What does Easter mean to you? Tweeters and Facebook members are being invited to share their feelings about Easter by answering this question on a new Lent twitter feed.

Easter (LIVE) will run throughout Lent, bringing together 140-characterreflections from well-known tweeters on Easter.

Alistair Johnson, from Cliff College, and Huw Tyler, from Share Creative, have created the Twitter feed as part of the Biblefresh movement of churches and agencies, which seeks to help Christians gain confidence in and appetite for the scriptures.

Alistair said: “Easter is the pinnacle of the story of Jesus. In it we see the passion God has for His people. “Easter (LIVE) is an exciting way for people to reflect on the meaning behind the eggs, flowers and other trappings of Easter time.”

Huw added: “Easter (LIVE) is about reaching new audiences to explore the Easter story. We’re keen to engage with these communities and get deeper through discussion, thought and response. “We’re excited about seeing ‘tweets’ from well-known contributors to regular users of Twitter and Facebook and finding out what Easter means in a digital world.”

Evangelical Alliance General Director Steve Clifford started the tweets off with this tweet: “Looked like a disaster. Hopes gone, dreadful defeat. But it was the watershed of history, amazing victory, death was beaten.” He said: “Easter (LIVE) provides an opportunity to explore what, for Christians, is the pivotal event of history. “There cannot be a more important question for each of us to ask. If Jesus rose from the dead, what does Easter mean for me?”

You can follow Easter (LIVE) at http://twitter.com/EasterLIVE or http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=293981895417&ref=ts.

The Jewish tradition saw the importance of this journey to manhood. The Bar (means Son) Mitzvah (means Commandment) ceremony marked a coming of age for a boy at the age of 13, as he traditionally entered puberty. The becoming a ‘Son of the Commandment’ ceremony is typically an ordinary Sabbath service in which the boy reads publicly from the Torah for the first time.

At this moment the boy became responsible for all of his actions and is able to be involved in all areas of Jewish life. He can own property, get married and must follow the 613 laws found in the Torah. The service is then followed by a celebratory meal and gifts. This Bar Mitzvah tradition is not biblical but appears in Jewish writings from the first century AD. And to this day, it remains a key part of Judaic culture.

How do we allow boys to become men? I think that we have an issue in the Church when we fail to educate, communicate and celebrate this journey into manhood. Perhaps that is why so many young men leave the Church and attempt to find their identity in other places.

ManMade is the new resource that we have been writing and piloting over the past year. The material is now ready to go to print and next year we will be launching it nationally!

The theme of next year’s Festival is ‘God Songs in a Strange Land’ – a title that sums up something of the challenge facing Christians today – how we might learn to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. With Bible Studies led by Matt Summerfield (Director of Urban Saints), worship from Philippa Hana and a diverse range of special guests – from Adrian and Bridget Plass to DJ Kubiks (Christian Drum’n'bass artist), a gospel choir and a drum workshop – there will be a variety of ways to engage with the theme, enjoy fellowship together and become better equipped to serve God in today’s world. A new stream of dedicated seminars will put the icing on the youth programme of Bible studies, celebrations and other activities, ensuring that Festival is about equipping the young as well as the old(er!) to live as disciples of Jesus in an ever-changing and more challenging world. As always, there will be an energetic and creative programme for children too.

Come and join with us: whatever age or background you are, wherever you are on the faith journey, with whatever hopes and dreams you have for God’s people. Share in dynamic worship, life changing teaching, friendly fellowship and an all-age environment – in the beautiful surroundings of the Peak District. Bring your tent and camp – or stay in one of the College rooms, or in a local B&B or caravan site. If you can’t commit to the whole weekend day visitors are welcome throughout.