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Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter Services
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The Christ Church Community Update
Friday, April 15, 2011
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Whoever you are, and wherever you
find yourself on the journey of faith, you are welcome at Christ
Church, as you are, to receive the blessings of God so freely given.
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April 17--Palm Sunday
9 AM--The Liturgy of Palms and Passion, with Choir, Holy Eucharist
10:15--Palm Sunday Procession with the Church School to the Burial Ground
11 AM--The Liturgy of Palms and Passion, with Choir and Sermon (no Eucharist)
April 18 and 19--Monday and Tuesday in Holy Week
12 PM--The Holy Eucharist
6 PM--Evening Prayer April 20--Wednesday in Holy Week
12 PM--The Holy Eucharist
7 PM--Tenebrae Tenebrae, meaning "Shadows" is a service of Psalms and other traditional readings preparing us for the great three days to follow.
Special Music: Couperin's The Lamentations of Jeremiah
April 21--Maundy Thursday
12 PM--The Holy Eucharist 5:30 PM--Agape Parish Potluck*
7 PM--The Liturgy Commemorating the Institution of the Last Supper, the Foot-washing, and the Stripping of the Altar
* Offerings are traditionally meat, cheese and grains in the tradition of the Middle East and Mediterranean
April 22--Good Friday
12 PM to 3 PM--The Liturgy for Good Friday, Meditations on the Meaning of the Cross, and a Service of Healing
7 PM--Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ is offered by the String Quartet, with the prayers for Good Friday
April 24--The First Sunday of Easter
5 AM--The Great Vigil of Easter at Sunrise and the First Eucharist of Easter 9 AM--Festive Eucharist with Choir, Hymns and Sermon 10:15 AM--The Easter Egg Hunt in the Churchyard 11 AM--Festival Eucharist for the Feast of the Resurrectionwith Brass, Percussion and Choir The Holy Week and Easter Schedule is found online here.
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Greetings!
The pilgrimmage of Holy Week is a great blessing. The week is an unfolding drama of joy, betrayal, watchfulness, meditation, sustenance, conflict, resolution and resurrection. Through these seven days, we will proclaim with our lips and lives that "Good is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death; and victory is ours in Christ who loves us." (Archbishop Desmond Tutu) Some notes: - On Palm Sunday, both congregations gather at 10:15 in the park to the south of Christ Church for an outdoor Sunday School class with the Church School about the events of the day, and then we process through Old City to the Burial Ground, passing out blessed Palms to all the city's visitors and residents.
- The Holy Eucharist is offered each noonday through Thursday.
- Tenebrae, on Wednesday, is a service of psalms, beginning at 7 PM, while our church is still light, and concludes as the shadows (tenebrae in Latin) lengthen and darkness consumes the light. We pray that enough light is left in our too often dark world to kindle a new fire on Easter. Parker Kitterman, Cecilia Wagner and Marianne Lipson offer the beautiful music of Couperin: The Lamentations of Jeremiah.
- Maundy Thursday at 7 PM includes the liturgy of foot-washing. None must, all may participate. Wear shoes and stockings easy to remove. Sandals, flip-flops, Crocs all welcome.
- If you've never heard Franz Joseph Haydn's string concerto, The Seven Last Words of Christ, you've missed one of the church's greatest musical meditations for Good Friday. Renown Philadelphia violinist David Yang and his quartet offers this moving music on Good Friday evening, 7 PM.
- On Easter Sunday, the 9 AM and 11 AM are glorious, but also consider coming to Christ Church in darkness, arriving at 5 AM, and kindling a fire from branches from our burial ground, lighting one candle, and then following it into the dark church to witness the sunrise. Each year, many come to this service, go for brunch and then return for the blaze and glory of 9 and 11 AM.
This week, please consider making an Easter offering to Christ Church in addition to your pledges in thanksgiving to God for the blessings of life, the joy of Easter, and the hope of resurrection. We open our doors to more than a thousand visitors this week, stretching us financially. Help us give Christ Church away to them, and the world beyond. Please use the special Easter envelopes in our pews, or contribute through our website (registration required, for security. Use the email address to which this email has been sent). I eagerly await sharing the blessings of the week ahead with you. |
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Tea Sandwich makers needed
Christ Church needs about 1000 tea sandwiches for our festive Easter Sunday reception after the 11:00am Service on April 24. One loaf of thinly sliced bread makes about 50 tea sandwiches, so we will need 20 or more parishioners to assist with this reception. If you are able to contribute and/or need a good tea sandwich recipe, please contact Cecilia Wagner at 215-922-1695, ext. 21 or cwagner@christchurchphila.org.
Agape Pot-Luck Dinner On Maundy Thursday
On Maundy Thursday, April 21, we will gather together for an Agape pot-luck dinner at 5:30pm in Neighborhood House. Please bring a dish to share in the tradition of the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
Good Friday Children's Program
We will offer a special afternoon for our Church School children on Good Friday, April 22 from noon to 3:00pm Leza Kramarenko along with volunteers will lead our Church School children (ages 4 and up) in a special "Last Supper" presentation in which they will act out the parts of Jesus and the disciples. Lunch will be included. Parents are encouraged to drop off children at noon so they may attend church. Registration is needed. Parent volunteers are invited to participate for any portion of the time. Please see Leza for volunteer sign-up. Childcare for infants to 3 years old will be available in the nursery. To register your child, please see Leza in the Atrium Church School or contact her at elezavetak@gmail.com.
Egg Hunt In The Churchyard
Our egg hunt will be held Easter morning, April 24, at 10:10 A.M. in the churchyard. Don't forget to bring a basket! Atrium 2 church school (ages 7-10) will be closed on Easter. Atrium 2 children are warmly welcomed in big church during our 9:00A.M. and 11:00A.M. Services.
Parish Work Day
Please join us tomorrow for the parish work day. 8:00A.M. to 2:00P.M. Come for an hour or two to help clean and polish the Church and Neighborhood House for Easter. Many hands make light work, so join your fellow parishioners for some volunteer light labor, bring a friend and we'll all have fun doing it!
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