2010 HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SERVICES

 
Children of all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend any or all of the Holy Week services with their families, especially the Maundy Thursday Liturgy and Agape Meal.

PALM SUNDAY/PASSION SUNDAY: March 28th, 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.: Holy Eucharist

• Liturgy of the Palms
• Reading of the “Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke”
• Holy Week Presentation: “Come Journey with Us through Holy Week” by Father Perry
• Special Children’s Activities

  
Our services on Palm Sunday begin in Phelps Hall with the Liturgy of Palms as we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover. The mood is celebrative as we bless palms before processing joyfully into the church. Our worship then takes a dramatic mood swing as we enter into Passion Sunday!  We shift our thoughts to the events surrounding the last 24 hours of Jesus’ earthly life as we read the “Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke.” A program for preschool children and Church School children will be held in Phelps Hall with children joining their families for Communion.

Following our worship (around 11:30 a.m.), you are invited to join us in Phelps Hall for our coffee hour featuring a special presentation “Come journey with us through Holy Week” led by Father Perry. The program will focus on the events of Holy Week as depicted in Scripture and experienced through the liturgy of our Holy Week services. It will include a slide presentation (of photos taken during Father Perry’s 1990 trip to the Holy Land) of modern day sites where key events of the Passion occurred. We will provide a special program for children who do not wish to participate in the talk.

WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK: March 31st, 7:30 p.m.: TENEBRAE

The name Tenebrae (the Latin word for “darkness” or “shadows”) has been applied to the ancient monastic services held at night and in the early hours of the morning during Holy Week. The format of this quiet and serene service provides an extended meditation upon, and prelude to, the events in our Lord’s life between the Last Supper and the Resurrection.

The service begins in a slightly darkened church with seven lighted candles on the altar. Our worship progresses through a series of seven readings from the Book of Lamentations with accompanying psalms and the gradual extinguishing of the candles and other lights until a single lighted candle remains – a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ. When even this candle is hidden from view, we are reminded of the dark hours surrounding Jesus’ death and of the hope that is to come with the morning of the Resurrection.

MAUNDY THURSDAY: April 1st:    6:30 p.m. Agape Meal
   7:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Liturgy & Holy Eucharist 

• Agape Meal
• Celebration of the Institution of Holy Eucharist
• Recognition of Members of the Church School Communion Classes
• Beginning of the Prayer Vigil

The Agape Meal recalls an early Church tradition in which all who gathered for Eucharist came with food to share in a common meal. This feast was motivated by Christ’s witness to share all things in common and when linked with the Eucharist became known as the Agape (the Greek word for “love”) Feast. The Agape Meal also provides a prelude to and anticipation of the Last Supper. We will celebrate this tradition by a pot-luck meal of soup, bread, wine/ juice, cheese, olives, fruit, nuts, and raw vegetables – foods that typically accompanied the first Agape Meals.  Sign-ups for the meal and the food you wish to bring are available in the church and the parish hall. You may also sign up by calling the parish office.

Our Maundy Thursday liturgy recreates the events surrounding Jesus’ Last Supper and his arrest in the Garden. At that Passover meal, Jesus institutes a new meal – the Eucharist – with the words, “Do this for the remembrance of me.” During the meal Jesus washes the feet of the disciples, accepting the role of servant. We reflect on this moment during the foot-washing ceremony. Finally, the service ends abruptly with the altar stripped, and the congregation departing in silence, reflecting the confusion experienced by the disciples after the arrest of Jesus.

PRAYER VIGIL: April 1th & 2th  9:00 p.m. Thursday to 12 noon Friday

  
In keeping with Jesus’ command to the disciples to “watch and pray” as the events surrounding the arrest, trial and crucifixion unfold, we commit ourselves as a parish family to keep a continuous prayer watch from the Maundy Thursday service through noon on Good Friday. To that end we are asking people to sign up to “keep watch and pray” either at the church or at home at some point during this span of time. Watch for the sign-up sheet and commit yourself to spend a half hour or more reading, praying or keeping quiet time so that we might fulfill Jesus’ command. Whether you sign up or not, we encourage you to spend some time during these hours to reflect on the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday.
Sign up in the church or by calling the parish office.

