Holy Week The holiest week of the Christian year has begun for us at St. Mary’s. We have waved our branches and shouted Hosanna as Jesus enters Jerusalem. We hail him as King and hope that he will shine his glory upon us. As we walk alongside Jesus, he invites us to share a meal, but first he kneels before us and washes our feet. By this sign we have been given the great mandatum, mandate, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." It is a night of remembrance when the Passover meal becomes the Paschal feast. It is also the night of Jesus' betrayal. When he is arrested by the authorities and handed over to death, death on a cross. Suddenly the voice of the crowd changes from Hosanna to crucify him and the road becomes the via dolorosa , the sorrowful way. It is here, stunned in silence, that the cross becomes the via salutis , the way of salvation. Numbed by the horror of crucifixion, we sit in darkness and we wait. Slowly but surely the light of Christ forges itself through the door of our heart. Even though the darkness remains, in the heat and light of this new fire we remember. We tell the story of our ancestors in exile, we dream of home, the stone of the tomb is rolled away and we are filled with new life. We will adapt some of the resources from our Cathedral in Garden City, which they have created to observe Holy Week with their congregation on Zoom.

Creating a sacred space
In this time of social isolation, we are called to realize more clearly what has always been true. That is that our homes are extensions of the visible and “focused” sacred consecrated space in our sanctuary at St. Mary’s and vice versa . Though it might be something new for many of you I invite you during these holy days to make a sacred space in your home. As I said in our prayer gathering Sunday morning, we have long known that it is helpful for kids to have a designated study/homework space in the home where all they do is study and homework. It sets the tone for them and unconsciously put them in the mode for study and work. The same has been true in many traditions when it comes to a sacred space for prayer in the home. In Christian Eastern Orthodox tradition it’s the icon corner where a shelf in the corner of one of the rooms holds the family icons. This sacred space can simply be the dining table, a coffee table, or in the middle of your living room floor, on the porch or in the bedroom. Decorate it in whatever way you would like, with a cloth, an open Bible, a cross, an icon, a candle, and maybe some branches. As we celebrate each day of Holy Week, you will be asked to prepare this sacred space before we begin the liturgy. We will try to utilize the powerful symbols of this week to experience and pray in the way of our Anglican tradition these holy days. It might feel a little strange to some of you to do these things, and don’t feel you have to or are expected to. They are here as suggestions to help us enter more deeply into these cyber experiences as a group.
 
 
The Zoom Last Supperl

THE SERVICES OF THE SACRED THREE DAYS (TRIDUUM) AND EASTER MORNING

MAUNDY THURSDAY LITURGY
Thursday, April 9 At 5:00pm
Join us for a live Zoom version of a Maundy Thursday liturgy, featuring a Washing of Hands.  Click here to join.

Before this celebration of Maundy Thursday we invite you to place a bowl with warm soapy water and a towel at your Sacred Space.

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Meeting ID: 882 861 658 to join by phone.
If they ask for a meeting password: 971319

GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY
Friday, April 10 At 5:00pm
Join us for this live webinar format of the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion.

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Meeting ID: 882 861 658 to join by phone.
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On Good Friday your Sacred Space should be empty. Later in the Liturgy you will asked to place a cross in your Sacred Space.

GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER
Saturday, April 11 At 5:00pm
Join us for a live service of the Great Vigil of Easter, featuring the Service of Light. This service will be in Zoom format.  Click here to join.

We invite you to place a single candle in your Sacred Space. Once the Paschal Candle has been lit, we invite you to light your candle. We also invite you to bring daffodils or forsythia or other spring flowers to your Sacred Space.

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Meeting ID: 882 861 658
If they ask for a meeting password: 971319

EASTER SUNDAY LITURGY
Sunday, April 12 At 10:00am
This live service will be in the Zoom meeting format.

We invite you to place a small bowl and pitcher of water near your device, so that you can pour the water during the Praise of Water. We also invite you to bring daffodils or forsythia or other spring flowers to your Sacred Space


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Meeting ID: 139 634 159 to join by phone.
If they ask for a meeting password 763343
Click on the image of the text below to go to a full copy of the Holy Week/Easter Service Leaflet
P.O Box 1660, 26 St. Mary's Road , Shelter Island, NY 11964
(631) 749-0770
stmarys11964@optonline.net