Easter Among Friends: Exploring the mystery with adults, children and youth

Conversation Circles: March 10 and 12, 2026

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ASTER CALLS US TO FOCUS ON HARD QUESTIONS about death, resurrection, renewal, and Divine purpose. We may ask, “Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem?” “What was released when Jesus died on the cross?” or “What does this story teach us today?” Questions such as these raise themes for adult Friends such as love as the first motion, following a leading in the face of risk, challenging empire internally and in our society, or seeing the larger purpose.

At the same time, as Quaker religious educators we plow the ground for multigenerational learning in our Meetings. In this conversation we will also consider how to approach the Easter story and celebrations with children and youth. Whether in the context of knowing Jesus in new ways following his death, or the ancient themes of springtime and renewal, resources exist to support exploration of the mystery of Easter with young Friends. 

Join this conversation to consider the meaning of Easter among Friends, and how to deepen the lessons it offers across the generations in our Meetings.

QUERIES

• How do we enter as contemporary Friends into the ancient themes of death, rebirth and resurrection?

• What approaches have Friends used to explore the themes of death and resurrection or renewal in the Easter story with adults, children and youth? 

• How can religious educators explore a Quaker theology of the Easter story using available resources for children and youth?

CONVERSATION STARTERS

• Christopher Sammond is a member of Poplar Ridge Friends Meeting, New York Yearly Meeting, which is a semi-programmed Friends Meeting.  He brings the message there a few times a year, and last year brought the message for Easter. With over 30 years of experience in leading workshops and retreats for Friends, his work has focused on helping Friends deepen their direct experience of the Divine through a heart-centered deep dive into Quaker practice.  He currently serves School of the Spirit Ministries as their Administrator.

• Melinda Wenner Bradley is a member of West Chester Meeting, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and one of the founders of QREC. Her teaching ministry weaves together interests in children’s spiritual lives, program development, and support for families and teachers in faith communities and schools. She currently serves as the Director of Faith & Play Stories and is a licensed Godly Play trainer. 

RESOURCES

For Adults:

• The Last Week: What the Gospels really teach about Jesus’s final days in Jerusalem, by Marcus Borg and John Crosson
• Easter Light: A set of queries for Lent and Easter, by Debbie Pryor, Wellesley Friends Meeting
• What Did Easter Mean to Early Quakers?, David Leonard, Friends Journal, March 1, 2020

For Children:

• Easter Story for Friends (Faith & Play Stories)

• Stories in the Godly Play Collection: The Mystery of Easter, Faces of Easter, Knowing Jesus in a New Way

• Holy Week in a Box, Virginia Theological Seminary

• The Light of the World, by Katherine Paterson

• Together We Rise: an Easter story for all of us by Paul R. Raushenbush
• Bare Tree and Little Wind (a story for holy week) by Mitali Perkins
• Make Room – A Child’s Guide to Lent and Easter by Laura Alary
• Faithful Families (for Lent, Easter & Resurrection) by Traci Smith
• The Day When God Made Church: A child’s first book about Pentecost by Rebekah McLeod Hutto