A traditional church service for Mothering Sunday: we give thanks for all who nurture us in life and faith - our mothers, those who mothered us, Mother Church. There will be hymns, readings, prayer, Holy Communion - and of course, flower posies blessed and shared.

Mothers' Day can bring mixed emotions - gratitude, love, frustration, loss and grief, sometimes anger. We each have many different experiences of motherhood. We hold all this together, open to God who holds and sustains us with love, grace, compassion and forgiveness.

Today we begin Holy Week. We remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey: the crowds that went wild with joy. Jesus entering the Temple and driving out the money changers, challenging the whole Temple's approach to God's holiness.

We gather on Chipping Hill Green and hear the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. We then process around the church singing a hymn. We come into church to celebrate Holy Communion. Instead of a sermon there is a simple drama recalling the events of Holy week.

The colour of our liturgical vestments are red.

Compline has been called the church's goodnight kiss: a calm and prayerful service to end the day. Its a lovely service. The form of service we will be using tonight is from the Anglican Church in New Zealand: poetic, intentional, inclusive and holy.
We gather in the Choir Stalls (beyond the Mediæval Rood Screen.) This is a said service with hymns, and a reflection from one of our authorised Lay Preachers, David Martin.

How do we make connections between our lives and what happened to Jesus? How do we express the shared brokenness-made-whole we find in Jesus?

We share Holy Communion in a service with prayers that express our desire for wholeness and reconciliation. Anointing is a sign of this. For any who come forward a priest lays his hands on their head and prays. He then anoints them with blessed oil: making the sign of the cross on foreheads and hands. If you wish to be anointed then come up. I always find this a profoundly moving experience that takes us deeper into the communion service.

At the end of the service people invariably ask, Why don't we do this more often...?

Sung Compline (or Night Prayer ). Similar to Monday evening except we use a more traditional service. And the choir join us, so there will be more sung parts. And a reflection. Another beautiful service for Holy Week.

I am always struck by this service. Deeply poignant, it connects us across time and space with the first disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus sharing a last meal with his followers, This year at St Nicolas our focus is the origins of Holy Communion. We use a service written by the Iona Community.

We remember Jesus death together through hymns, psalm, readings and prayer. The central focus is a large wooden Cross set against the High Altar. There is an opportunity to venerate the cross within the service. Some kiss the cross itself, most lay a pebble at its foot. All who wish may receive holy communion (reserved from the Maundy Thursday service and having been a focus for reflection at The Watch)

We meet in the Choir Stalls (beyond the Mediæval Rood Screen.)

How do we retell the story of Jesus betrayal and death? In this service we do it through different people's responses to the unfolding story. It builds up a tapestry of faith and belief richer than any one person's viewpoint.

There are fourteen different images round the wall of the church. They tell the story of Jesus betrayal and death taken from the Gospels. At each of these 'stations' there are reflections, followed by a prayer, silence and a response. The service is also framed by four hymns. And a longer piece of music after the last station ['Bone Jesu' by a sixteenth century Scottish composer, Robert Carver, recorded by The Sixteen.]

*

We gather in the half-light of Dawn on Easter Sunday. From a burning brazier outside we light the Paschal (Easter) Candle, then entering the stillness of the half-dark mediæval church building we proclaim the light of Christ, each of us holding a lit taper for the first part of the service. We hear writings from the Hebrew Scriptures that inform our understanding of Christ's resurrection, sing songs/hymns that match. Then we proclaim 'Alleluia! Christ is risen!' and make an almighty racket in church! Always guaranteed to bring a smile to my face.(Please bring bells, tambourines, shakers etc with you.) We reaffirm our baptisms before celebrating Holy Communion. The first communion of Easter Sunday, usually with incense.

(Afterwards we head off to the Rectory for an early breakfast of Croissants and good coffee.)

A holy, still and joyous way to begin our celebrations of Christ's resurrection.

This is the big Easter Day Communion service, usually one of the largest congregations of the year as folk come back to Witham to visit family and come to Church to make their Easter Communion.* Traditional Easter hymns (ending with Thine be the Glory), soaring choir Anthems and music, Easter Sermon and Holy Communion. Church looks glorious, specially decorated with Easter lilies and other flowers.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

* There's an expectation in the Church of England that we all receive Holy Communion at both Christmas and Easter.