April 2003
Most of the Holy Year hurtles along at breakneck speed, compressing the 33 years of Jesus’ life into about half as many weeks. But during Holy Week we slow down and share, in real time, Christ’s journey into Jerusalem, to the cross, and beyond. As sacred and profane time touch, we come to understand that journey more fully. And as our lives pace themselves with Christ’s, we realize one of the most profound elements of God’s grace and love: that what happened to Jesus happened because it happens to us.
Triduum proper starts on Maundy Thursday, April 17. At 6 p.m., we will share an agapé meal in the Family Room, followed by footwashing. At 7:30 p.m., Holy Eucharist and the stripping of the altar complete our observation of the Last Supper. From here it is but a short step to the garden, where at 9 p.m., a Gethsemane vigil begins before the Altar of Repose in the chapel. The Vigil ends at 12 noon on Friday. Good Friday, April 18, recalls the Crucifixion with the Liturgy of Good Friday and veneration of the Cross at 12 noon. From 1 to 3 p.m., the church will be open for reflections, hymns, and silent prayer, with periodic readings of the Passion Gospel. At 7:30 p.m., we will walking the Stations of the Cross; participants will have the opportunity to carry the cross. Music, with chant and hymns, will be a part of both the noon and evening Good Friday services. Holy Saturday, April 19, offers Prayers at the Tomb at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m., friends of the Easter bunny are invited to an egg-dyeing workshop in the Family Room (see “A Child’s Holy Week” on this page). Easter Day dawns on April 20. This year, the sunrise service actually starts before sunrise, at 6 a.m., with the Great Vigil of Easter, beginning in the darkness. As light breaks out of shadow, so will our vigil open into the traditional, choral Easter Eucharist (at around 7:30 a.m. for those who cannot attend the sunrise vigil portion of the service). You may come any time between 6 and 7:30 a.m. The Feast of the Resurrection will be celebrated with a full choral Eucharist at 10 a.m. also. |
Click on the above page to download the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of this issue of Saint Andrew's Net. The following chart is found on page 3 of the PDF version (it may be easier to read in that format).
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Holy Week at Saint Andrew’s begins on Palm Sunday, April 13, the Sunday of the Passion. On this day, the liturgy for both the 8 and 10 a.m. services begins outdoors with the Blessing of the Palms and a palm procession to commemorate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. Both services continue inside with a congregational reading of the Passion Gospel. We thus begin with the joy of victorious arrival and end in the darkness of suffering and betrayal. To dramatize this difficult voyage, the youth of Saint Andrew’s will walk the Way of the Cross outdoors at 5 p.m.
