St Andrew, Accrington

The Great Easter Triduum, where we celebrate the great events of Easter, marks the holiest days of our Church calendar. In our Parish, we have a history of celebrating these days together across the churches, and this year will be no exception. Join us as we enter into this mystery, and walk with Jesus in his Passion, Death and Resurrection.

On Maundy Thursday, 28 March, we will gather at St Mary Magdalen's Church at 8.00 pm, for the Liturgy of the Last Supper. At this Mass, we will hear the account of Jesus giving us the Eucharist as our Christian meal, equipping and nourishing us for the life we lead together. We will recognise that at the Last Supper, Jesus not only gave his disciples bread and wine to mark his Body and his Blood, but that he also gave us a new commandment to love one another, as he knelt down and washed his disciples' feet.

We will do the same, as the priest washes the feet of a number of the congregation, both as a re-enactment of this act of service which Jesus offered, but also an acceptance of the command to love and serve that Jesus gives to his Church. At the end of the Mass, some of the Blessed Sacrament will be transferred to an 'Altar of Repose', set up in our Lady Chapel, to remind us of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus spent some time in prayer before he was arrested and taken to be crucified. We too will watch and wait, as a vigil of silent prayer is kept until midnight. All are welcome to join us for this vigil for as long or as little as you are able (feel free to go away and come back if that is more convenient).

On Good Friday, 29 March, we once more gather in St Mary Magdalen's at 3.00 pm for our celebration of the Lord's Passion. This is one of the oldest services of the Church, where we hear the solemn readings, and join in the proclaiming of the Passion Narrative from John's Gospel. We then spend some time in prayer, and after this a wooden cross is brought for veneration, and we are invited to come forward and give thanks for Jesus dying on the cross for each and every one of us. Finally, the Blessed Sacrament from the night before is brought to the altar, and we receive Jesus's Body in Holy Communion, before leaving to watch and wait for the joy of the Resurrection.

In the darkness of Holy Saturday (30 March) night, we will gather at 8.00 pm at St Andrew's Church for the Easter Vigil. This is the most important service of our Church year, when we begin outdoors with the lighting of the new fire. From this we light our Easter candle, and follow it into Church to light the way as we listen to a number of readings from the Old Testament, giving us the story of our salvation from the Creation to the prophesy of the coming of Jesus.

Following this, we will join in the joyful song of Gloria, before hearing a reading from the New Testament, and then our Gospel reading, which is the account of the Resurrection. of Jesus from the dead. We then move to the font, to renew the promises of Baptism, before gathering around the Altar to celebrate the First Mass of Easter, which is full of the joy of Jesus overcoming the power of death, and sharing his risen life with the whole of creation.

As a mark of this, there will be an opportunity for a party following this liturgy on Holy Saturday, continuing our celebration of Jesus's resurrection from the dead.

These liturgies mark the heart of our faith, and all are invited to join us to celebrate these moments of our faith. Please do commit to entering into the drama of the liturgy, and in doing so, enabling yourself to be immersed in the great promises that Jesus offers through the Easter mysteries. All are most welcome.

St Andrew, Accrington

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