Vicar's Letter

This month's letter is written by our Licensed Assistant Curate, Mother Ann Clarridge

Greetings my Sisters and Brothers,

In early March we experienced one of the warmest days of the year so far but then the wintry weather made another  comeback – prompting us to reach for the winter woollies again and gave rise to Roy, my husband saying that this has felt like the longest, coldest winter that he can remember.

 

Not only has it felt like the longest, coldest winter but also the longest wait for the season of Easter and an even longer wait for news regarding the arrival of our new Vicar.

 

However, the waiting is nearly ended and as I sit writing this message I can look out into a garden filled with spring flowers – bright daffodils beautiful pink and red camellia, and primroses; (our garden is definitely a ‘spring’ garden); we have a date for the Induction and Collation of Revd Tommy Merry on May 15th and Easter is nearly here.

 

But before we celebrate the Feast of Easter we need to make the journey together from Palm Sunday, through Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

 

One of my abiding memories from growing up and attending the services through Holy Week is the Liturgy of Maundy Thursday and the Vigil.

Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum, the three-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a day of reflection, communion, and preparation for the solemn observance of Good Friday and the joyous celebration of Easter.

 

It is a significant day in the Christian calendar commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with His disciples. During the Last Supper, which took place the evening before Jesus was crucified, He shared bread and wine with His disciples,  instructing them to “do this in remembrance of me”. This act is seen as the institution of the Mass, Holy Eucharist, or  Communion and serves as a poignant reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice, His teachings on love, humility, and service to others.

The term “Maundy” comes from the Latin word “mandatum” meaning “commandment” or “mandate” reflecting Jesus’ words to His disciples after He washed their feet in an extraordinary display of humility and service. He said “A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved You” (John 13:34). We here at St Paul’s replicate this foot-washing in our Maundy Thursday service to symbolize Jesus’ call to love and serve one another.

 

Traditionally, there would be no Eucharist on Good Friday. But again, here at St Paul’s the sacrament is reserved from Maundy Thursday to be administered on Good Friday. The sacrament is carried in solemn procession to a place of reservation on the Altar of Remembrance which has been decorated to reflect the Garden of Gethsamene. The movement from one place of worship to another recaptures a sense of the journey by the disciples from the upper room to the place called Gethesemane.

 

At the end of the service the altar and sanctuary are stripped of decorations, candles, and clothes to symbolize Jesus’ abandonment by his disciples and his stripping before the crucifixion. The act of stripping everything bare is

contemplative, reflective, and reverent and prepares the church for the sombre observance of Good Friday.

 

The Vigil: What follows is a time for ‘keeping watch’ reflecting Jesus’ request to his disciples on that night in the Garden of Gethsemane to “watch and pray” and then His words of reproach, “Could you not keep awake one hour?”. The

silent vigil will last until midnight offering time for reflection, prayer, and meditation.

 

The Garden of Gethsemane represents both a historical location and a deeply significant turning point. Within this setting, Jesus’ profound prayer and resolve paved the way for His redemptive work on the cross. What happened that night in Gethsemane is a reminder to us that sincere prayer is central to our lives as followers of Jesus.

During the vigil, you may draw encouragement from the way Jesus prays honestly about His anguish yet remains anchored to God's will, finding an example of how to respond to the pressure of living in today’s world with all

the pressures.

 

The Vigil ends at midnight with Jesus’ words, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners”.

 

Please feel free to stay after the service has ended or come into church anytime before Midnight and stay as long or as little as you feel comfortable.

 

Written material will be available to aid your prayer and reflection.

 

Someone will be in church throughout the time to maintain Maundy Thursday ends with the starkness of the empty, bare altar. Our souls are bare as well, as we begin to walk through the rest of the Easter Triduum. But Maundy Thursday does not end on Maundy Thursday.

 

This New Commandment and the Holy Meal are instituted this night, not completed. Jesus was shaping his disciples around servant hood and fellowship. As we learn to serve one another, serving the least and the outcast, and seeing ourselves as those who serve rather than those who are served. Maundy Thursday was only the beginning! We are called to be Maundy Christians every day.

I wish you and those you love a very blessed and happy Easter.

Mthr Ann