The church has been exploring the events of the first Easter through the perspective of different characters in the Easter story.
The President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference said visits to the different parts of the Methodist Church showed them many examples of death and resurrection. Issues discussed in the reflections include hope, betrayal and fear to reflect how Jesus' followers felt at the time of his death.
They have tried to show this via two reflections on how people experienced the events of the first Easter. Vice-President Gill Dascomb has written from the perspective of a female, and President Revd Kenneth Howcroft has written from the perspective of a male.
They said: "The characters and events of Holy Week take us through a vast range of human experience: from jubilation through conflict, hope, betrayal, anger, power, fear, to grief, pain and loss, bewilderment and desolation where all we can do is wait.
"In this we are moving along the way that took Jesus through Good Friday to Holy Saturday, and on towards Easter Sunday's good news of new life.
"In our travels, we have begun to realise that true renewal is always shaped by a dynamic of death and resurrection. It is stamped through with the reality of a cross and a tomb. Both begin with a body. Both become empty. They are inextricably linked.
"To them and all the world comes the message that Christ is alive. God has raised him up and affirmed that his way of taking up the cross in suffering love is God's way of creating, redeeming and perfecting the world."
