We are about to enter one of the most powerful and moving seasons of the entire Church year and we would love for you to join us. Holy Week is the week before Jesus’ Resurrection and includes so many incredible events in the life of Our Lord. This year, Holy Week begins on Sunday, April 2nd, and Church of the Messiah will be having five services throughout the week.
Holy Week begins with the celebration of Palm Sunday. This morning we remember Our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem when the crowd received Him with shouts of “Hosanna in the highest!” Our service begins Sunday morning, April 2nd, at 10 o’clock, and you will not want to be late because we begin in the church courtyard with the Blessing of the Palms and process together into the church remembering how Our Lord entered the Holy City. The service also includes a special dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel.
On April 6th, we will observe Holy Thursday and recall the evening Our Lord celebrated the Passover with His Disciples on the night before He was handed over to suffering and death. Following Our Lord’s instructions, this service includes the powerful foot-washing ceremony in addition to the deeply moving Stripping of the Altar as a symbolic re-enactment of Jesus having everything taken from Him as He was arrested.
From noon to 3 o’clock on Friday, April 7th, we will commemorate Good Friday. Church of the Messiah’s Good Friday service is unique and impactful. The service is built around a series of prayers, reflective worship presentations and meditations on the seven last words of Jesus. The service also includes a reading of the Passion Gospel, veneration of the Holy Cross, and the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified. While this service is three hours long, it is structured in such a way to allow for worshippers to enter and exit without disruption, so, please, plan on attending even if you cannot stay for the entire service.
On Holy Saturday morning, April 8th, starting at 9 o’clock, Church of the Messiah will gather outside of A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville, one of Jacksonville’s local abortion clinics, to pray the Liturgy for the Pre-Born, a special service which was created as both a service of Last Rites for those children who will die during this holy season and a series of prayers to end abortion in America and the world.
Having recalled Our Lord’s passion and death, we can triumph in His Resurrection as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over the grave on Easter. We will have an incredible time of praise, special worship offerings and events for the children including an Easter Egg Hunt immediately following the service. We look forward to celebrating the most incredible moment in the history of the universe with you on Sunday morning, April 9th, beginning at 10 o’clock.
Each of the services will be live streamed via Facebook Live for those who are unable to attend in person. Childcare will be provided at all service except Holy Saturday. Facebook events have been created for each service so that you can easily invite you friends and family to join you at any or all of our services. Simply click the underlined service to visit the Facebook event and share the event. We are so excited to celebrate these incredible moment in the life of Christ and these wonderful church services. We pray that you will worship with us and invite your friends and family to gather and celebrate with us the saving deeds of Jesus Christ Our Lord.
It is hard to believe that Holy Week and the Paschal Feast are here. The ancient liturgical events from Palm Sunday through Holy Week and culminating on Easter morning are so rich. I know each of you will be preparing sermons, and that is good. But the liturgy will do a great deal of the preaching by itself. The message is simply the victory of Jesus over Satan, sin, and death. It is the glory of Jesus!
In the 1960s and 70s, spearheaded by Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss Psychiatrist, we saw the beginning of the field of Thanatology. Thanatology, or the study of death, led to the Hospice Care movement, which stood absolutely opposed to any idea of euthanasia, like that advocated by Jack Kevorkian. Dr. Kubler-Ross and Hospice suggested that there was much “human work” to be done when we are dying and in death itself. She did massive studies of near-death experiences. And she was most famous for developing the five stages of death and dying.
Out of this movement, which continues today in the Hospice Program and Palliative Care Units in Hospitals, came a revolution in medicine and psychology, social work, and Pastoral Care. Many of our CEC clergy work in or are associated with the Hospice Program. It was a revolution that built on the obvious that we are all dying. The significance was not the fact of death, but the significance of the movement was the acceptance of the reality of death and the care and spiritual direction that can be given not only to the dying but to all of us. Something that has been sorely lacking in a culture that sterilizes death. I am thankful for all the CEC clergy who do Hospice and Palliative Care work.
I had the opportunity to sit next to the (retired) Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Donald Coggan. We were participating in a “break out” session on leadership during Renewal Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Archbishop was the plenary speaker. And he was awesome.
We did some chit-chat prior to the session’s leader giving an introductory talk on leadership in the Charismatic Renewal. At one point, he said, “we need to teach people how to live a good life.” Archbishop Coggan turned towards me and whispered, “Young Man, don’t you dare do that, or you will not preach the Gospel. Prepare people to die a good death.” Wow!
