During Holy Week the final days of the life and ministry of Jesus are played out in the reality of the present moment. From earliest times Christian communities undertook an annual observance of the saving death and resurrection of Jesus. From the fourth century, influenced by pilgrimages made to Jerusalem, there developed a week long re-enactment of all the dramatic events from our Lord’s final days. Thereby all Christian people, however far from Jerusalem they were, could participate in the liturgical observance of the events of Jesus’ last days.
On Palm Sunday (Sunday 14 April) Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is recalled in the Liturgy of the Palms and the record of his Passion is solemnly proclaimed. The main celebration for the whole Team is at Oakham at 10:30am.
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday of Holy Week each have services of Compline where different portions of the passion are read and meditated upon. These are at Teigh on Monday 15 April, Oakham on Tuesday 16 April, and Brooke on Wednesday 17 April, all at 7.30pm.
Maundy Thursday is when the Church recalls the final meal of Jesus with his friends, and by recalling it we draw to the heart of Holy Week. To re-enact these events is to engage in the deepest form of Christian formation, not simply to observe but to become fully identified with the one who washes feet and gives himself fully to God’s will. This takes place at Oakham at 7.30pm.
Good Friday is the most solemn day of Christian devotion. The services focus on the towering significance of the Cross in the life of the believer. The service at Oakham starts at 12 noon, when the liturgy is sung, and is followed by two hours of addresses, hymns and meditations, led by the Bishop of Peterborough, finishing at 3.00pm.
Holy Saturday – it should be remembered that this is not Easter Saturday, but rather a day of solemn abandonment when Jesus lies dead in the tomb. No services are provided and the Church prepares herself for the joyous celebration of Easter morning.
Easter Day starts with the Dawn Service, with the Easter Vigil and First Communion of Easter at Ashwell at 5:15am.
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