Holy Weekand Easter 2017
United Benefice of
St Andrew & St Martin, Droylsden
Introduction
This booklet is designed to help each of us walk through the events of Holy Week in step with our Lord. It contains details of all that we will be doing during Holy Week and material which will help aid our reflection in times that we are alone during the week.
Prayers and readings are provided for each day. If you are unable to be present at any of the services of Holy Week and Easter you may like to find a quiet space away from the busyness of ordinary life and take time to reflect on the readings, to wait in silence and to use the prayers set for the day.
This year we are joined by Father Dennis Berk of the Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield and he will be preaching and most of our services. We give thanks to the Community for sharing him with us this Holy Week and Easter.
Palm Sunday – Sunday 9th April
Readings:Liturgy ofPsalm 118:1-2, 19-24
Palms:Matthew 21:1-11
Liturgy of thePsalm 31:9-16
Passion:Isaiah 50:4-9a
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 26:14-27:end or
Matthew 27:11-54
Collects:Almighty and everlasting God
who in your tender love towards the human race
sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
to take upon him our flesh
and to suffer death upon the cross:
grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,and also be made partakers of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah:
grant us the faith to know you and love you,
that we may be found beside you
on the way of the cross,
which is the path of glory.Amen.
Post Communion Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
you humbled yourself in taking the form of a servant,
and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation:
give us the mind to follow you
and to proclaim you as Lord and King,
to the glory of God the Father.Amen.
Services:9.15amHoly Communion Service with Parade – St Andrew
10.45amHoly Communion Service – St Martin
Monday in Holy Week – 10th April
Readings:Psalm 36:5-11
Isaiah 42:1-9
Hebrews 9:11-15
John 12:1-11
Prayer:Loving God, though your Son you walked the way of the cross, each step leading you inexorably to suffering, humiliation and death. We know it, and yet we continue to marvel, for such love defies human logic and transcends anything we can give in return.
Open our hearts during this day and this week, so that we might glimpse again the wonder of your grace. Give us insight into all it involved, all it cost, and all it meant; and through that same grace, we ask you, help us to respond. Amen.
Services:
10:30amEucharist with Blessing of Oils and Renewal of Vows at Manchester Cathedral
At this service, led by our Bishops, the oils that are used in the churches throughout the diocese for anointing the sick, for signing the cross at baptism and for confirmations and ordinations are blessed. The Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Readers and authorised lay ministers also renew their commitment to serve Christ in this service. All are invited attend the service.
7.00pm Evening Prayer – St Andrew
A peaceful, reflective service using music from Taizé to help us reflect on the start of this Holy Week and Jesus’ journey to the cross.
Tuesday in Holy Week 11th April
Readings:Psalm 71:1-14
Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
John 12:20-36
Prayer:True and humble king,
hailed by the crowd as Messiah:
grant us the faith to know you and love you,
that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross,
which is the path of glory.Amen.
Service:
7.00pmEvening Prayer – St Marin
A peaceful, reflective service using music from Taizé to help us continue with Christ on his journey to the Cross.
Wednesday in Holy Week – 12thApril
Readings:Psalm 70
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32
Prayer:God of love, passionate and strong,
tender and careful:
watch over us
and hold us, all the days of our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Services:
10.00amStations of the Cross – St Martin
We will follow in the footsteps of Christ from Pilate’s House to Calvary using the stations (images) on the walls around church. At each, we will pause for prayer, just as pilgrims have done for centuries in Jerusalem. (Please note, there will be no service of Holy Communion on this morning at St Martin’s).
7.00pmEvening Prayer – St Andrew
A peaceful, reflective service using music from Taizé to reflect with Jesus as he approaches his final days.
Maundy Thursday – 13thApril
Readings:Psalm 116:1, 10- end
Exodus 12:1-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Collects:God our Father,
you have invited us to share in the supper
which your Son gave to his Church
to proclaim his death until he comes:
may he nourish us by his presence,
and unite us in his love;
Amen.
Post Communion Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank you that in this wonderful sacrament
you have given us the memorial of your passion:
grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries
of your body and blood
that we may know within ourselves
and show forth in our lives,
the fruit of your redemption,
for you are alive and reign, now and for ever.