Any good life will be a life that was lived out in the reality of death and the hope of the resurrection. Any good life will be a life lived “participating in the suffering and death of Christ, in order to know and share in the power of His Resurrection.” Any discipleship program must begin and end with a deep understanding of Luke 9.23, “And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” Discipleship is having the image of Christ Jesus formed in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I love the Proper Preface for funerals (Mass of the Resurrection) in our, soon to be, new Sacramentary.
“Father all Powerful and ever-living God, we do well, always, and everywhere, to give You thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord who rose victorious from the dead and comforts us with the blessed hope of everlasting life. For to Your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended, and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us an eternal dwelling place in the heavens.”
How appropriate that the liturgical renewal changed the liturgical colors for “funerals” or “Burial of the Dead” from Purple/Black to White. Now we celebrate the life of the person and their resurrection in Jesus. Death recalls our own mortality and the hope of the new day now in our present life and the life to come. Even in the darkest moments of pain and despair, there will be, because of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, an unending hope of salvation, healing, restoration, reconciliation, and new birth.
Right now, the Charismatic Episcopal Church in North America has been thrust into a season of hope and new birth.
There is a great deal of talk in the Church, not just our communion, about “three streams” or “convergence.” In the 1980s, there were only a few who talked about the “convergence” of the Catholic/sacramental/liturgical “stream,” the evangelical “stream,” and the charismatic “stream.” But like the birth of the Pentecostal movement, the Revival movements of the 1940s and 50s, and the Charismatic Movement of the 60s and 70s, there was a small group of, dare I say, prophetic Pentecostal and Evangelical men and women who saw these three streams as coming together. In fact, what they were saying, and I am going out on a big limb, is that the worship of the ancient Church was “convergence” in nature. And that the Church today should embrace all three streams.
But it is really important, I believe, that we understand that it is not about the “streams” as if one could pick and choose which “stream” they wanted to be a part of. It was about the “streams” coming together as a mighty river. Though the “streams” indeed are the source of the river, it is the river that gives life.
I could, at this point, go on and on about the streams of Israel that flow from the area around Caesarea Philippi. They are beautiful. Particularly beautiful are the Dan Stream and the walk-through Tel Dan National Park. The sound of the rushing streams is very soothing and peaceful, like a great classic composition, but it is nature’s music. These streams will flow into the Sea of Galilee, around which was the majority of the life and ministry of Jesus. The streams gave life to the people then and today. But Galilee is not the end as the Lake gives its life to the Jordan River. The Jordan River, where the people of God crossed into the Promised Land to a new beginning. They were no longer slaves but inheritors of the Promises of God. The Jordan River where John the Baptist called those same people to repentance and an awakening to the Lamb of God. And finally, the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized by John and received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is the river where we are transformed.
The CEC, I believe, is called to be a River Church, not three streams. It is a Church called to reach out to the least among us and find ourselves ministering to Jesus. It is a Church called to find the lost and bring them to the Good Shepherd. It is a Church that is called to go to the lonely and embrace them and incorporate them into the household of God. Or, as the Celebrant and People proclaim at Baptism, “we receive you into the household of God.”
It is a time to renew our commitment to go into all the world. Around us, no matter where you are located, are suffering people. There are single mothers; there are fatherless children, there are grieving people, there are those suffering from addictions, there are women who have been raped or abused, there are women who have had abortions, there are adults who suffered from child/sexual abuse, there are those who have been abused even by the Church. I could go on and on, but all of us must be reaching out to become a place of worship. But a place of worship will become a place of healing and spiritual warfare.
It is a day of “baptism in the Jordan” for the CEC. It is a “changed” day. It is a resurrection day!
I want to encourage all of you. I know that Holy Week will be special for each of you, and it will be special for your people. God is going to send you visitors and family members. See God’s hand at work in them. See in their faces the very image of God.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! While we have already celebrated Easter Sunday, the Season of Easter continues until Our Lord sends the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost. Because of this, Church of the Messiah will be celebrating the Easter Season and the Resurrection of Our Lord every Sunday morning, starting at 10 o’clock, until May 16th. During the season, our praise & worship, our Biblical readings, and our sermons will all focus on the Resurrection of Our Lord and His triumphant victory over death and the grave. Even our Nursery and Kids’ Church lessons (for those 1 year old through 5th grade) will focus on Our Lord’s Resurrection and the Gospel stories following the Resurrection.
