RECTOR'S MESSAGE

Rev. Debra Vanover

Greetings to all who call The Church of 

the Holy Nativity home!  

A Prayer for Easter Morning

Help us to remember,

Make us to be certain that there is nothing in time or in eternity which can separate us from you, so that in your presence we may meet life with gallantry and death without fear. 

You turn our darkness into light, in your light we shall see light.

Please join us for these Holy Week and Easter activities and services

Palm Sunday

Passion Gospel

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Luke 22:14 - 23:5

The 7:30 am service on Palm Sunday will include a reading of the Passion Gospel.

The 9:30 am service will begin with a procession into the church; parishioners are asked to gather outside the church before the service. The service will also include a reading of the Passion Gospel.

Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday, in the Christian tradition is the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion and resurrection.

 

Many churches today begin their Palm Sunday service with a procession of palms (leaves of the date palm or branches from locally available trees) and follow with a reading or enactment of the Passion Gospel. These special ceremonies may have begun toward the end of the 4th century in Jerusalem and were described in writings from that time. During the Middle Ages in Europe, the Palm Sunday ceremony was quite elaborate: the procession began in one church, went to a church in which the palms were blessed, and returned to the church in which the procession had originated for the singing of the liturgy.

 

Passion plays grew out of the liturgy of the Catholic Church and  were highly popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, sometimes featuring hundreds of actors. Over time, the play became more secularized and were even banned in some areas by Catholic authorities. However, several versions of the play survived and experienced a revival beginning in the late nineteenth century. The longest running currently-performed passion play is the Oberammergau Passion Play, which has been performed since 1634 by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany.

Holy Nativity Passion Gospel Reading, March 20, 2016:

7:30 service Narrator: Bonnie Stevens Jesus: Rev. Vanover Other roles: Kim Garner

9:30 service Narrator: Ed Moore Jesus:  Tom Simpson Peter: Sumner Howard Disciple: Wyn Aubrey-Child Servant 1: Kathy Otani Servant 2: Lila Johnson Servant 3: Kathy Otani Soldier 1: Bob Nelson Soldier 2: Noah Zitz Elder 1: Cindy Ramirez Elder 2:  Jeanne Nelson Elder 3: Erin Zitz Pilate: Mark Slovak Criminal 1: Steven Taylor Criminal 2: Lynn Simpson Centurion:  Jeff Taylor

Easter Sunday

Parishioners are invited to bring fresh flowers and greenery to decorate the cross on Easter morning.

Please also bring refreshments to share during coffee hour after the service.