Whether or not you are a person of faith – Christian or not – this Easter weekend seems to hold a special significance. As the country endures the greatest crisis in living memory, all our thoughts have turned – probably like never before – to what's really important in life. Family, friendship, and the sacrifice of others as they try to help us.

On this Easter Sunday, The Herald has asked people from all walks of life –young and old, religious and not – to give us their special messages for the country, and the times, we are living in ...

ANDREW ROBERTSON, CARE WORKER, ARBROATH

“This Easter Sunday I’ll be working an 8am to 8pm shift at Balhousie Monkbarns care home in Arbroath. You get used to having to work holidays and I’m looking forward to making sure our residents have a great time.

“We’ve been in lockdown for several weeks. A lot of the residents are confused about why they can’t see their relatives, but the majority of them are coping well. It’s our job to keep their minds active and make sure their days are as close to normal as possible. We’re planning an Easter egg hunt inside the care home, there will probably be dominoes and other games, and there will be Skyping with relatives. The kindness our local community has been amazing. We’ve had a donation of Easter eggs from our local Home Bargains store.

“My partner and two kids will be doing an Easter egg hunt in our garden but without our nephews and nieces this year. I’m going to miss the usual gathering of relatives but I’ll be with my other family. We always say we treat our residents like family, but it’s more important right now than ever.”

Andrew Robertson is a Senior Care Assistant at Balhousie Monkbarns care home in Arbroath.

ANNIE SCOTT, SCHOOL-LEAVER, GLASGOW

"The class of 2020 had high hopes for this year. I remember the shock that rippled round the school when its closure was announced: our last few weeks of school would be stripped away with no graduation, no prom, and no s6 holidays. All the things we believed, in a sense, were owed to us for surviving six years of secondary education. But it is not only our present that has been compromised: Many uni places (mine included) hang in the balance and it’s hard not to spend all day sleeping to escape all the uncertainty.

"This is a challenging time for us all, and while there’s no denying that our health care heroes are bearing the brunt of this pandemic, teenagers have proven their resilience, picking themselves up, dusting themselves off and still making the house party by 8pm. I have new-found admiration for my generation for realising that their stolen milestones are not the end of the world.

"So I say, 2002 babies, don’t let this get you down! Take it easy and remember the good times will roll on before you know."

EMMA STEWART, SELF-ISOLATING, DENNY

"Before this, I was living alone. But I was okay, because I was out every day, for five, six hours. But now I’m forced to stay in for 12 weeks, honest to God, it’s hard to accept. People talk about FaceTime. I don’t have a computer. I lost a lot of motivation. I was really getting down. It took the wind out of my sails. It feels like being in prison. I hate being restricted. I like going out, getting on a bus and going wherever. But I can’t do that.

"I’ve got damage to my lungs, so I have to stay in. You get a letter about power of attorney and resuscitation and that did freak me out. I couldn’t come to terms with the fact that – although I was 82 – I was vulnerable. I’ve just got to accept it. I’m reading, I’m doing my crosswords. I’m watching some television. I’m tidying up drawers.

"But I’m looking forward to getting let free and doing what I want to do, getting a bus, going away somewhere, walking round the shops, doing anything as long as I’m out."

REBECCA MCEWEN, FARMER, STIRLINGSHIRE

"Things feel different but also the same because in April and early May we are usually on social lockdown here at Arnprior Farm due to lambing. The main difference this year is we have no veterinary students to help out. The team this year is our family – myself, my husband Duncan, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, my three children – and two of our workers. We lamb 1,100 sheep inside, so it's a 24/7 operation.

"With the schools closed, the kids are around all the time. My house is like a bomb site and we’re eating stew after stew. I stick it on to cook in the morning and hope it’s not burnt when we arrive home at 7pm. Last year we built a swimming pool and glamping pods on the farm where visitors can stay. Those are currently closed. We have also had to cancel our ticketed lambing experience but are hoping to welcome people later in the summer.

"My message would be stay at home this Easter. Lockdown isn’t forever. It is a small sacrifice and one we can all make to help saves lives."

MALIN WOLLBERG, FOOD VOLUNTEER, EDINBURGH

"I'm from Sweden and volunteered in Calais for a year with Refugee Community Kitchen before moving to Edinburgh to found Nourishing Change with my partner Nick Cullen and friends Dave Matthews, Joe Simpson and Bruno Santos. We use the skills we gained in Calais to support local projects that tackle food insecurity. At the moment, a typical day for me involves coordinating volunteers, drivers, and chefs. I will map out which meals need to go where for the next day, heading to our storage and distribution hub to help with stock management and logistics. In the evening I tend to work on ways to locate and sustainably support people in need of food.