Throughout this season, Church of the Messiah will meet in the sanctuary of Ft. Caroline Presbyterian Church (click HERE for a map.) where we have ample room for social distancing. For more information about the precautions we are taking during this time, visit our COVID-19 Precautions Page. We live stream all of our services on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook Page for those who are unable to attend.
Thanks be to God, Easter changed the world forever and we do not just celebrate it for one day! Easter is a season; not just a day. We invite you to join with Church of the Messiah and celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord throughout this Easter season with us every Sunday morning beginning at 10 o’clock. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Seems to me like every pastor, preacher, and evangelist has discovered social media, and in particular, the ability to live stream. It might seem to be that way for me because so many of my “friends” and/or “contacts” on social medial are conservative Evangelicals, Orthodox, Anglicans, or Catholics. Of course, I also have a significant number of friends from my own denomination. Despite this, I have held back on becoming involved in social media. I don’t want to become another “talking head pastor.” I have instead tried to refer people to others who are doing an excellent job at leading people in prayer and worship. Many of them are ICCEC churches. I have also joined others during morning prayer, group gatherings, and Sunday mornings. What an encouragement these bishops, priests, and deacons have been to my family and me. Soon we will have link information on the various live streams on CEC-NA.
As I write this note to the ICCEC, the state of New York is the center of the pandemic in the United States. Not just in the United States but for the entire world. Today, there are 103,000 plus (and growing) cases in New York and most of those in the New York City Metropolitan Area. This does not include those in New Jersey and Connecticut. The center of the pandemic in New York City is Elmont, New York (a village of Queens County in New York City), which is less than ten minutes from my home. I have been told that because of my age, some respiratory and health issues, to stay home and have no contact with anyone outside. I am careful to follow these instructions.
I have decided that the Christian response to the pandemic is to submit and obey to those who have authority over us. Certainly, I do so for myself but also because if I were to test positive for COVID-19, I would be highly contagious and perhaps, even unknowingly, infect someone else. Although, I am disappointed that I cannot gather with my brothers and sisters for the daily Eucharist, daily prayers, and, more importantly, the Sunday Eucharist.
The decision of Churches to cancel public gatherings is the right decision. This has been the decision of every sacramental church from Rome to Anglicans. The major spiritual leaders of the historic churches have all called for a suspension of public gatherings, even for Holy Week and Easter. I encourage all of us to do the same.
It is important that we do not get infected but also that we don’t infect others. The best way to end this thing is social distancing and washing our hands frequently. And pray. Rather than “sing happy birthday,” I pray the Our Father and other prayers.
This forced quarantine has opened up a tremendous amount of time for me to pray and research the Scriptures. I have also enjoyed reading and, above all, listening to some great preachers. On Sunday, I make a list of those who have live-streamed their services and then during the week I will listen to one of the sermons each day of the week. I have connected with my own Cathedral and sign on to their virtual Eucharist every day at 12 p.m. EST. I am part of a small group of brothers and sisters who have been faithful in prayer. I have also joined prayer groups in Manila and Europe. The increased use of the internet in ministry, especially for evangelism, I believe, is something that will continue after the pandemic. I am excited about that and the potential to reach our friends and others with the Gospel.
As I listen to the government and medical officials, it is clear that this pandemic is far from over. In New York, the apex or peak has not happened yet, and it is predicted that the peak will fall somewhere between two weeks from now to the end of April. After that, there will still be a time when the virus will be active, and we will still have to stay home. “Back to normal” is several months away for New Yorkers. Leaders are telling us that the worst has not yet happened, and in the end the death toll could be as high as 200,000 or maybe more.
It means for most that we will not have public worship services for Palm Sunday, all Holy Week, and Easter Sunday. It means that our services will be almost entirely “live-streamed.” If you are a small church and can’t live stream, it is important that you find out if your Cathedral is live-streaming and encourage your people to join them online.
I had hoped that this deadly virus would have been over by Easter Sunday. How glorious it would be if that were true, and we could gather and sing the great hymns and songs of the resurrection together. How our souls would rejoice to hear the Gospel proclaim that the tomb is empty, and death is defeated. Above all, it would be brilliant to gather at the altar where we know Him in the breaking of the bread and join with all the saints in eternal worship. I cannot remember a time in my seventy years that I was not around the altar for the Feast of the Resurrection.
