Lent and Holy Week at St. Anne’s

Contemplating Those Mighty Acts: The Journey From Holy Week to Pentecost

The Rev. M. Dion Thompson

By Way Of Introduction

The technical term for Easter in the ancient Church was Pascha, a Greek word derived from the Hebrew pesakh, or ‘Passover.’ Our English name for the feast is borrowed from an old pagan festival of the Anglo-Saxons in honor of their goddess of spring, Eostre. Although the Jewish Passover celebration lasted but one week, the early Christians extended their observance over the whole fifty-day period to and including Pentecost. The season was considered a commemoration not only of the Resurrection, but also of all ‘those mighty acts’ by which our Lord brought redemption to men – the new Passover from the bondage of sin and the assurance of new life and eternal victory in the Kingdom of God. Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary.  To read the full text of Dion’s forum, please click here.

Evening Prayer

St. Anne’s will offer the Daily Office of Evening Prayer Saturdays at 5:30 PM throughout Lent. The rest of the year, services take place Monday through Friday in the Chancel, also at 5:30 PM. On Fridays during Lent, the service concludes with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, with congregants meeting in the Holy Family Chapel. While there are some records of evening prayer at St. Anne’s going back to the 19th Century, the current iteration has been offered continuously each weeknight since 1987, as part of a venerable tradition. Services are lay-led, as is customary throughout the Anglican Communion. For more information, contact Jer Chambers, *protected email*.

Maundy Thursday Simple Supper and Service

April 18 – 6:00 PM –  Parish Hall

All are welcome to join in our Simple Supper and Service on this holy night as we remember with one another the love shared by Jesus at his last meal with his friends.

“A new command I give you: Love one another.” John 13:34

Come and be nourished as we remember. 

During our supper we will share Holy Communion together at our tables as Jesus did with his friends.  At the end of the meal there will be an opportunity to witness or enter into foot washing (optional) and proceed as a group to the church for stripping of the Altar. Click here to sign up!

For information contact:
Heather Strang at 443-995-3820 or  *protected email*.

Maundy Thursday All-Night Vigil

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” – Matthew 26:36

Will you watch with Jesus?  Spend some time in thoughtful prayer at St. Anne’s overnight vigil. The observance of Maundy Thursday doesn’t end with the service … it continues throughout the night into Good Friday.  For these powerful hours, we are invited to watch and wait with our Lord through his painful struggle and then stand with Him outside the gates of Pontius Pilate’s palace, again watching and waiting.  In this quiet time, we can reflect on Jesus’ path, feel his lonely struggle to accept the will of God, the danger he faced and the terrifying events of his ultimate act of love and redemption.  For these hours, the Holy Family Chapel serves as the altar of repose, where we may stay and watch with our Lord through the night.  Details, hours and how to sign up for the vigil are here. On-site security will be available all night.

Walk the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday – April 19, beginning at 10:00 AM in St. Anne’s Church

This year members of the faith communities of First Presbyterian, St. Mary’s, First Baptist, Asbury Methodist, St. Philip’s and St. Anne’s will walk the Stations of Jesus’ Cross together.  Along the road there are 14 stations, places we will stop for a short meditation and prayer.  This spiritual discipline links Jesus’ path to Golgotha so long ago with our modern world today. For example, last year local reporter Wendy Winters walked the Stations with us only a few weeks before being brutally murdered, along with four other newspaper employees here in Annapolis. We will pray for all who are victims of the violence humanity continues to inflict on one another. We will make our way from the Court House and remember Jesus’ trial, to a garden, to a remembrance of Mary his mother. We will walk up the main street of our town and to our state’s capital building, to an old jail site where there was a public lynching, to a community center where children are cared for. We will end at Asbury Methodist Church listening to the spiritual, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The walk will take approximately 90 minutes. Please wear appropriate walking shoes.

Children’s Liturgy of the Light and Egg Hunt

 
On Saturday, April 20 at 2:00 PM, we invite you to celebrate the Church’s greatest Feast: The Resurrection of Jesus. The children will tell the story and celebrate the great event of Easter; the moment when Jesus was raised from the dead! Children and their families will gather at the entrance of the darkened church to light the Paschal Candle; come into the church to hear the Easter Story and make a joyful noise, with shouts of Alleluia!  Join the festivities! Older children are invited to narrate the story, and younger children are invited to sing an Alleluia song.  After the liturgy, children will proceed to the lawn for an egg hunt. Don’t forget to bring an Easter basket or bag to collect eggs. Parents and volunteers are needed to help with the egg hunt. Also, plastic eggs filled with treats are needed. Eggs may be dropped off at the church office during regular business hours or brought to the church by 1:30 PM on Easter Saturday. Contact Connie Saeger if you are able to help at *protected email* or 443-808-1361.

Holy Week Services

Sunday, April 14

  • Palm Sunday Holy Eucharist at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 AM
  • Jazz Vespers on Palm Sunday at 5:30 PM

Monday, April 15

  • Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM

Tuesday, April 16

  • Holy Eucharist at 12:10 PM
  • Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM

Wednesday, April 17

  • Holy Eucharist at 8:00 AM
  • Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM

Thursday, April 18

  • Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM
  • Maundy Thursday Service with Simple Supper, Holy Eucharist, and Foot Washing in the Parish Hall at 6:00 PM followed immediately by Stripping of the Altar at the church.
  • All-Night Vigil

Friday, April 19

  • Stations of the Cross at 10:00 AM
  • Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM
  • Reading of the Passion and Solemn Collects at 7:00 PM

Saturday, April 20

  • Children’s Liturgy of the Light at 2:00 PM, followed by an Easter egg hunt
  • The Great Vigil of Easter at 7:00 PM

Sunday, April 21

  • Easter Holy Eucharist at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 AM
  • No 5:30 PM service