The centre of Christian faith is the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Consequently the celebrations of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding with Easter Sunday are the central worship event of the Christian Year. Of this week, the 72 hour period from Maundy Thursday evening through to Easter Sunday evening is the most significant. Known as the Triduum, these three days are not so much a period in which we celebrate a series of disconnected worship services; rather, the Maundy Thursday service, the Good Friday service, the Easter Vigil, the Sunrise Service and the Easter Sunday service are joined together as one long worship time during which we go home for rest breaks. So let us consider what is going on during Holy Week and the Triduum in particular.
Easter Vigil service
2012 Apr 7, 8:00 pm
As the sun descends on Good Friday, we begin the second day of the Triduum. We reflect and pray on our own as we recall the deep grief of Jesus? followers, especially those who carried his lifeless body to the tomb. We recall this together as we begin the vigil in darkness. As the day fades and the night comes, we move into the third day of the Triduum. As we recall the sacred story, we celebrate how death is transformed into life, and darkness gives way to light. We kindle new fire and light our new Christ candle. We give thanks for the gift of baptism through which we share in Jesus? risen life. We will begin the night with an hour long service where the vigil will begin. Throughout the night youth and adults will be invited to hold vigil in the sanctuary for as long as they like and at whatever hour they feel called to be in the sanctuary. Some may choose to come to the service and stay for a while longer and pray in the silence and darkness of the sanctuary, while others may choose to come in later. We will ensure that at least one person is always present to the Christ candle in the sanctuary until sunrise the next morning. Watch for the sign up sheet in memorial hall.
Easter Sunrise service
2012 Apr 8, 7:00 am
Location: Outdoors on the Promenade, 100 Av & 121 St
We will gather together as the sunrises to great the new day. As a community we will celebrate the resurrection in the morning light and announce again the Easter story, the Good News that Jesus Christ has risen. We will gather at the church after the service to share breakfast together.
Easter Morning service
2012 Apr 8, 10:30 am
We gather to celebrate the highlight of our third day of the Triduum with an intergenerational (Whole Family) style of worship, with the children and youth remaining with the rest of the congregation throughout the service. For the joyful music of Easter, the organ and Choir of Robertson-Wesley are complemented by the bright accents of brass, all brought together by music director Tammy-Jo Mortensen.
Together, the services of Holy Week are a journey with Jesus in his last week. As we come together in prayer and reflection from Maundy Thursday through to Easter Sunday, may these three days be a time of both reflection and renewal for us all.
