Holy Week Services

Sunday, April 1
Palm Sunday 9am & 11am
(This service celebrates the day that Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem and was proclaimed by the people. It begins as a joyful service with palms and singing as we process around the church, but it turns ominous as we come to see that the same people who celebrated Jesus turn against him and call for his crucifixion. The three highlights of this service are the procession around the church, the reading of the entire passion narrative and the leaving the church in silence.)

Wednesday, April 4

Tenebrae 7pm
(This is a sparse service of the reading of the psalms and lesson. And in fact it is the sparse nature of the service that makes it so attractive. Through the psalms we look in great detail at God’ s plan for redemption and our human response. We also enact symbolically Jesus’ going down into darkness.)

Thursday, April 5

Agape Meal 5:30pm
(Join us before the service for a simple Agape Meal. The word Agape means love and it refers to the love feasts of the early Christians. It is a time of fellowship and prayer as we begin the central part of Holy Week.)

Maundy Thursday Service 7pm

(This is a powerful service. We commemorate the first Eucharist, the washing of the disciples’ feet and the betrayal of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. The highlights of this service are the washing of feet, the chanting of Psalm 22 and the deeply moving stripping of the altar.)

Vigil at Gethsemane All Night Long

(Jesus asked his disciples in the garden if they could just watch with him for one hour. Over the night we try to honour that request by sitting with Jesus for an hour. We overlap the watches so that there is someone in the church throughout the entire night. Many people find this a moving time of prayer and silence. You can pray in silence, write in a journal, follow the devotional materials provided, study Holy Scripture or do your own devotionals. Whatever you choose to do, I think that you will find it a powerful experience.)

Friday, April 6

Good Friday Liturgy 10am
(This service is the liturgical reflection on the death of our Lord Jesus on the cross and the burden of sin that he bore. It is a stark service and opens us up to the depths of God’s love for us. The service is designed to make us look deeply within ourselves to look at our own sins and failings and where we profoundly need the healing of the cross. The highlights of this service are the reading of the passion story according to St. John, the presentation of the wood of the cross and the partaking of the pre-sanctified Sacrament. After this last part there is no more sacramental presence of Jesus in the church and the presence light is extinguished.)

Saturday, April 7

Great Vigil of Easter 7pm
(The death of Jesus is not the end of the story. In fact the whole Christian story is the movement of darkness to light. This service tonight is the most important service that we celebrate all year. This is the celebration of God pouring new life into a dying creation through the awesome Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The highlights of this service are the lighting of the new flame, the singing of the central hymn of the church, the Exsultet, the renewal of the Baptismal vows and the renewed consecration of Sacrament. It is truly a celebration of joy.)

Sunday, April 8

Feast of Resurrection
Easter Sunday 9am & 11am
(This Sunday morning is the Sunday on which every other Sunday is patterned, because every Sunday celebrates this great and central truth: God pouring life into the world and into all of our lives through the Resurrection of Jesus. The Christian faith is about life, more life and abundance of life. This morning we gather as a family of Christians to celebrate and praise God for all of his goodness. The highlight of this service is the sheer joy of new life.)