Come on down…our little ones and those ‘young at heart,’ to the St. Nicholas Easter Egg Hunt.
After the Easter Sunday liturgy (March 31st, 10 am), the hunt for sweet treasures begins in both the Gathering Space and in Holy Innocents Hall.
And…rumor has it the Easter Bunny, who will be on hand has already hidden the Golden Egg some place, somewhere in the building. Whoever finds this egg also wins the Easter Basket.
Lots of fun and good things to share. All are welcome!
From the service booklet for the Triduum we’ll use tonight:
Fellow servants of our Lord Jesus Christ: On the night before his death, Jesus set an example for his disciples by washing their feet, an act of humble service. He taught that strength and growth in the life of the Kingdom of God come not by power, authority, or even miracle, but by lowly service, and he commanded them to follow his example by washing one another’s feet.
Therefore I (the Presider, Father Manny) invite you who share in the royal priesthood of Christ to come forward, that we may follow the example of our Master, remembering the new commandment that he gave this night, “Love one another as I have loved you. By this shall the world know that you are my disciples: that you love one another.”
This evening, we will answer Jusus’ commandment to serve one another in this ritual by symbolically washing each other’s hands. Two basins have been prepared along with pitchers of water and towels. Our Senior and Junior Wardens will approach Father Manny to have their hands washed, then they will wash the hands of the next to approach the basin. We will all take turns washing the hands of the next in line. As the last person approaches, then Father Manny will come forward to have his hands also washed.
Maundy Thursday of Holy Week: this evening marks the beginning of the Triduum. We reach back to the beginning of Lent to recall the confession we made on Ash Wednesday. This service is clearly different from the regular flow of the Eucharist as we celebrate it weekly, because what we commemorate this evening is different. Tonight we begin a celebration that will not end until the exultant conclusion of the Great Paschal Vigil. Tonight, we hear the words of forgiveness in a new way. It is only with the knowledge of being forgiven that we can engage the rest of the story. We watch and we eat a last supper with Jesus. We hear him offer all of himself to us, even his body and blood. We end the service with the stripping of the chancel. Adornment after adornment leaves the sanctuary as the words of the psalm drift through the air, and we are reminded of what this love will cost Jesus. We leave the service lingering. It is holy time.
At St Nicholas, for the second year in a row we’ve decided to add hand-washing to this traditional service, because of the realities of the Chicago-area flu and cold season. It encourages more people to come forward, who might otherwise not have wanted to expose their feet or for whom it’s very uncomfortable to walk barefoot.
In related news:
Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on Thursday next week by washing the feet of prisoners in a youth detention centre in Rome, the Vatican has said.It says the pontiff is continuing a pre-Easter practice that began when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. Normally feet-washing Masses before Easter are held in the Vatican or a Rome basilica.
But Pope Benedict held a feet-washing Mass at the same Casal del Marmo youth detention centre in Rome in 2007.Pope Francis will stage his feet-washing ceremony at Casal del Marmo on the afternoon of 28 March.
The washing of feet on the Thursday before Easter is a Christian tradition dating back to the time of Christ. During the service, the pope washes and kisses the feet of 12 people to replicate the Bible’s account of Jesus Christ’s gesture of humility towards his 12 apostles on the night before he was crucified.
via BBC News – Pope Francis to wash feet of prisoners in pre-Easter Mass