Holy Week & Easter

Holy Week & Easter 2014
@ St. Ann & the Holy Trinity
Palm Sunday – April 13
9:30 am • Early Church
11:15 am* • Holy Eucharist
*Liturgy of the Palms and Procession begins at 11:00 am at the church entrance on Clinton Street
Maundy Thursday – April 17
6:00 pm • Agape Meal a simple supper in the Parish Hall
7:00 pm • Liturgy for Maundy Thursday with foot washing and stripping of the altar
Good Friday – April 18
12:00 Noon • Stations of the Cross
12:00 to 3:00 pm • Silent Vigil in the Church
3:00 pm • Family Liturgy
7:00 pm • Liturgy for Good Friday
Easter Sunday – April 20
9:30 am • Early Church – Outdoor Service (weather permitting) on the north lawn
(Clinton Street Side), followed by an Easter Egg Hunt!
11:15 am • Festival Eucharist with Choir and bells!
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We pray for another blessed Holy Week and Easter at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, as our Lenten journey through the wilderness once again leads us onto the path of Christ’s passion and crucifixion, and from the cross to the joy of the Resurrection.
Holy Week begins on April 13, Palm Sunday, with a traditional Liturgy of the Palms and Procession. This year our procession starts at 11:00 am outside the church entrance on Clinton Street (corner of Montague Street) and proceeds around one square block, led by the cross and choir. As we return to the front entrance of the church, we move into the sanctuary for a Choral Eucharist at 11:15 am.
On April 17, Maundy Thursday, all are invited to our Agape Meal, a simple supper of soup and bread in the Parish Hall at 157 Montague Street, at 6:00 pm. A celebration of the Holy Eucharist commemorates Jesus’s Last Supper with his disciples and features the traditional foot washing. The service ends with the chanting Psalm 22 as the altar is stripped. The congregation leaves in silence and darkness.
Good Friday at St. Ann’s, on April 18, offers many opportunities to commemorate Christ’s death for the sake of humanity. The church is open from 12 noon to 3:00 pm for prayer and reflection. At 12 noon, we pray the Stations of the Cross that highlight Jesus’ steps along the via dolorosa. And at 3:00 pm, we introduce a new child-focused Family Liturgy that incorporates the praying of the Stations of the Cross as well. The Good Friday Liturgy at 7:00 pm features members of the choir chanting the story of Christ’s Passion from the Gospel according to John.
On Easter Day we celebrate Christ’s victory over death and the promise of new life first at Early Church at 9:30 am, held in the north garden (on Clinton Street, weather permitting), which is followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for children, and again at a Festival Eucharist at 11:15 am, with choir and bells! Members of the congregation are encouraged to bring bells to ring in the hope of transformation for ourselves and for our world embraced in this great feast of the church.