REVEREND Alison Richardson led the Sunday, April 24 service at Crediton Methodist Church, which was the 130th anniversary of the founding of Crediton Methodist Church. Her theme was “Jesus Appears”.

The reading from John told of Jesus appearing to his disciples. Alison asked why, and how, and what happens next and what is the affect on the disciples then and now of Christ’s appearing?

Alison and one member of the congregation enacted a short drama where the centurion in charge of Jesus’s crucifixion was in front of his superior charged with dereliction of duty, failure to command, incompetence, treason and cowardice.

The centurion explained that he himself had nailed Jesus to the cross and when he did so, Jesus had said “I forgive you, you do not know what you are doing”.

The centurion was adamant that Jesus was dead when He was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb. It took six men to roll a stone into the entrance of the tomb.

The centurion went to the tomb on the Sunday morning only to find the stone rolled away. He saw a woman go into the tomb with spices but she came out in a terrible state and, when running away, bumped into a man she assumed was the gardener. He said something to her and her face changed to sheer joy.

The centurion said he believed this man had a grace about Him and although He was dead, in some way He was alive. He had to find out more about Jesus. He had never met a man before who made him want to change his life.

The superior’s decision was that the centurion had a case to answer and would face a court martial.

In a reflection of the drama Alison said the centurion was affected by his encounter with Jesus and recalls his experience that Jesus had a kind of grace and forgave him. Jesus had an incredible affect on him and he wanted to know more.

Alison said that throughout Lent one word had come to her – forgiveness.

She had given out stones on Good Friday as part of the act of witness and suggested that people throw away a stone when they forgave someone for something that they had been holding onto.

It is so hard to forgive, but even harder to hold on to something that hurts.

This was the beginning of an incredible worldwide church including 130 years of Christian witness here at Crediton Methodist Church.

Bronwyn Nott