During Lent & Holy Week we respond creatively to the stories of our faith drawing on the gifts of our community and in the context of our desire to live as followers of the risen Christ.
2024
Throughout Lent we explored and responded to the questions ‘What are we turning away from? What are we turning towards?’.
Beginning our Holy Week journey we marked the significant turning point in the story of Easter with Jesus’ provocative entry into Jerusalem. On Maundy Thursday we read Mark’s telling of Jesus Passion with a Tenebrae service. On Good Friday we read from John’s gospel with a series of responses and reflections. We lit a fire on Easter Dawn and then the new Christ Candle. And later we celebrated the Risen Christ by flowering the Cross and sharing Holy Communion.
This special edition of the Olive Branch offers the story of Holy Week in words and photos.
2023
Each week during Lent this year we walked the purple path to the Cross following the Passion Narrative from Matthew’s gospel.
Beginning our Holy Week journey on Palm Sunday we rewound the story to remind ourselves of how Jesus got here, then moved through to his last Supper and the journey to the Cross. On Easter Day we went to see the tomb with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and celebrated the Risen Christ, the new beginning in the Gospel with baptism and Holy Communion.
This special edition of the Olive Branch offers the story of Holy Week in words and photos.
2022
Inspired by Rita Broadway’s artwork during Lent we explored Christian pacifism and non-violence, redemption and transformation, witnessing to truth, the horror of war and asked the questions ‘Where is paradise? and Who belongs there?’
Our Holy Week journey took us all the way back to the beginning with Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Jerusalem, his last Supper and the journey to the Cross. On Easter Day we found the tomb empty and celebrated the Risen Christ.
This special edition of the Olive Branch offers the story of Holy Week in words and photos.
2021
We travelled the long Lenten journey with Jesus, reflecting on the gifts of the covenant, the rainbow arch of God’s love, the promise of descendants, the gift of the Ten Commandments, the promise of healing in the desert and the law of love written on our hearts.
In Holy Week we entered Jerusalem, remembered Jesus’ last Supper and travelled the long hard way to the Cross.
On Easter Sunday we gathered at dawn to light the new Christ and candle and later at 9:30 we found ourselves in front of an empty tomb.
Christ is risen!
2020
‘Our doors are closed, but our hearts are open.
We remain committed to worshipping our steadfast loving God in community.’
We worshipped through Holy Week together in our homes.
The worship committee (Saide Cameron, Kirsty Bennett, Amelia Ware, Natalie Sims, Helen Burnham, Jenne Perlstein, Jim Kilpatrick, Dave Hall, Valentina Satvedi) has delighted in working together in smaller teams to plan worship for Holy Week in these challenging times. Preparation for Holy Week has been the work of many voices, much thought, preparation and planning. So many thank yous to offer …
Christ is risen!
Read more here, pages from our May Olive Branch.
2019
During Holy Week we carried our Lenten listening on a pilgrimage through our worship.
We sang a pilgrim’s greeting – ‘Peace, Salaam, Shalom’.
We marked our listening with a story staff, beautifully sculpted and carved by Colin Hunter.
We remembered and placed the stories of our time alongside Jesus’ story.
We responded to the Bible readings:
Jesus says, ‘Take up your cross and follow me’ – By your strength in me, O God.
We prayed, we sang, we grieved, we shared bread and wine.
We listened, remembered and celebrated together as God’s pilgrim people.
Read more here, pages from our May Olive Branch.
2018
Holy Week was an amazing experience of engaging with the central stories of our faith through actions, prayers, story telling, images and rituals. We drew on the rich traditions of our faith, our local customs and the enormous generosity, gift and talents of our congregation. Thank you to the musicians, many of whom played and sang in two or more of the five services, to Jenny Hunter and Valmai Brunlow for the beautiful floral displays that became our Easter Garden and to everyone else who worked behind the scenes to make this week so memorable and amazing.
Read more here, pages from our April Olive Branch.
2017
- Ian wrote about the Lenten journey in his Meditation in the March Olive Branch.
- The Nourish Lenten series invited us to wonder about God’s welcome.
- The Lenten theme of welcome was carried through the Holy Week series and our beautiful welcome banner reminded us again and again of the welcome that we receive in God’s heart and at God’s table.
2016
Our worship during Holy Week was shaped by the prayers that we offered
- writing prayers for the time of trial on Maundy Thursday
- creating a Prayer Garden on Good Friday with objects and symbols from Ash Wednesday, Lent and Maundy Thursday and writing prayers on black crosses to place in the garden
- recreating the Prayer Garden on Easter Sunday and praying the prayer of the flowers opening up in new life to the sun
Read more here, pages from the April 2016 Olive Branch
2015
Stories to come …