April 2015 – Pastor Anthony’s Letter

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In last month’s article, I wrote about the 40 days of Lent as we had just begun this penitential season. Now we are coming to the end of these 40 days, which will indeed come to an end on Maundy Thursday. And before we begin the 50 days of Easter, which is what we look forward to in Lent, we first will go through a three day feast called the Triduum (meaning “The Three Days”). These three days are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. This is one worship service that is stretched over three days. We begin the Triduum with Maundy Thursday, where we recount and remember the command (or mandate) that Jesus gave his disciples, “Do this for the remembrance of me.” This service will be hosted by St. Peter beginning at 7:00 pm. Then on Good Friday we return to the church to continue the three day feast, and during this portion of the service we re-count and remember our Lord’s crucifixion and death. This service will be hosted by Waverly beginning at 7:00 pm. Then on Holy Saturday (the night before Easter) we return once again to the church to conclude the three day feast with the Easter Vigil. During this portion of the service, we retell the foundational stories of our faith in creative, dramatic ways. We also see, hear, and feel the transition from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, the transition from darkness to light, from death to life. We then finally conclude our three day feast with a festive reception to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. The Easter Vigil service will be hosted by Trinity beginning at 6:30 pm with a New Fire!

Holy Week is certainly an important time for us Christians. It is the week where we slow down and remember the road that our Savior took to the cross for the forgiveness of all of our sins. I highly encourage you to make the Triduum a priority this year (and every year). In order to fully see and experience the beauty of the three day feast, it is important to attend each day of the Three Days. If you can’t make all of the services, please come to the ones you can. Services like this only happen once a year. Plus, the Easter Vigil is unlike any other service that you have ever been to.

Blessings to you as we approach the holiest of weeks. The week were we come to worship, re-ceiving the full promise of forgiveness and absolution of our sins, and praise God for the sacrifice that He made on the cross through Jesus’s death and resurrection. Blessings to you and I look forward to seeing you at the Triduum, the three day feast of our Lord’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

In Christ,

Pastor Anthony