Maundy Thursday gets its name from Latin ‘Mandatum’, meaning commandment. Jesus said, ‘This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you’. We share a meal at St Oswald’s as Jesus and the disciples did the night before he died. (Bring food with you, so that others can share yours and you theirs.)
The service at 7 p.m. includes Passover food that Jesus would have eaten – bitter herbs, salt water, ‘haroseth’ – a mixture that looks like mud: and crackers without yeast – as the Israelites ate on the night they left Egypt. Each item carries meaning. Finally the Church remains open from 8-10 p.m. for silent prayer in the semi-darkness of this beautiful place. Come to whichever part of the evening you wish.
Good Friday begins with Messy Church at 10 a.m. at St Oswald’s – crafts, games, story and food, for an hour.
The Three Hours service 12-3 p.m. at All Saints takes us through the seven ‘words’ Jesus spoke from the Cross. A hymn, silence and prayer follows each of the ‘words’. Come and go in this service, or stay for it all; it gets better the longer you stay!
At 3.30 p.m. Morrisons on Mayo Avenue have allowed Churches in BD5 to sing Good Friday and Easter hymns for an hour. We will have buckets out for the Sudan; shoppers are amazingly generous.
Easter Day is our biggest festival of the year. To the words, ‘The Lord is risen’ remember to reply, ’He is risen indeed!’