April 4, 2012
The Lord be with you
We will have two opportunities to worship the Lord this coming Holy Saturday, April 7, 2012. The first will be a Stations of the Cross service and the second will be a Great Easter Vigil service. The two services are very different. The Stations of the Cross service is our final Lenten service. The Great Easter Vigil is our first Easter service.
The Stations of t
he Cross service will be conducted entirely outside at Lamb of God and will begin at noon. The Stations service is chiefly a service of meditation and prayer, guided by our stations and scripture. At each station, the congregation and pastor will read responsively scripture lessons that relate to the various stations. After the reading there will be a brief silence for personal reflection and prayer, followed by a corporate prayer, led by pastor. After the prayers are completed at each station, the congregation will be led by our crucifer to the next station, until we have traveled from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Garden Tomb of Jesus. The service will concluded with the singing of the hymn “Were You There?”.
This is the first time we have offered this service at Lamb of God. Real interest in it from the community has been expressed, so we anticipate a number of visitors. It is a non-communion service.
Due to the nature of this service, no opportunity to worship the Lord with offerings is provided in the service. However, if individuals wish to worship the Lord in this fashion, a box will be located near the front doors of the church. Offerings may be placed in it.
The Great Easter Vigil is a joint worship service offered by Lamb of God, Spartanburg, Good Shepherd, Greenville, and Abiding Savior, Anderson. The service will be at the centrally located Good Shepherd (1601 N. Plesantburg Dr, Greenville) and begin at 8:00 PM.
The Great Easter Vigil begins outdoors on Good Shepherd’s plaza with the Liturgy of Light. A large fire is kindled which reminds us of the pillar of fire that led Israel in the wilderness and the tongues of fire that fell upon the Apostles at the first Pentecost. Both fires represented the presence of God among his people. The congregation receives candles, which are lit off the Christ Candle, representing that the presence of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, goes wit
h us. With candles burning, we process into the sanctuary. In the sanctuary the Exsultet (or Paschal Proclamation) is read. After this we extinguish our candles and move to the main part of the service, the Liturgy of Readings. The readings are interspersed with prayers, singing, and moments of silence. The lessons (Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18 and 9:8-13; