Palm Sunday and Holy Week at St Paul’s

Here’s what you need to know about Palm Sunday and Holy Week at St Paul’s.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is on 28 March. The 10.30am service will be live-streamed on YouTube as normal and the church will not be open.

You can collect palm crosses from 9.30am outside the side entrance if you would like one.

You can also pick up a Good Friday bag for the Good Friday services if you will be following these at home. The bag will have some things in it which may help your worship at home.

Maundy Thursday

Join us on Maundy Thursday as we remember the Last Supper, the night before Christ’s death. At 7pm, we will be having a short, reflective gathering on Zoom, looking at a few scriptures and what they might mean for us today. If you want to join, please email Rev. Dave  for the Zoom link.

When you join, please keep your camera off and microphone muted so we can sit and reflect in silence as we are guided through a short time of reflection.

Prayer and Bible study in Holy Week

The normal Bible studies on Wednesday and the daily midday prayer on Monday to Thursday will continue as normal. There will be no compline on Good Friday evening.

Good Friday

Good Friday is on 2 April. There are 3 services, continuing our tradition.

You can also can pick up good Friday bags for the afternoon’s services from 10am at the church side entrance if you will be worshipping at home. You can find more information about these bags and their contents below.

The services will be as follows.

12 to 1pm: our young people will lead the first hour for the kids on Zoom. The  church will not be open for this service, but you can pick up Easter activity packs for children, which will also be available at the church side entrance from 10am (separate from the Good Friday bags). These will have quizzes, stories and colouring for children. You can also download the activity pack. Please Sign up at Eventbrite to get the Zoom link.

1 to 2pm: parishioners’ hymns and prayers, around the cross. The church will be open for a socially distanced service, which will also be live streamed on YouTube. In the service, we will sing hymns chosen by some parishioners, who will explain why the hymns are special to them. There will also be a time of prayer. If you want to attend, please book in advance on Eventbrite, so we can manage the numbers.

2-3 pm: third hour at the cross. The church will be open for a socially distanced service, which will also be live streamed on YouTube. This service will be a quiet, reflective service, with Bible readings, prayers, music and a short sermon. If you want to attend, please book in advance on Eventbrite, so we can manage the numbers.

Stream for the 1pm service

Stream for the 2pm service

The Good Friday Bags

The bags contain some symbols of the passion of Christ. They include a:

• nail – a sign of suffering – Jesus was a trained carpenter so he knew the feel of nails, but he also ‘nailed’ the sin of the world, our sin, to the cross
• ribbon – a sign of sacrifice – usually blood indicates injury or death but the blood of Jesus cleanses and heals
• cross – a sign of death – but now it’s a sign that death does not define us, and it’s not the end for us
• stone – a sign of burial – these can be used to hurt others, but we are ‘living stones’ for the house of God
• candle – light of the resurrection – Jesus is the light that no darkness can extinguish
• chocolate – the sweet love of God in Christ – Happy Easter!

If you join the 2pm Good Friday service, at home or in church, you can hold each one these symbols as you hear about Jesus’ suffering, sacrifice, death, and burial during the service. You can take all the symbols in your hand and remember Jesus’ death.

At the end of the service, pick up the cross and ponder Jesus’ words “it is finished”. The cross is now emptied of its power of death. It is now a symbol of Jesus’ loving gift of forgiveness and love. As you hold the cross in your hand, ask God in Christ to help you fully receive that gift of forgiveness and love.

On Easter morning, light the candle safely and remember the love of God in Christ.

“Dreaming under the palms…..” by Bennilover is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0