CHOCOLATE eggs and Hot Cross Buns will be enjoyed as part of Oxford Community Church's (OCC) Easter celebrations this weekend.

The OCC, which meets weekly at the Kings Centre in Osney Mead, will be spreading the messages of Easter through family fun.

The church which has a growing congregation of 400 people will host a family service at 11am on Easter Sunday with free hot cross buns and Easter eggs.

And on Saturday, a family fun day will take place at St Andrew's Church, Orchard Road, Botley, from noon to 3pm, with face painting, fancy dress competition, parachute games and refreshments.

OCC member John Levinson, said: "Both events will be fabulous fun for all the family.

"A lot of young people have a vague understanding of what Easter is really about - the death and the resurrection of Christ - but very often the language of religion is too old for people to relate to.

"The OCC is a young and vibrant church and we aim to talk about love and hope in a way that people can relate to and understand.

"This year, that message will concentrate on 'death defeated' - in the sense that we are all much more than just molecules, and like Jesus, we live on after death.

"We feel that everyone has experiences of death and questions, and we hope we can help people to answer those questions through the church."

For more details log on at www.occ.org.uk