Holy Week Services
Good morning,
We have entered Holy Week, so named because it is the time Christians commemorate God’s deepest acts of self-giving: Jesus being anointed with perfume, denouncing the money-makers in the Temple, washing the feet of his disciples, sharing a final meal with them, Jesus’ anguish, arrest, trial, scourging and crucifixion, his death, his burial. It’s the closing days of Lent, a time of self-examination, of self-denial, and of commitment to others. And it is a time for reflective worship and prayer. Let me explore the services which the Chaplaincy and the ecumenical group of Christian communities in St Andrews are offering for all.
Chaplaincy services this week will have brief addresses – at Evensong, Compline and Good Friday – on the theme of friendship. In our first Holy Week services in person for three years, we reflect on the Chaplaincy’s theme, or perhaps our key through the pandemic – Companionship. Following this year’s Chaplaincy Prize on friendship, and in a time of violent enmity in Ukraine and elsewhere, we will meditate on friendship in the closing days of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry.
Tomorrow, Wednesday 13 April at 5:30 pm, St Salvator’s Chapel
In this final service of Evensong this academic year, we will hear St Salvator’s Chapel Choir sing the moving Psalm 88, and Chilcott’s meditation on John 3:16, God so loved the world.Maundy Thursday Compline Service with Holy Communion
Thursday 14 April at 8 pm, St Leonard’s Chapel
It is traditional to recall the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, and to share in an evening Eucharist. This will take place as part of a Compline service with St Leonard’s Chapel Choir, who will be singing music by Anerio and Elgar. This ecumenical service of Holy Communion is open to all. (Note – it begins at 8 pm, not the usual Compline time of 10 pm.)Good Friday Pilgrimage and prayer walk through the town
Friday 15 April at 4pm from the Quadrangle of St Mary’s College – for the first time in three years – stopping at a number of points in the town for Bible reading, reflection and prayer, before ending at St Mary on the Rock (beside the Cathedral, above the harbour) at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome to join in this pilgrimage organised by local churches for as long or as short a time as they feel able.Good Friday Evening Service, Friday 15 April at 8 pm, St Salvator’s Chapel
At this final service before Easter, St Salvator’s Chapel Choir will sing the Passion narrative according to St John in the setting by Victoria, before we leave the chapel singing O sacred head, sore wounded, to the Passion Chorale.Easter Day Ecumenical Service
Sunday 17 April at 7 am, St Mary on the Rock
All are welcome to meet at St Mary on the Rock (by the Cathedral, above the harbour) for this happy early morning Easter Service as the sun rises – for the first time in three years. Typically hundreds attend. Hymns will be accompanied by a brass ensemble.Easter Day University Service
Sunday 17 April at 11 am, St Salvator’s Chapel
Come in good time to be sure of finding a seat for this most joyous of services, with St Salvator’s Chapel Choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, among other beautiful music, and a sermon from me, called I’ll be there for you. This service will also be livestreamed – see https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/chaplaincy/worship/The communion table in St Salvator’s Chapel brings Holy Week into focus. It features a mosaic of the Last Supper, while the arcades behind depict five central moments in the life of Christ: birth, baptism, crucifixion, the empty tomb encountered by the women, and his being recognised in the breaking of bread with disciples at Emmaus. The design is by Douglas Strachan.
Here is the Last Supper in greater detail – note the footwashing jug and basin below left:
Meanwhile, it is a significant time for many others. Muslims continue their month of fasting during Ramadan, while the Jewish festival of Passover begins this Friday. The Interfaith Steering Group are offering a service of Blessing during the week of the installation of the Rector Dr Leyla Hussein, today, Tuesday 12 April, at 3.30 pm in St Salvator’s Chapel. All welcome.
Although we are still affected by coronavirus, not least in illness and self-isolation, we give thanks that this year, for the first time since 2019, we can mark these significant days together.
Yours,
Donald.
