HOLY WEEK PLANS.
Our Holy Week begins this Sunday (5th April) of course, with Palm Sunday.
Below is a free Church of England resource – with services, readings, hymns, prayers – which covers all the different parts of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday. It is a large resource with plenty to use to guide your prayers, reflections and worship this week. We include it as a resource that you may want to use personally or you may prefer to dip into it on specific days.
In the week ahead: Daily, excluding Good Friday, we will share on here on our website on our home page ‘Holy Week Thoughts’, and our Church Facebook Page ‘All Saints Anglican Church’, ‘An Encouragement & Something to Think On’, written by different members of our congregation, for each day of Holy Week. This is to help you – in a few minutes, via one of the bible passages for the day, some thoughts, a suggested hymn and a prayer to use – to journey through Holy Week. These daily encouragements and thoughts, will be available from the start of each day, starting on Monday 6th.
Link to ‘Holy Week Daily Thoughts’
Good Friday Service. ‘Reflection’ .
A service with songs and bible readings which all tell and reflect upon the important and awe inspiring events of Good Friday. We hope you will be drawn in love to the cross, and will know deeper the Lord’s sacrificial death for you and the great love he has for you. A service has been prepared. It will be made available on Youtube from 1200 on Good Friday. However, we invite you to join in worship together at 1930 on Good Friday, as it has been our tradition at All Saints to meet on that day in the evening.
Good Friday Service Page (below link):
Good Friday liturgy:
Easter Eve / Holy Saturday.
Apart from the ‘Encouragement and Something to Think On’ for that day.
A personal Easter Vigil. From earliest times, Christians have considered on Easter Eve, the story of God’s saving work, from creation through to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So can I, Grant, encourage you, this year, to also to take a short time during the evening of Easter Eve, to read through one, some or all of these readings to help prepare ourselves for Easter Morning, the greatest act of salvation. Each of our passages reflect on God’s saving work in the Old Testament…
Genesis 1:1- chapter 2:4a – The Creation
Genesis 3 – The Fall
Exodus 3:1-6 – Moses and the Burning Bush
Exodus 12:1-24 – The Passover
Exodus 14:10-end & 15:1
Jonah 1 – chapter 2:10 – Jonah and the fish
Jeremiah 31:31-34 – New heart
Ezekiel 37:1-14 – Life out of death.
Easter Sunday
Of course, Holy Week does not end with burial, but with the glorious Resurrection! We invite you to join us in worship and celebration, in our online service.
Easter Sunday service link:
Easter Sunday liturgy – to join in with the worship:
I pray for each of you to have a blessed Holy Week, where we draw close to the Lord.
A prayer we can be praying this week:
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have won for me, for all the pains and insults you have borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.