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Distribution and blessing of palms |
Along with
Christians around the world our week begins
with the keeping of
Palm Sunday. We
remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into
Jerusalem. The church is decorated with
palm branches to remind
us of the welcome
Jesus received in Jerusalem. The dramatic reading
of the events of that first Holy Week remind
us that although Jesus
was given a royal
welcome at the beginning of the week, the days
that followed would see him suffer and die. We
each receive a palm
cross to take home to
remind us of the depth of God’s love for us
every day of the
year. |
| On the
Tuesday of Holy Week we meet for a
modern version of the
Stations of the Cross
service. We sit in stillness and watch some
selected scenes from Mel Gibson’s "The Passion
of the Christ". These
are mixed with pieces of
music and words of prayer and meditation.
We
sing hymns too – and all to remember the journey of Jesus to
Calvary. The presentation is both creative and
moving. After the
service there is a period of
calm and quiet reflection as people are
lost
for words having experienced anew the events Jesus went through
for us all. |
From the film "The Passion of the Christ" |
|
From the film "The Passion of the
Christ" |
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Table for Passover service |
On Maundy
Thursday we meet
for a Passover
Seder. We sit at long
tables and share the traditional Passover meal
which is so special in the Jewish calendar as
a reminder of how God
desires everyone to live
in freedom from oppression. The traditional
readings and prayers are read and we recall
how the last meal Jesus
shared with his
friends was a Passover meal. Andy, our pastor,
celebrates a simple service of Holy Communion
at the end of this
meal wearing a Talith - a
Jewish prayer shawl. The altar is lit by a
menorah and is covered with the rainbow flag
of freedom. We pass the
bread and wine to each
other and know that Jesus is with us, as He
is
so specially, every time we share Holy Communion
together. |
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Celebrating the Passover Seder |
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Attenders at our Maundy Thursday
service |
| On Good
Friday we meet in church for a solemn yet
simple remembrance of
the death of Jesus. This
service has a quiet simplicity. We are
invited
to take a pebble from a basket and imagine that it
represents our own personal sorrows, troubles
and sins. These we
then leave at the foot of a
wooden crucifix, trusting Jesus to lead
us to
brighter days. We pray for our world and the Church
remembering Jesus' great sacrifice at
Calvary. |
Our pastor prostrates himself before the
cross |
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Renewal of baptismal vows |
On Easter
Day we enjoy a joyful celebration of the
reality of the
resurrection in our Communion
service. We remember the bewilderment
of those
who first looked into the empty tomb, "they have taken Our
Lord away", and realise that these words
resonate with our own
community who have been
made to feel unwelcome in many churches.
Thankfully Jesus appears anew to those first
disciples and to us
seeking to love and care
for everyone. We traditionally renew the
baptismal vows of existing members and receive
new members into the
church at Easter and this
adds a special joy to our Easter
celebrations. |
Please visit our Holy Week and Easter sermons by checking the
March and April dates in our sermon
archives:
Archive 2002 | Archive 2003 | Archive 2004 | Archive 2005 | Archive 2006 | Archive
2007 | Archive 2008 |
