Holy Week and Easter at Christ Church

Palm Sunday processional cross.

It was a wonderful Holy Week and Easter at Christ Church this year! The older I get the more I look forward to appreciate each of the Holy Week services and I think the Easter Vigil is my favorite service of the year. I wanted to post some pictures from our week. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of every service, but am including what I do have for you to enjoy!

Monday Sung Compline.

The altar for Sung Compline.

Foot washing from the Maundy Thursday Service for families.

More foot washing.

Good Friday altar.

Good Friday cross.

First fire of Easter at the Easter Vigil.

Lighting the paschal candle for the Easter Vigil procession.

Baptism at the Easter Vigil.

Easter Day with butterflies!

Baptismal font and paschal candle at Easter.

The Easter Egg Hunt after Church.

Visiting with the Easter Bunny at the Egg Hunt.

Having fun with the Easter Bunny!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make our Holy Week and Easter services possible, and to everyone who attended!

As We Approach Holy Week...

Last Sunday in the True Vine Atrium the children created some lovely artwork. We used it decorate our prayer table and the children shared their work during our prayer. When I first read the psalm to the left with the artist I asked her "when do we open our eyes?" I was thinking of waking up each morning, as I always do with this scripture reading. The child surprised me by saying "when we are born!" We thought together about the beauty of the newborn proclaiming God's praise for the gift of life. I  was still pondering this response at prayer time, when I asked the group the same question. Wasn't I surprised when another child's first thought was for the moment of our birth?  It is such a blessing to ponder scripture with children!

We are drawing close to Holy Week! This Sunday we will be participating in the Last Supper Celebration in atrium. I love walking through the scripture together with the children as we share matzo and drink grape juice. You can learn more about this celebration in the post Last Supper Celebration. You can also see photos of last year's celebration here.

Our Family Maundy Thursday Service is coming up! We will gather at 5:30 pm in the Chapel on Thursday, March 28th for foot washing and Holy Communion. Holy Week is not an easy fit for the spirituality of young children, but this service speaks to them in a meaningful way with scripture they know and an acknowledgement of the death and resurrection of Jesus in a way that isn't frightening. It was designed especially with young children in mind - short and to the point! If you are local please plan to bring your family to this special gathering.

Love One Another

Little children, I am with you only a little longer...I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."

John 13:33a, 34

Photos from our Maundy Thursday Service for Families

Special thanks to parishioner Kimberly Shepherd,

 of Kats Eye on Life, for these lovely photos!

Last Supper Celebration

On Sunday we will have our Last Supper Celebration.  I look forward to this special day every year. As a group we are invited to experience the Last Supper with Jesus, just as his followers did. The children always seem to participate in this celebration with peace and joy, and it is a pleasure to be a part of it.

The Cenacle or Last Supper material helps to prepare the children for this celebration. We have recently presented it (or re-presented it) to everyone and many have chosen to work with it individually during atrium in the past few weeks. Receiving communion week after week is also wonderful preparation for the children for this celebration!

The celebration itself is fairly simple and is child-led. Before the celebration begins, each person is given a name tag with the name and a short description of one of Jesus' followers. One child takes on the role of Jesus. With a few children reading the lines and performing the actions of Jesus, Peter, and John, and the rest of us participating as Jesus' followers, we reenact the great moments of the Last Supper using the scripture reading from the Cenacle material. We also remember Jesus' death and resurrection. In the end, we sit together eating matzo, drinking grape juice, and singing some of our favorite atrium songs.

It isn't easy to snap a picture during a celebration, but I'll try to take one at some point on Sunday to share with you!

Save the Date: Our Family Maundy Thursday Service will be on April 21st at 5:30 pm in the Chapel. This is one of my favorite services of the year, in part because it draws upon the Last Supper Celebration for its inspiration, and because it resonates so well with the children. I hope to see you and your family there!