It's easy to associate Easter with chocolate eggs and other treats. But this year a Tyneside church is aiming to help a group of young people explore the real meaning of the Christian festival. Organised by Heaton Baptist Church in Newcastle, the Encounter event is being held over the Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend. Over 24 hours teenagers will stop off at locations on Tyneside and Wearside to discover more about the meaning of Easter, explore it in their own way and spend time with other young people.
 | | The event explores the meaning of Easter |
As well as exploring the themes from the Bible in seminars and other activities, there will also be plenty of opportunity for computer games, films and socialising together. Prayer graffiti wall It is the latest in a series of events organised by the church over the last few years with the aim of looking at the issues in a fresh and relevant way. In previous years, the church has run events including a 24-hour prayer room which young people could go and visit. It took a look at different ways of praying and included a prayer graffiti wall. Two years ago they took a look at the last 24 hours of Jesus' life with activities like visiting a restaurant in Heaton to talk about the Last Supper. Heaton Baptist Church youth and schools worker Sean Harris said: "We want to give them a very real encounter of some of the themes that come up at Easter." He said the aim was to give the young people the opportunity to explore the Christian faith. "It may be that they have heard it so many times, it is very difficult to get excited about the Easter message", he said. "It is for those who want to come and just get a better understanding and in a way that is relevant to youth culture.
 | | The church runs events for young people |
"I would hope that everybody who attends has a fresh understanding of what Easter is about." Flexible programme About 25 young people aged between 13 and 18 have signed up for the event. They will begin at Herrington Country Park and Penshaw Monument, Sunderland, where they will play some games, have lunch by the lake and take a look at Jesus' teachings through the Sermon on the Mount. The plan is then to move to Segedunum, in Wallsend, to take a look at Roman culture to find out more about the time in which Jesus lived. They will then return to Heaton Baptist Church where there will be seminars on a range of subjects, a chance to play computer games, and a chance to spend time in the cafe. The idea is that the young people have a choice about what they do and the issues they want to discuss. The event costs £15 which includes food, drinks and all activities. Anyone who is interested can e-mail: youth_worker@msn.com | 