"Last week alone – as a partner organisation in the Edinburgh Food for Good Coalition – we made more than 3,500 meals and rely on crowdfunding to support the operation.

"My message would be one of solidarity: to look after yourselves and each other. Together, communities have the strength to weather this storm."

LEE CRAIGIE, CARGO BIKE DELIVERY RIDER, EDINBURGH

"My usual job is as Active Nation Commissioner for Scotland where I work strategically to encourage people to walk, run or cycle to work/school instead of drive so that we might all be healthier and more environmentally aware. During this crisis, it feels important to act rather than just talk and so I am combining my love of bike riding with food deliveries. My partner and I have an Omnium (a normal bike with a long platform welded to the front) that can carry loads of up 100kg.

"Sustrans Cargo Bike Library have lent us an additional one and together we spend the afternoons delivering produce around for a zero-waste social enterprise, The Eco Larder. In the evening, we pick up surplus food from generous supermarkets and take it to homeless hostels so that organisations like Streetwork can continue to keep others safe and healthy.

"Riding around the streets it feels like we’ve all gone back to a time there were less cars so more people rode bikes and walked places, when we shopped locally, buying only what we need and had time for our family and neighbours. We can’t control things, but we can make the most of them."

ANGIE CAMERON, THERAPIST, EDINBURGH

"My big, big message is: Remember, this is temporary. Me standing in a 20-minute queue at Aldi is temporary. My emotions, my thoughts, this Covid-19, are all temporary. It can help to let go and not grasp too tightly. If you grasp tightly on to a handle, your muscles go white, but actually if you just let it go a wee bit, and you’ve got that looseness around it, it makes such a difference. It reduces our fear, our anxiety, our worry, our snapping at our kids.

"I’ve been holding mindful meditation sessions, which I used to do in person, on Zoom call. There are people doing it who wouldn’t always do mindful meditation, but I think people are being a bit more open-minded. After the sessions, people have got back to me saying, 'I’m so much calmer. It’s really helped me'.

"I’m also seeing in the psychotherapy that I do that what’s happening is bringing up some past trauma around loss and grief for people, which maybe will make them consider their own lives. It’s allowing people to take stock. There’s not one person that I’ve spoken to that’s not grateful for something right now. It doesn’t matter whether it’s spending time with their kids or not having the pressure. There are the negative sides. We’re all more skint – some more so than others. And, of course, there’s so much sadness. But if this could open us up to some gratefulness that would normally pass us by, then isn’t that beautiful?"

RT REV COLIN SINCLAIR, MODERATOR OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND

"There are many things we associate with Easter. The days are getting longer, buds and blossom are appearing on the trees and we see clumps of daffodils appearing but it doesn’t feel like Easter because normal life is on hold. Churches are closed, families are in lockdown and there will be no gatherings, picnics or Easter egg hunts.

"Yet perhaps we have a chance of understanding Easter in a new way. For the followers of Jesus, the start of the first Easter Sunday was not a special day. He was gone and their dreams, hopes and vision for the future died. So they, like us, that first Easter had no gatherings for worship and the disciples were in lockdown. But after the resurrection death was defeated, hope was reborn and that Friday was rebadged Good Friday. It seems to me that is a pretty good reason for us to celebrate Easter this year. Christ is risen – He is risen indeed.

"Hallelujah!"

SCOTLAND’S CATHOLIC BISHOPS

"The pandemic is afflicting the whole world and we pray for all those who have caught the virus, their loved ones and those caring for them. Our lives are greatly restricted and on Easter Sunday, the holiest day of the Christian calendar, we will not be able to go to church. It is hard but as Christians we know that the risen Lord is our hope. His suffering death and resurrection give us hope that we will recover, that life will get better and that our nation will feel the peace and love of the risen Christ.

"We also have hope in the ingenuity and the generosity of humanity. Though many uncertainties lie ahead, our hope and our determination to recover the lives we once lived is strong. We especially give thanks for the commitment and compassion of our medical professionals and we pray that all their decisions will respect the lives of the most vulnerable, entrusted to their care. We pray too for the researchers working to develop a vaccine and for our political leaders who must make difficult decisions. May God bless you all and our world this Easter."

Bishop Hugh Gilbert, Bishop John Keenan, Bishop Brian McGee, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop Leo Cushley, Bishop Joseph Toal, Bishop William Nolan, Bishop Stephen Robson