Amen.
Services:
7.00pmMaundy Thursday event with Hotpot Supper, Footwashing, Holy Communion and Stripping of the Sanctuary – St Martin
Just as Jesus met with his friends to enjoy a meal, we will meet together to share a meal during which we will reflect on the Last Supper. For those who wish, there will be the opportunity to have their feet washed as a symbol of our humble Christian service. We will share in the bread and wine as we remember the Institution of Holy Communion. The service ends with the stripping of the Sanctuary in which all but the wooden furnishings are removed to symbolise Jesus being stripped after his arrest. If you wish to come, please add your name to the sign up lists in each church or contact Jo (0161 330 4925)
Followed by the Watch – St Martin
This will last for one hour for those who wish to stay and prompts us to remember Christ’s words to his disciples in the garden of Gesthemene ‘Could you not watch with me one hour?’ and the agony of Christ as he awaits his arrest.
Good Friday –14thApril
Readings:Psalm 22
Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9or
Hebrews 10:16-25
John 18:1 – 19:42
Collects:Almighty Father,
look with mercy on this your family
for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed
and given up into the hands of sinners
and to suffer death upon the cross;
who is alive and glorified with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.Amen.
Eternal God, in the cross of Jesus
we see the cost of our sin, and the depth of your love:
in humble hope and fear, may we place at his feet
all that we have and all that we are,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
Services
10.00amHour at the Cross – St Andrew
A reflective service in which we contemplate Jesus’ last hours and reflect on the immensity of his love and the extent of his sacrifice.
12.00noonOpen Church for prayer – St Martin
The church will be open for prayer. Refreshments will be available in the kitchen throughout the two hours.
2.00pmHour at the Cross – St Martin
As we sit at the foot of the cross, we share in the desolation of Jesus’ family, friends and followers who watched as the Son of God hung dying in front of their eyes. We reflect on the cross and its impact in our lives today, marvelling at the gift we have received through Jesus.
Holy Saturday (Easter Eve) – 15th April
Readings:Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16
Job 14:1-14
Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24
1 Peter 4:1-8
Matthew 27.57-66 or John 19.38-42
Collects:Grant, Lord,
that we who are baptized into the death
of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
may continually put to death our evil desires
and be buried with him;
and that through the grave and gate of death
we may pass to our joyful resurrection;
through his merits,
who died and was buried and rose again for us,
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
In the depths of our isolation, we cry to you, Lord God:
give light in our darkness
and bring us out of the prison of our despair;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
Services:
10.00amEaster Saturday event – St Andrew
We join with our Methodist and URC partners to prepare the church for Easter Day. We will begin with an act of worship reflecting on this time of waiting between Jesus’ death and his resurrection. We will then spend time together with crafts for children, preparing the church for our Easter Day worship accompanied by toast, Hot Cross buns and drinks. All our welcome, young and old alike!
8.00pmThe Easter Liturgy – St Andrew
This service marks the end of the emptiness of Holy Saturday and leads us to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The Easter Candle is lit from a fire and processed into church celebrating Christ’s light in the world. We hear the record of God’s saving deeds in history in a series of reading from the Bible. As Easter was traditionally a time for baptism, we renew our own baptismal vows and then celebrate the eucharist as a climax of our celebration that Christ is risen indeed.
Easter Day – 16th April
Readings:Psalm 118:1-2; 14-24,
Jeremiah 31:1-6;
Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-18; Matthew 28:1-10
Collects:Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise and honour, glory and might,
now and in all eternity.Amen.
God of glory, by the raising of your Son
you have broken the chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned
and the way to life stands open
in our Saviour Jesus Christ.Amen.
Post Communion Prayer:
God of Life, who for our redemption gave your
only-begotten Son to the death of the cross,
and by his glorious resurrection
have delivered us from the power of our enemy:
grant us so to die daily to sin,
that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his risen life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Service:
9.15amEaster Day Communion Service – St Andrew
A celebration for all ages to rejoice that Jesus is alive.
10.45amEaster Day Family Communion followed by Easter Egg hunt – St Martin
A joyful celebration that Christ is risen indeed.
God the Father
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
strengthen you to walk with him in his risen life;
and blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.