March 27 Easter Day

The Paschal Triduum or the Three Great Days

Maundy Thursday, March 24, 7:00pm: We celebrate the Liturgy  washing the feet of those who wish to participate.  The Eucharist is celebrated and the Sacrament remaining is conveyed to the Altar of Repose.  We conclude with the stripping of the Altar and the darkening of the Church.

Over the last several years, the attendance at the Maundy Thursday Liturgy has declined.  I’d like to encourage you to attend.  It is an amazing Liturgy particularly in the way it concludes.  As the Altar Guild strips the Altar and the Choir chants Psalm 22, the Church gradually grows darker.   For evening services we are able to light the window over the altar which really looks nice.  Without the lights the window would just be a black hole.   At the end of the psalm, we turn off the lights on the window.   This same dark window is where we will begin the Great Vigil of Easter, or Easter morning.  

Good Friday, March 25, 12:00 noon: The Liturgy includes the Passion according to St. John, the Solemn Collects for the Church and the World, and the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified where we consume the Sacrament consecrated on Maundy Thursday and placed on the Altar of Repose. The liturgy concludes around 1:30pm.

Preparations on Holy Saturday, March 26: Preparing the Church, the breakfast, and the Easter Eggs is a wonderful opportunity for parishioners to enjoy one another in an atmosphere of fun and anticipation. You are all urged to come by and help out.

Easter Day

Great Vigil of Easter, March 27, 5:45 a.m.   The Easter Vigil is the central and most important Liturgy of the entire Church year.  Everything we do as Christians leads to and flows from  the Easter Vigil.  

We begin the Great Vigil with the Liturgy of the Light, the New Fire being kindled in the Church by one of our parish children. The wonder of this liturgy is made palpable for us as the Resurrection window gradually fills with light as we hear the stories of God’s mighty acts to save his people.

If we are lucky, by the time we get to the baptism, the sun comes over the hill, streams through the back windows, and floods the Church with light as we cry, “Alleluia, Christ is Risen!” After the Eucharist, we emerge into the new day to Easter Eggs and our parish breakfast.

The children in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd are in Church for the Exsultet then go to the atriums for their own Liturgy of the Light.  We’ll also have childcare in the nursery.

 Festal Choral Eucharist at 10:15 a.m.  We’ll conclude Easter Day with this liturgy at our normal worship time.  There will be childcare, and following the service there will be Easter Eggs for the young and young at heart to hunt, and coffee hour as well. 

Holy Saturday March 26  Activities

“It was the Day of Preparation”   St. Luke 23:54

 9:00 a.m. Altar Guild and people to help

The Altar Guild will prepare the Church for Easter.   This will involve a more expanded set up of the Altar.   Also we’ll be setting up the candelabra, aisle candles, folding chairs, and putting offering envelopes in the Large Print Bulletins. 

 In addition we’ll do some extra cleaning, especially those hard to reach places.  We could use help from parishioners to join in with the Altar Guild in making the Church ready.

9:00 a.m.  Set Up the Parish Hall for the Easter Breakfast

We could use a few more hands to help set up the tables and chairs in the Parish Hall and help set out the decorations.  The Fruit Czarinas welcome help in cutting up the fruit for the breakfast as well.   The table and chair set up will go very quickly.  It will take only about  30 minutes.  We will be using tables and chairs from Hillsides as well as our own.

Those contributing Breakfast Food.

Your breakfast offering should be pre-cooked.  They will be re-heated in the ovens on Easter Morning.  You can bring it to the Parish Hall anytime on Saturday and leave it in the refrigerator.  The Parish Hall doors will be unlocked all day.  Feel free to bring your creation anytime.   Everyone is invited to contribute something.   We are planning on 85 people in attendance.  So please plan accordingly.

For Easter Day itself

All the ovens will be turned on before the Easter Vigil begins.   A couple of people have volunteered to help get things in the oven and then out for the breakfast.   Anyone who wants to help with this is welcome.  You can come over to the Parish Hall after getting Communion if you like. 

We’ll also need everyone’s help in breaking down the tables and stacking the chairs.  We’ll keep ours separate from Hillsides.