We need to remind ourselves that celebrating the Passion and Resurrection is something we do every Sunday. We are a people of the resurrection, and in the face of death, we are not afraid. We do not allow anxiety, worry, or fear take the place of prominence in our lives. And, even at the grave, we will sing our song “alleluia.” The truth is that this horrible pandemic is going to end. I believe they will discover both a cure and a vaccine. We will gather once again and praise God in our churches.
This Lent (the Lent of all Lents) teaches that through prayer, reading and study of scripture, fasting, repentance, helping the poor, and sacrificial giving, we allow our souls and bodies to be drawn into a deeper participation in the life and death of Christ. But these are not just principles for Lent; they are disciplines meant for our entire Christian walk with Jesus. If we are to follow Him (which is far more than believing in Him) we are daily to pick up our cross. We are to deny ourselves and humble ourselves. It is through the cross that we come closer to Jesus.
When this ends, I pray that we have brought ourselves and our churches into a deeper commitment to daily prayers, both as individuals and communities. How great it would be if there were growth in early morning prayer both at the church, in our homes, and on social media. I am even thinking of starting an online prayer group. To pray is to breathe the breath of God. To pray is to abide in Christ, knowing Christ lives in us and we in Christ. To pray is to abide with Jesus in the heavenly places.
When this ends, I pray that we renew our commitment to the reading, studying, and doing the Holy Scriptures. We are called to be disciples, and our churches are called to make disciples. I know of one church that is looking at developing an online campus of events and programs that people can participate in without leaving their homes. However, I also hope there is an increase in weekday home groups (relationship is part of discipleship). During this pandemic, I have a renewed understanding of the role Scripture plays in my day to day life. It is the sword of the Spirit and it is profitable to a righteous man. Every day, the Lord has spoken to me in His Word, and I have been equipped. I am more equipped to be an ambassador of Christ proclaiming in word and deed the ministry of reconciliation and not judgment. What a joy to have churches that have a Biblical world view and not a political or media-driven world view.
Fasting reminds us that the body is a great servant but a horrible leader. We are to be led by the Spirit, and weekly fasting is good for our soul. We sometimes laughed at the “no meat on Friday” obligation. We laugh because we saw it as “legalism.” But fasting one day a week is not such a bad thing. It is not necessary for salvation, but it is a good discipline to discipline the body and renew the Spirit. After this, Lent may we discover increase times of fasting not only individually and perhaps as a whole parish or a whole diocese. Not as a law, but as a means of moving more and more in the Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is going to move into the world with the message of God’s love and promise of eternal life.
We are not in need of repentance just during Lent. This isolation has turned me into the need to have my mind renewed repeatedly so that I am not conformed to the pattern of this world. Watching endless news conforms us to the world. I am thankful for the ability to confess my sins and have Him restore me day after day. Being able to look at the pandemic from the eyes of God enabled me to see how much I am loved, and we are loved. Hence, there has been caution, but no fear. I hope that the Churches and each of is renewed in our understanding that God has forgiven us, and we have a constant need to forgive those who have offended us. I hope there is a renewal of confession both in the Penitential order of the Liturgy. But I also hope for a renewal of private confession that will bring reconciliation and healing in our churches, homes, between individuals, and in our communities. What power will be released through this simple act of love. What power will be released when people look at us, and say, “we know they are followers of Jesus by their love for one another.”
The poor must be dear to our hearts, not only during Lent but throughout the whole year. In my times of prayer, I have had times of weeping thinking of the impact the pandemic is having and is going to have on the poor in our church in Africa, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. How senseless was the hoarding behavior of people in the West? How we need to understand that the vast majority of Africa, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia have nothing to hoard. They already live day to day with no or limited medical care. How the poor live with the reality of cholera, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Malnutrition and starvation is a reality for millions in these areas. Finding clean water or proper sewage is difficult. Also, in some places the people cry not because the schools are closed but because there are no school. I hope this Lent has brought us to live a life with and for the poor. The poor, the widow, and the fatherless are dear to our God. How can we serve them?
