Winter Services
During the current lockdown we are still open for public worship twice a week, with a celebration of Holy Communion on both Sunday and Wednesday. All services are held in line with current restrictions. These services are also live-streamed to our Facebook page along with Morning Prayer on Thursday and Evening Prayer on Tuesday via Zoom. Please join us.
Public Worship in Church during Lent and Easter
In addition to our usual services on Sundays: Holy Communion 10:30 am and Wednesdays: Holy Communion 9:30 am we will also be open for public worship for the following services:
Ash Wednesday: 17 February 9:30 Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes in church
Mothering Sunday: 14 March 10:30 Eucharist in church
Palm Sunday: 28 March 10:30 Eucharist in church
Monday – Wednesday in Holy Week: 9:30 am Holy Communion
Maundy Thursday: 1 April 7:00 pm Holy Communion
Good Friday: 2 April 10:00 am Stations of the Cross
Good Friday liturgy: 3:00 pm in church
Holy Saturday: 3 April 9:30 Contemplative Worship live from Rectory
Easter Vigil: 9:00 pm in church
Easter Sunday: 4 April 10:30 Eucharist in church
*Please call 01502 589112 or email revhelenchandler@gmail.com and register for the main Easter services so we can maintain our safe practices and plan social distancing.
On-line Worship
On-line worship continues with the following:
Tuesday - Evening Prayer 7:30 pm (Zoom*)
Thursday – Morning Prayer 8:30 am (livestreamed on Facebook and repeated on YouTube)
Saturday - Contemplative Service of the Word - 9:30 am (livestreamed on Facebook and repeated on YouTube)
* Please call 01502 589112 or email revhelenchandler@gmail.com and request your Zoom invitation.
Lent
Lent is the period of 40 days which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before Easter.
Why 40 days?
By observing 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent was marked by fasting from some foods and all festivities. It is more common these days to give up a favourite food or drink. Whatever the sacrifice, it is a reflection of Jesus' deprivation in the wilderness and a test of self-discipline.
Why is it called Lent?
Lent is an old English word meaning 'lengthen'. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast.St Peter & St John will hold a special service at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin. The service draws on the ancient Biblical traditions of covering one's head with ashes, wearing sackcloth, and fasting.
The mark of ashes
In Ash Wednesday services churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.The use of ashes, made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday, is very symbolic.
The priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says remember you are dust and to dust you shall return, or a similar phrase based on God's sentence on Adam in Genesis 3:19.
Keeping the mark
At some churches the worshippers leave with the mark still on their forehead so that they carry the sign of the cross out into the world. At other churches the service ends with the ashes being washed off as a sign that the participants have been cleansed of their sins.
Symbolism of the ashes
The marking of their forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that:
Where the ashes come from
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made by burning the palm crosses that were blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday.
The ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, which makes sure that the ashes make a good mark.
The use of anointing oil also reminds the churchgoer of God's blessings and of the anointing that took place at their baptism.
From Palm Sunday to Ash Wednesday
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, so when the crosses used in the Palm Sunday service are converted to ashes, the worshippers are reminded that defeat and crucifixion swiftly followed triumph.
Public Worship in Church during Lent and Easter
In addition to our usual services on Sundays: Holy Communion 10:30 am and Wednesdays: Holy Communion 9:30 am we will also be open for public worship for the following services:
Ash Wednesday: 17 February 9:30 Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes in church
Mothering Sunday: 14 March 10:30 Eucharist in church
Palm Sunday: 28 March 10:30 Eucharist in church
Monday – Wednesday in Holy Week: 9:30 am Holy Communion
Maundy Thursday: 1 April 7:00 pm Holy Communion
Good Friday: 2 April 10:00 am Stations of the Cross
Good Friday liturgy: 3:00 pm in church
Holy Saturday: 3 April 9:30 Contemplative Worship live from Rectory
Easter Vigil: 9:00 pm in church
Easter Sunday: 4 April 10:30 Eucharist in church
*Please call 01502 589112 or email revhelenchandler@gmail.com and register for the main Easter services so we can maintain our safe practices and plan social distancing.
On-line Worship
On-line worship continues with the following:
Tuesday - Evening Prayer 7:30 pm (Zoom*)
Thursday – Morning Prayer 8:30 am (livestreamed on Facebook and repeated on YouTube)
Saturday - Contemplative Service of the Word - 9:30 am (livestreamed on Facebook and repeated on YouTube)
* Please call 01502 589112 or email revhelenchandler@gmail.com and request your Zoom invitation.
Lent
Lent is the period of 40 days which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before Easter.
Why 40 days?
By observing 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent was marked by fasting from some foods and all festivities. It is more common these days to give up a favourite food or drink. Whatever the sacrifice, it is a reflection of Jesus' deprivation in the wilderness and a test of self-discipline.
Why is it called Lent?
Lent is an old English word meaning 'lengthen'. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast.St Peter & St John will hold a special service at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin. The service draws on the ancient Biblical traditions of covering one's head with ashes, wearing sackcloth, and fasting.
The mark of ashes
In Ash Wednesday services churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.The use of ashes, made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday, is very symbolic.
The priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says remember you are dust and to dust you shall return, or a similar phrase based on God's sentence on Adam in Genesis 3:19.
Keeping the mark
At some churches the worshippers leave with the mark still on their forehead so that they carry the sign of the cross out into the world. At other churches the service ends with the ashes being washed off as a sign that the participants have been cleansed of their sins.
Symbolism of the ashes
The marking of their forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that:
- Death comes to everyone
- They should be sad for their sins
- They must change themselves for the better
- God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes
- The cross is a reminder of the mark of the cross made at baptism
- The phrase used when the ashes are administered reminds Christians of the doctrine of original sin
- The cross of ashes symbolises the way Christ's sacrifice on the cross as atonement for sin replaces the Old Testament tradition of making burnt offerings to atone for sin
Where the ashes come from
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made by burning the palm crosses that were blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday.
The ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, which makes sure that the ashes make a good mark.
The use of anointing oil also reminds the churchgoer of God's blessings and of the anointing that took place at their baptism.
From Palm Sunday to Ash Wednesday
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, so when the crosses used in the Palm Sunday service are converted to ashes, the worshippers are reminded that defeat and crucifixion swiftly followed triumph.
St Peter's Road
Lowestoft, Suffolk UK NR33 0ED |
Rectory: +44 1502 589112
Rector Mobile: +44 7534 105306 Administrator: +44 7967 205198 |
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