one. Who wants to shape their life around a myth? But for Christians the whole point is that it actually happened. This Easter I give thanks for all the incredible displays of hope that we see across our town."