Celebrate Holy Week at St. Albans!

St. Alban’s has a full week of services during Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday! Everyone is welcome and we look forward to meeting you!

 

Sunday March 25th, Palm Sunday, 9:30am Liturgy with Procession                      (beginning in the Parish Hall)

Monday March 26th, Morning Prayer, 10:00am

Tuesday March 27th, Morning Prayer, 10:00am and Seder Dinner, 6:00pm              (Please call the office for reservations.)

Wednesday March 28th, Morning Prayer, 10:00am and Office of Tenebrae, 7:00pm

Thursday March 29th, Morning Prayer, 10:00am, Maundy Thursday Liturgy, 7:00pm         (Watch before the Altar of Repose: continues until 7:00pm Friday.)

Friday March 30th, Morning Prayer, 10:00am, Stations of the Cross, 12:10pm and Liturgy for Good Friday and Mass of the Pre-Sanctified, 7:00pm

Saturday March 31st, Liturgy for Holy Saturday, 10:00am and Great Vigil of Easter, 7:00pm

(Brief explanations of Services listed below.)

Sunday April 1st, The Sunday of the Resurrection! Service @ 9:30am

Service explanations:

Palm Sunday

The Sunday before Easter, when the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is celebrated in many Christian churches by processions in which palm fronds are carried.

Seder Dinner

The ritual meal which commemorates the events of the Exodus is called the Seder. The primary aim of the Seder is to transmit to future generations the story of the Exodus, the central event in Jewish history. Ideally, a family gathers around a table in its own home to celebrate the Seder, sharing in a meal which symbolizes their consciousness as a people and their faith in the future. The Exodus story pertains to all persons, since it tells of the right of all persons to be free.

Office of Tenebrae

This service anticipates the church’s ancient prayers for the last three days of Holy Week. Tenebrae means “shadows” and refers to the gradual extinguishing of candles and lights as the service proceeds, until only one candle remains.

Maundy Thursday

Is the Christian holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter. It commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels, and gives us the warrant for all of our celebrations of Holy Communion.

Watch of the altar of repose:

After the Maundy Thursday service during Holy Week, the pre-sanctified Bread and Wine are processed into the Chapel. During the all-night vigil, parishioners are invited to sit, to meditate, pray and read at any time from the close of the Thursday Liturgy till the beginning of the Good Friday evening Liturgy.