30th March 2026

Bishop Philip North's Easter message for 2026

‘What stops you from despairing?’

That’s the question posed by Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, in his Easter message to the people of Lancashire for 2026.

• The Easter message is available now on Facebook and YouTube. You can also download a Word version and PDF version

In the message, the Diocesan Bishop for The Church of England in Lancashire (Blackburn Diocese) says he was recently chatting to a group of older people on a parish visit.

Bishop Philip describes how they were worn down and anxious because of the recent news of war in various parts of the world; coupled with the seemingly endless cost of living crisis.

Instead of giving a long, complex theological answer in response to their concerns, Bishop Philip told them about a friend of his - Joseph - who is a Bishop in South Sudan.

The Bishop says: “His Diocese is in a warzone. Two thirds of his people are displaced and living in refugee camps. There is no functioning state apparatus, so the people turn to the church for a solution to every problem. In his homeland, the houses and schools and churches have been destroyed so his Diocesan vision is a plan for rebuilding a whole nation.

“He serves the poorest people on the planet. But there is never the merest hint of despair to Joseph. All you ever hear from him is hope and joy and optimism for the future. And that hope is not self-generated in any way. He has hope because he believes in the Resurrection.”

Bishop Philip reminds us that, at Easter, we celebrate an extraordinary miracle and that is what wipes out despair: “A corpse has come back to life. A battered, torn and wounded body, laid in a stone-cold tomb, has risen again. For those who accept that Jesus is risen, there can be no despair.

“Yes, there might be times of suffering and pain and self-doubt. Life may still at times be hard. But if you accept that Jesus is risen, there can never be despair.”

And the Bishop continues: “Jesus is alive again. He has been through all that torment and emerged victorious. And here is the amazing thing. You and I can share in his victory.

“For when we invite Jesus into our lives and receive baptism into his Church, his death becomes our death. His new life becomes our life. His triumph becomes our triumph.

“Despair means you have given up hope. But because Jesus is risen there is always hope. Even in conflict, even in pain, even in uncertainty, even in grief, there is hope. Jesus has triumphed and so love has triumphed, and so all in the end will be glory.”

Ronnie Semley, March 2026