The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, will be leading BBC One’s Easter Sunday service this year, broadcasting live from Leeds Minster.
The Holy Communion service will include seasonal hymns and music by Francis Jackson, Philip Ledger, Handel and Vierne, sung by the Minster Choir and congregation, directed by Alexander Woodrow.
The clergy, choir and congregation of the Minster are very excited and honoured to have been chosen by the BBC to host this service, and for the opportunity to show off their beautiful, historic building and superb musicians to the nation.
As we approach Good Friday and Eater Sunday, Bishop Nick says: “The journey that sees us come to Calvary on Good Friday is not an easy story but it’s one we recognise as we see so much suffering in the world around us.
“There are those who think God is remote from us if God is there at all.
“And if God was there, why do we see so much suffering?
“And part of the answer is on Good Friday where we see a man nailed to a cross, arms open in welcome to the world, almost saying to us, “throw at me what you will, and I will not throw it back.”
“Here God is among us where the pain is most acute, and he calls us who bear his name, who follow him, to not be fearful of that place where our illusions bleed into the dirt of Calvary.
“We will move from Good Friday to an empty Saturday where we have to live with a changed world, with a tragedy, with a loss, not knowing what comes next.
“And only when we’ve lived with that and stayed with it does Sunday make any sense.
“I wish you a happy Easter, but not until we have lived with Friday, sat with the emptiness of Saturday, and awoken with the bewilderment of Sunday.
“May we in the Diocese of Leeds walk together into an uncertain future, confident in the Resurrection, and how God’s presence with us in the risen Christ by the power of His spirit enables us confidently to walk into that future.
“Have a happy Easter, when we get there.”
The church is keen to celebrate the service together with anyone who would like to join, including those who do not usually come to church on a Sunday.
The Minster opens at 8.45am, and the congregation is asked to be seated by 9.30am in advance of the live broadcast at 10.00am.
The Minster is asking people to register their intent to attend the service via Eventbrite.
All information and a link to sign up can be found via Leeds Minster's homepage here.