Celebrating Holy Week in the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Manchester

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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. St Chrysostom’s 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"

Table for Passover service

On Maundy Thursday we meet in Hulme Hall Chapel near church 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.

Celebrating the Passover Seder

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

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:

Celebrating Holy Week and Easter

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