GOOD FRIDAY: April 2nd, 12 noon & 7:30 p.m.: Good Friday Liturgy

• Reading of the “Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John”
• Solemn Collects
• Veneration of the Cross
The Good Friday Liturgy will include the reading of the “Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John,” followed by a sermon designed to help us meditate on the indescribable gift of love that God offers us from the cross. It is followed by prayers for the Church, the nation, the world, and for all people, offered in the hope that God’s acts of love will bring to fruition the Kingdom of God for all people. The service concludes with the veneration of the cross by which we contemplate the awesome power of the cross as the foundation of our faith.

The church will also be open for those wishing to spend time in prayer. Booklets containing the “Way of the Cross” will also be available for those who wish to make this devotion part of their Good Friday ritual.

SATURDAY IN HOLY WEEK: April 3rd, 7:30 p.m.: THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER

  
•   The Lighting of the Paschal Candle
•   The Liturgy of the Word: The Story of the History of Salvation
•   The Renewal of Baptismal Vows
•   The First Celebration of Easter Eucharist
The Great Vigil of Easter is considered the Christian Passover. It is a service whereby we remember the story of God’s redeeming work with God’s people from the time of Creation to the Resurrection of Jesus. The Vigil represents the transition between the death of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day, and is structured in two distinctive parts.

The first part of the Vigil recalls Jesus’ descent among the dead. It begins in darkness. Jesus is dead and all that sustains us is the hope of God’s promise that the Son of God will live again. That hope is kindled by a “new fire” as a single candle, the Christ or Paschal Candle, is lighted. As the candle is brought into the church, all congregational candles are lighted – signs of hope among us. The glory of Christ is proclaimed, the story of God and God’s promise of hope to the people is shared through the readings recalling the Creation, the flood, the Exodus, and the message of the prophets. We then remember that it is through baptism that we share in and claim that promise. Processing out of the church into the night we follow Jesus “from the darkness of sin and death” back to the doors of the church, “the gates of heaven.” Lead by Jesus, and knocking at the gate, we throw the doors open and reenter the church, now ablaze in light and decorated for our Easter celebration. With song and praise we celebrate the first Easter Eucharist!
This ancient service full of drama and imagery is the one service that you will not want to miss!!!

EASTER DAY: April 4th, 6:00 a.m.: Sunrise Service at Gilead Congregational Church

  
Join us for an ecumenical sunrise service at Gilead Congregational Church. The service will include prayers, the Easter gospel and an Easter reflection led by the Hebron clergy, all as a prelude to watch the sunrise at 6:29 a.m. All are welcome to this beautiful and special service.

EASTER DAY: April 4th, 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.: HOLY EUCHARIST

  
The traditional Easter Day services will be held at St. Peters at 8:00 (Rite I) and 10:00 (Rite II) with music and festive procession! There is no Church School today. Children are encouraged to join their families for our Easter celebration. At the 10:00 a.m. Eucharist there will be moments in the service when children will be engaged in special ways, including a children’s homily and music presented by the children of our Church School and our newly formed youth choir.

Easter Flower Donations:

  
If you wish to donate Easter flowers in memory of a loved one or in thanksgiving for
a special blessing in your life, please use the Easter Flower sign-up form in the back of
the church. We must receive your request no later than Monday, March 29th to have your
memorial be included in the Easter bulletin. If you have any questions, please contact the
church office.

2nd SUNDAY IN EASTER: April 11th, 10a.m.: EASTER PAGEANT & PARISH LUNCHEON

  
This Sunday will mark a fitting climax to our Easter celebration for young and old alike as we relive the Easter story which forms the heart of Christianity. Please note the detailed article in our fundraising section of this newsletter.

PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE (860-228-3244) …  If you or someone you know are unable to attend our Easter Day services and would like Father Perry to arrange for a home communion or if you need a ride to any of the services.