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SUMMARY:The Easter Liturgy
DTSTART:20250419T184500Z
DTEND:20250419T200000Z
DTSTAMP:20260418T081229Z
UID:11759402025-04-19 18:45:00+00:00achurchnearyou
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:Holy Saturday is characterised by absence.  There is no liturg
 ical focus\; indeed\, there are no liturgical ceremonies whatsoever\, beyo
 nd the daily office.  It is a day on which we come face to face with the e
 mptiness of the world when Christ was killed\; what life would be like wit
 hout the loving presence of God in the world.  It’s the only day on whic
 h the blessed sacrament is not reserved in church.\n\nIn the evening\, how
 ever\, as night falls\, we will celebrate the triumph of light over darkne
 ss\, and life over death\, as Christ rises from the tomb.  The Easter Vigi
 l is the liturgical cornerstone of the whole Church calendar.\n\nThe focus
  from earliest times has been the journey from death to life: our ‘Exodu
 s\,’ our liberation from the captivity of sin and death\, and entry into
  the new life of the resurrection.  The first part of the service consists
  of vigil readings\, accounts of God saving his people in the Old Testamen
 t\, and the climax is the reading from Exodus 14\, the parting of the Red 
 Sea.\n\nThe Paschal Candle\, lit from a fire kindled outside the church\, 
 leads us in procession into the church\, and the priest sings the ‘Exsul
 tet\,’ the ancient and beautiful song in praise of the light.  We acclai
 m the resurrection with an organ fanfare\, and the ringing of bells and cl
 ashing of pots and pans\, and the church lights are raised as we throw ope
 n the doors of the reredos above the high altar in joyful celebration.  A 
 moment of high drama not to be missed!\n\nThe Paschal Candle leads us to t
 he font and is dipped into the water to bless it.  Gathered around the fon
 t\, the symbol of the empty tomb\, we renew our baptismal vows and are spr
 inkled with the waters of resurrection\; a reminder of our baptism into th
 e death and resurrection of Christ.\n\nThe joyful celebration of the Eucha
 rist crowns the liturgy.  This is one of the longer services of the year\,
  but certainly one of the most powerful\, and the most glorious.
GEO:-1.826551;53.921318
LOCATION:St Margaret's\, Ilkley
URL:https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/6894/service-and-events/events/1
 175940/
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