Holy Week at Church of the Redeemer - Part 3
Good Friday often feels ironically named to us, as it is the most solemn and painful day of the Christian year. What is good about the day we killed Jesus? But in the observance of Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion, we truly and fully see the goodness of the God who is willing to be placed fully in our hands and even to die for us and for our salvation.
We mark Good Friday with two services. The Liturgy of the Hours begins at noon and goes until 3pm. This service is one of spoken and musical reflections that occur every half hour. The focus is on the cross and death of Jesus, and people are welcome to join or to leave any time throughout the service. Some come for all three hours, while others come for a portion, and still others come and go, finding a quiet place in the church building for solitude and prayer, then returning to the Sanctuary. What is known as the Proper Liturgy for Good Friday begins at 7pm. This service includes a dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative from John’s Gospel. The veneration of the cross then occurs, during which you are invited to come forward, kneel at the foot of the cross, hammer a nail, or light a candle.
Next week we journey to Easter and how we rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ with the Great Vigil of Easter and Easter Sunday services.
Tags: Notices
