THE sky really is the limit as Southampton area churches spread the Easter message across the city.

This morning 27 churches will be releasing more than 2,000 red balloons at 11.30am.

Katie Coles, from Southampton Christian Network, which is organising the launch, said: "For too long the church has been known for the things it is against.

"This is about churches in the city joining together and saying what we're for. The Easter story is about hope and new life, and as churches together in Southampton, we want to share the hope that we have for individuals, for communities and for our city as a whole."

Each balloon will have a handwritten message or prayer of hope for the city attached to it, many of them written by children.

Southampton City Council and Air Traffic Control have approved plans for the event, which should provide quite a spectacle as the balloons go up from many different districts including Bassett, St Mary's, Eastleigh, Swaythling, Highfield, City Centre, Stoneham, Portswood, Bevois Town, Bitterne, Shirley, Banister Park, LordsHill, Freemantle, Millbrook and Weston.

This event is inspired by a nationwide initiative which is being rolled out this year called HOPE 2008.

As part of this, churches will be working together again in teams during May on some of the estates in the city.

They are planning to serve their communities by clearing rubbish, painting fences, running various community events for all the family and offering practical help to anyone who wants it.

Nationwide, churches are expected to contribute over a million hours of kindness to their communities over the year.

At Highfield Church children from the area were today creating an Easter Garden and in the evening there is a theatre event, called Redemption Song.

A moving portrayal of the Easter story, which starts and ends at the cross, it was being staged by the Riding Lights Theatre Company. It has been touring the United Kingdom throughout Lent.

City Life Church, which meet at Cantell School, Bassett, Southampton, will be spreading the Easter message across the nearby Flower Estate by delivering chocolate eggs.

The Easter spirit is also flowing through another giant Southampton estate.

The Holy Trinity Church is spearheading community events over the weekend with a litter collecting competition and an Easter egg hunt.