Uplifting news: Over The Rainbow recitals and vicars getting creative

Musicians around the UK paid tribute to NHS workers, and vicars have been getting creative with how they communicate with parishioners ahead of the Easter weekend.

Here are some of the day’s uplifting stories that you may have missed.

– Over The Rainbow recitals staged across UK as musicians pay tribute to NHS

Musicians across the UK paid tribute to the NHS with renditions of Over The Rainbow on Thursday night.

The public once again came out at 8pm to applaud those working on the front line during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fifteen-year-old Amelie Carter was among the musicians who decided to add music to the applause, singing Over The Rainbow in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

The student, who was supposed to be doing her GCSEs this summer, said she wanted to do something nice for the NHS.

– Vicars get creative with digital church services ahead of Easter weekend

With the busiest week in the Christian calendar under way, Britain’s churches are remaining shut for the first time in 800 years.

While one Conservative MP has called for places of worship to be allowed to open for “private prayer”, all traditional Easter services have been cancelled to follow social distancing rules set by the Government.

Instead, vicars and worship leaders are being forced to get creative with how they stay in touch with their parishioners over the weekend.

Services are being live-streamed on Facebook, sermons delivered via podcast, and virtual Easter egg hunts for children are being held on Twitter as a way of keeping people engaged with the church during lockdown.

– Four-year-old cancer patient Archie ‘out the other side’ of Covid-19

Four-year-old Archie Wilks appears to be “out the other side” of Covid-19, although he caught the virus during treatment for a rare childhood cancer, his family has said.

Archie’s parents Simon and Harriet did all they could to protect Archie, who has neuroblastoma, from coronavirus.

His identical twin brother Henry was taken out of school early and the family self-isolated at home in Saffron Walden, Essex, for more than two weeks as a precaution.

– Cyclist spells out NHS to thank key workers

A cyclist has paid tribute to healthcare workers by creating a route spelling out NHS across his town on a fitness app.

Adam Bronkhorst planned the 12-mile route in his home town of Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, to create the design on the Strava cycling and running app.

The 45-year-old said the aim of his message, entitled “Thank you NHS (and keyworkers)”, was to show how people were coming together in the time of crisis.