6 April
Dear Friends,
I want to begin with a word of thanks to everyone who picked up responsibility for the service last Sunday in my absence. Particular thanks to Heleen for leading and Giles for reading the sermon. It was so interesting to hear the service online rather than see it. There’s something to be said for the simplicity of sound in a culture where we are constantly bombarded with images.
It has been a privilege to be back at the ERC just as restrictions were lifted and I am very much looking forward to the services that lie ahead from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. The tradition in which I grew up didn’t have Holy Week services. Easter Sunday was recognised as special, but the big focus was on an Easter Monday conference our church hosted each year. The normal pattern on Easter Monday was to have two preachers for an extended afternoon service, a tea of sausage rolls, sandwiches and cake served around 5pm and then off we went again for another extended service with another two preachers. Four sermons, lots of hymns, a musical item or recitation in each service – can you believe it? You might be surprised to know that the church was usually full afternoon and evening! For us children the only fun part was getting to eat as much cake as we could manage and being allowed to play outside (quietly) for at least part of the afternoon. The tradition has long since died out in all but the most conservative and determined of churches. I can’t say I miss it.
I suspect that, to the people I grew up with, the tradition of having services on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then Sunday at Easter is every bit as extreme as the Easter Monday conference! However, the range of themes with which we will be able to engage over the next week, the readings, the hymns and excellent music that’s planned, will be uplifting and helpful for us all. The opportunities to worship and reflect together are a very precious privilege and, however useful being able to follow online might be, I appeal to those of you who are unhindered or unrestricted in health or mobility to plan to join with us as much as you can. The gospels record that Jesus’ family, like many others, travelled from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Passover festival – they even left him behind on one occasion. Easter is our great festival; we look forward to seeing you.
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Special services for the Holy Week
Please note that the services below will not be livestreamed.
Thursday 14 April, 20:00 hrs
Maundy Thursday service with Holy Communion. In this service we focus on Jesus’ final supper with his disciples and the institution of what we know as Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. The Lectionary readings are focused on John 13 exploring Jesus’ example of love for his disciples and his call for us to be known for our love for one another. The service is generally held in the chancel and is a more intimate experience of communion than is normally possible.
Friday 15 April, 20:00 hrs (Devotional Music from 19:30)
Good Friday service including music and choir. Good Friday services are designed to provide the opportunity for reflection on one of the key moments at the heart of the Christian faith, the crucifixion of Jesus. Excerpts from the text of John 18 & 19 will be used to guide us through the events and a selection of wonderful hymns have been chosen to complement the readings.
A special feature for the Good Friday service will be the 30 minutes of devotional music that Richard has compiled, which he will begin playing at 19:30. The Choir will sing twice during the service and their final contribution, the very moving Into your hands I surrender my soul, will be sung as the closing act of worship in our service. Other than participation in readings and hymns the service is marked by silence and time for reflection. We enter the building in silence and leave in silence. The Good Friday service is both moving and dramatic, feeding both the soul and the senses.
Saturday 16 April, 21.00 hrs
Service of Light and Renewal of Baptismal Vows. This is a new experience for me as I have never designed or led a Service of Light before. Some traditions observe the Easter Vigil, a time of readings and reflection running from Saturday night to Sunday sun rise. The Service of Light is drawn from this tradition and is a time to mark Jesus’ transition from death to resurrection. In this service we will observe that transition from death to life. We also light the new Paschal candles which will be lit in the entrance hall and brought into the church to replace last year’s candles at the front, beside the communion table. As Easter Day was often the occasion when new converts were baptised, the Service of Light is now taken as the opportunity to renew baptismal vows.
These three services are our way in the ERC of marking the key events of Holy Week and are a unique opportunity for renewal and reflection. In a world of the busy, the instant, the tweet and the material, Holy Week offers a different vision and perspective on life lived in the presence of the God who walked with us, suffered for us and lives to bless us.
David McMillian
(Locum minister)