There is also the poor right around us. We have discovered how many live-in fear. And fear leads to all kinds of addictions and destructive behavior. There are those around us who are spiritually empty and searching. I hope that our use of social media will not be to entertain the saved but to reach the lost. May we come out of the pandemic as an army that has a mission that so much greater than the need to survive.
I have determined myself that there are two types of people, and I have since modified that to believe there are three types of people. The first are takers. Takers live life to get what they can out of life. They believe that they are entitled to everything. So, they live taking as if they can take all their possessions with them. Their sin is that they treat people like things and things like people. Instead of loving people, they love things. The second group are buyers. These are people who appear as if they are givers. They are generous in giving gifts, particularly to those less fortunate than themselves. But they also expect complete loyalty, as each gift comes with a price. They are manipulators of the least. The third group are givers. Givers are determined to live a life for others. It is not what they can take out of life but what they put into life and especially the lives of others. They give not out of duty or with expectations but because they know that real blessing is in giving.
I pray this Lent has taught us about things that really matter in life. Those things that are important and will motivate us to become generous givers, especially to the work of the Lord through His Church. We should study what it means to be a giver – particularly Malachi 3.8-12. This is not only about giving but about trusting in our Lord God. It is the beginning of living a life knowing for certain it is God who is our protector and provider. When the next crisis comes, we will not fear for we will know, not just believe, He is with us.
I believe in the Liturgical calendar. I enjoy keeping the Liturgical calendar. The time of Holy Week, Easter, the Ascension, and Pentecost are my favorites. I am going to miss the traditions and liturgies this year. But we all know that we are called to live in between Pentecost and the Second Coming. We are called to be Resurrection people in the midst of a dying world. I hope Lent transformed us individually, as families, and a Church community.
I don’t expect the world to be different and churches to be packed after the pandemic is over. It is like believing that was going to happen after 9/11. Nor is it any different than expecting that the Sunday after Easter is going to be as well attended as Easter. But I do hope that we, the people of God, will have been revived and renewed, and on fire to bring the Gospel outside of the church. May the suffering of this pandemic motivate us to live the three streams of being charismatic, evangelical, and sacramental in order to glorify Christ and lead others in the way of salvation.
Christ is risen from the dead. Trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
This Sunday, April 5th, marks the beginning of the holiest week of the Christian calendar, however, this year, COVID-19 has changed the way that Christians will be observing Holy Week throughout the world. On Wednesday, April 1st, both the Mayor of Jacksonville and the Governor of Florida issued their own “Safer at Home” orders directing non-essential businesses to close, residents to stay home unless on essential activities, and for everyone to maintain safe social distancing practices.
Thankfully, Governor DeSantis’ executive order specifically declares that churches and other houses of worship are essential during this time, but we will not do anything that might endanger either our congregation or those with whom they might come in contact. The verse that Fr. Looker said would guide our actions during this time is still 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” We will continue to do everything that we can to share the love of God, but we will do so in a prudent way that makes every use of the sound minds which God has given us.
Recognizing that this current crisis makes for very fluid circumstances, here are our plans at the moment. We will continue to live stream our Sunday morning services via Facebook Live. We will do so with a skeleton crew that will be ten people or less, which follows the CDC recommendations and our Bishop’s directives. Those people who are present in the building will do their best to maintain a healthy 6 feet of social distance whenever possible. We will provide Holy Communion through the Host only to those who are present in the Sanctuary and those who join us in the parking lot at the designated times. We believe that this allows us to be in submission to all of our earthly authorities while still remaining faithful to our heavenly authority which calls us to preach the Gospel at all times, and in all places; to be a light which shines in the darkness; and to bring hope to those who otherwise might have none.
In particular, we will hold our Palm Sunday service on Sunday, April 5th, beginning at 10 o’clock. We will live stream the service through Facebook Live and those wishing to receive Holy Communion may do so in our parking lot from around 11 o’clock to 11:30. At the time which we serve Holy Communion we will also distribute blessed palms to anyone present to take home.
Our Maundy Thursday service will be April 9th, starting at 7 o’clock. While this service typically includes the clergy washing the feet of the congregation, we will obviously not be able to do that this year. This service will be live streamed via Facebook Live.
Our Good Friday service will be release on our YouTube channel at noon on Friday, April 10th. This will not be streamed live but we encourage those of you who watch it to share it on Facebook. Our service will include the traditional reading of the Passion Gospel, the Solemn Collects, the adoration of the Cross, and, as is our tradition, seven meditations on the Passion of Our Lord.
