On Good Friday Noon, we meet at OSLC with our ecumenical friends to recall Jesus’ last hours and death. Our service is adapted from a service currently used on the Via Dolorosa, the “way of sorrows,” which pilgrims and local Christians in the Old City of Jerusalem still walk, often carrying an old wooden cross. At each station along the way, the pilgrims stop to hear scripture, to pray, perhaps to sing.
At 7:30 in the evening, we gather for Prayer Around the Cross in the tradition of Friday prayers at the Taizé, Iona and Holden Village communities.

The Easter Vigil, Saturday night’s service, is perhaps the least familiar to many of us. Just as people keep vigil at death’s bedside, we too gather to keep vigil, to watch and wait for the Lord of the Resurrection. We come, as Christians have come since the first century, to keep vigil and to prepare ourselves for the arrival of the Bridegroom who is chief host and guest at the Easter feast to come.
This is a night of holy and elemental mystery, and the service is full of contrasts and paradoxes—between darkness and light, death and life, chaos and order, slavery and freedom. We begin outdoors, breaking the darkness of night with the kindling of the new fire and lighting of the Easter Candle. It is the light of Christ which burns on the Paschal (Easter) candle, and which is lit during baptisms and funerals throughout the year, reminding us at such important moments that we are a resurrection people. We then process into the church, lighting our candles from the Paschal Candle, and hear the words of the Exultet, words which proclaim this light that vanquishes darkness and evil.

Once inside, we settle in to begin our vigil. What do people do while keeping vigil? They tell stories, of course … and that is what we will do. We will hear the family stories, the ones we tell to remember who we are and where we come from. Beginning with creation, the stories cover a lot of ground, from floods to sacrifice to God’s promise of a new life. As we wait, we will listen, we will laugh, we will sing, we may sigh and get impatient for the feast. This is all part of vigil, part of the preparation.
Easter Vigil has been a traditional night in the church for baptisms, particularly for bringing in adult converts to the faith. This year we are blessed to be celebrating a baptism. We all participate by renewing our baptismal vows, remembering the grace given to each of us, and dedicating ourselves again to a life that is always looking for and welcoming the Living Christ.
And at last, the long-awaited hope is fulfilled. The watch is over; we hear the proclamation of Easter—Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Bells are rung in joyful abandon, and we sing of Christ’s resurrection. The first communion of Easter is then shared, a precious, anticipated meal. After the service, the celebration continues with champagne and strawberries—a feast befitting such a night.
Please join us, and remember to bring a bell! Any kind of bell will do—jingle bells, dinner bells, whatever you have. We especially welcome children—there is much to see and be involved with in this service. Parents of young children may want to dress them in pajamas and bring blankets and soft toys so their children can settle down in the darkness to sleep or take breaks with their children in the nursery, if necessary.

Students are especially encouraged to make Holy Week services part of their spiritual discipline prior to Easter this year. The Three Days (Triduum) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil (Saturday) are brimming with opportunity for deeper understanding of these salvific events. And following the Easter Vigil on Saturday, gather for a celebratory Easter Feast with Matt and Monte Peterson and other young adults at The Parsonage (2 Brook Road)!