Easter with St Ninian's Church 2026

Ash Wednesday officially marks the start of what Christians call 'LENT' - the 40-day countdown to Easter. Since the earliest days of following Jesus, believers have taken this period of time to fast and pray, or to prepare ourselves for the Easter Celebrations in some other way.

Easter Palm Crosses from last year are now burnt, and believers come to be 'marked with the ash' as a sign of starting this internal preparation for Easter. It's a deeply meaningful and beautiful service.

You're warmly invited.

As part of our ongoing preparations for Easter, members of St Ninian's, along with our partner church 'Pioneer Church' and Sunday@10 are joining with St Andrew's URC church to put on this short course. You can engage in the course on Wednesday afternoons in St Andrews at 2.30pm, or in St Ninian's at 7pm.

The course will be 6 weeks long (that's how long LENT is) and we might not get through the whole thing, in which case there will be some 'mop-up' weeks after Easter at some point - but it's such a good book it's worth the time.

It focuses us on living genuine and authentic spiritual lives which follow the pattern Jesus laid out for us with his life and teaching. It's down-to-earth, intelligent and Bible-based, but really accessible with much discussion.

The book can be found on 'Eden' here, but if that's too much for you, just let us know as we have some copies. For more details and to book on, email Rev Steven Herron here.

These evenings are safe spaces to explore and deepen faith in an environment of gentle modern music, prayer, art and reading the bible. This one will be right in the middle of LENT and so will help us keep our focus on getting ready for Easter. Open to anyone.

Rev Alex will eventually bring this one-man show home to St Ninian's, but during LENT it's debut performance will be under 'MARS' in Peel Cathedral as part of their huge programme of events. Seats are already selling out quickly for this evening of humour, stories and drilling down into his ever-crumbling attempts to live the spiritual life he wants to live. It will be an evening to remember, especially because of the venue and the huge planet spinning above the performance area. To book tickets and see all the detail - click here.

We're holding a Parish Away Day for St Ninian's Congregation on this Saturday in the middle of LENT.

We'll head up to Mountain View Innovation Centre (the old film studio just outside Ramsey), where we'll have lunch and then be able to have facilitated discussions about faith, church and ourselves. It should be an afternoon of prayer, laughter, good food and strengthening friendships. It's especially good timing because we have been gently growing these last 6 months in particular, and we'd love to get to know our new members just as well as we do those of us who feel we're part of the furniture!

For more details head to the about/news page where there's more info and a booking form.

Rev Alex is the guest speaker at ISN (Island Spirituality Network) on this date, where he'll be using a mix of video, discussion and storytelling to unpack some of the parables in Luke's Gospel over the morning. Very interactive and fascinating. No need to book, everyone is welcome.

SHOAL is our new monthly all-age community of people who are exploring and deepening faith by all mucking-in together with the music, prayer, discussion, snacks, games and bible stuff. 15 March sits almost slap-bang in the centre of LENT and is the perfect opportunity for us all to explore what Easter is all about with each other.

So if you pitch up to this, we'll begin with healthy snacks and drinks and 'free time', before we do something with music and the bible and prayer. It will probably involve you getting a little creative together, but relies on every member of the community doing their part. No unsupervised children under 16 please, but you're super welcome to come and bring your family and friends and stay together to engage with us all.

SHOAL is brand new (this will only be our second session together) so you'll be coming in right at the start of this new community of faith. What better time is there!

These evenings are safe spaces to explore and deepen faith in an environment of gentle modern music, prayer, art and reading the bible. This one nearing the end of LENT will help us keep our sights on Easter once more.

Open to anyone.

The week that leads up to Easter is called "Holy Week" and starts with the moment that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is an iconic moment in the history of the world, and Christians across the globe celebrate this by holding special 'Palm Sunday' services.

Ours is no expection, and we will be having an all-age-friendly Palm Sunday service to mark the start of Holy Week. You're very welcome to come along - expect there to be branches to wave, a story to hear, an all-age talk, familiar hymns, and great refreshments.

To mark the lead-up to Easter Morning we will be holding an entire week of prayer upstairs in our 'Upper Room'. This will be hosted by our partner church, Pioneer Church. The space has a dedicated website (www.prayspace.im) for you to find more out. It's well worth a look.

Here are the opening times and days:

Monday 30 March: 7.30pm - 9pm [opening celebration]. 10pm close.

Tuesday 31 March: 7am - 10pm

Wednesday 1 April: 7am - 10pm

Maundy Thursday 2 April: 7am - 10pm

Good Friday: 7am - 10pm

Easter Saturday: 7am - 10pm [closing celebration 7.30pm - 9pm]

Please feel free to sign-up, or drop in at any point of the week. Someone will always be there to welcoem you with refreshments, show you around the space, and leave you to either pray on your own or pray alongside someone.

The Thursday of Holy week is where Christians remember Jesus having what we now call "The Last Supper".

It was the Jewish Passover Meal, packed with significance, and it was here that Jesus outlined to his closest followers (the 12 disciples) that his death would be the sacrifice for our sins.

St Ninian's, Sunday@10 and Pioneer Church are joining with St Andrew's URC to hold a special service where we remember this event and eat a meal together. It's a great event, bringing unity between individuals and churches as we eat, laugh, sing and pray together - but it's also a clear moment to work on our own spiritual unity with God.

For more information and to enquire about booking on, email Rev Steven here.

Friday of Holy Week sees the day we remember the sacrificial execution of Jesus. It's the first part of a 3-day event which Jesus spoke about on numerous occasions with his followers, and which he said would break the barrier between humanity and God.

This service remembers Jesus on the cross, and the 7 things he said whilst he hung there.

We begin slowly, remember the phrases, and interspersed are silences to think and pray, music and art.

We then leave in silence.

The prayer space will also be still open that day, so you're welcome to pop in before, after, or both to talk with someone about the deeper meaning of the service or what you've experienced.

The churches of all denominations and flavours all across Douglas have been getting together on the beach on Easter Sunday morning for years. We meet around a bonfire, sing, hear from the Bible, have a short inspirational message, pray and then mooch off home.

We do it at sunrise because according to the Bible it was at sunrise on the third day that Jesus rose from the dead. This is what Christians across the globe have believed and experience personally for the 2,000 years and it's a major part of the central ideas in Christianity.

Wrap up warm and watch the sun rise [visible sunrise not guaranteed] knowing that across the world 2.6 billion Christians are doing something similar wherever the sun touches the earth in their location.

Sometimes there are also breakfast baps. [Breakfast baps also not guaranteed]

Easter Sunday - the day Christians across the planet celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. This is why we celebrate with the symbol of eggs (new life / rebirth).

If you come to St Ninian's Church on Easter Sunday we will be celebrating in style with vibrant hymns and songs, an all-age talk, prayers and more ... including chocolate eggs sneakily hidden around the church!

You and your family/friends are very warmly invited.