We have yet to determine exactly how we will observe Holy Saturday. In the past we have prayed the Liturgy for the Pre-Born outside a local abortion clinic. We have yet to make a determination about this service.
Easter Sunday, April 12th, we will do our very best to celebrate the glorious resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to give that day all of the glory and honor it deserves. Our service will be streamed live via our Facebook channel starting at 10 o’clock. If you just cannot imagine an Easter Sunday without going to Church, then celebrate with us in our parking lot and receive Holy Communion from 11:00-11:30.
We know that these are anxious and uncertain times. This will be a Holy Week unlike anything anyone has ever celebrated in over 100 years. At Church of the Messiah, we are doing our very best to bring honor and glory to God, to bring hope and joy to God’s people, and to be that city on a hill that shines out God’s light in this dark time. We invite you to join with us during this time. By God’s grace, we will get through this together.
This Wednesday night, at 7 o’clock, Church of the Messiah will celebrate and commemorate an incredible event in the life of Christ. Forty days after Our Lord rose from the dead on Easter morning, Jesus gathered together with the Disciples and “while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9) With His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus left behind His incarnate earthly ministry and took His place at the right hand of the Father.
Join with Church of the Messiah as we gather to remember Christ rejoining His Father in Heaven and continuously interceding on our behalf. We will celebrate this Feast with praise and worship, Biblical teaching, intercessory prayer and anointing, and the Holy Eucharist. Childcare will be provided. Celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord this Wednesday night beginning at 7 o’clock.
Palm Sunday, April 1st, 10:30am at Sam R. Marks Chapel, JU
This service will begin outside with the Blessing of the Palms
Maunday Thursday, April 5th, 7:00pm at Sam R. Marks Chapel, JU
This service includes foot washing and the Stripping of the Altar
Good Friday on April 6th, from 12 noon to 3pm
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 2961 University Blvd. N.
Please join us for part or all of this service to meditate and reflect on the love God has shown us through the gift of His Son Jesus.
Easter Sunday, April 8th
He has Risen! He has Risen Indeed!
6:45am Sunrise Service at 576 St. John’s Bluff Rd. N.
bring your beach chair or blanket
bring a flashlight for safety!
Easter Sunday, April 8th
10:30am at Sam R. Marks Chapel, JU
Children’s Easter Parade
Please bring flowers for Flowering of the Cross
sjl+ 
Holy Week begins with the celebration of Palm Sunday. This morning we remember Our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem when the crowd received Him with shouts of “Hosanna in the highest!” Our service begins Sunday morning, April 2nd, at 10 o’clock, and you will not want to be late because we begin in the church courtyard with the Blessing of the Palms and process together into the church remembering how Our Lord entered the Holy City. The service also includes a special dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel.
On April 6th, we will observe Holy Thursday and recall the evening Our Lord celebrated the Passover with His Disciples on the night before He was handed over to suffering and death. Following Our Lord’s instructions, this service includes the powerful foot-washing ceremony in addition to the deeply moving Stripping of the Altar as a symbolic re-enactment of Jesus having everything taken from Him as He was arrested.
From noon to 3 o’clock on Friday, April 7th, we will commemorate Good Friday. Church of the Messiah’s Good Friday service is unique and impactful. The service is built around a series of prayers, reflective worship presentations and meditations on the seven last words of Jesus. The service also includes a reading of the Passion Gospel, veneration of the Holy Cross, and the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified. While this service is three hours long, it is structured in such a way to allow for worshippers to enter and exit without disruption, so, please, plan on attending even if you cannot stay for the entire service.
On Holy Saturday morning, April 8th, starting at 9 o’clock, Church of the Messiah will gather outside of A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville, one of Jacksonville’s local abortion clinics, to pray the Liturgy for the Pre-Born, a special service which was created as both a service of Last Rites for those children who will die during this holy season and a series of prayers to end abortion in America and the world.
Having recalled Our Lord’s passion and death, we can triumph in His Resurrection as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over the grave on Easter. We will have an incredible time of praise, special worship offerings and events for the children including an Easter Egg Hunt immediately following the service. We look forward to celebrating the most incredible moment in the history of the universe with you on Sunday morning, April 9th, beginning at 10 o’clock.
Dear Brothers,
SJL 
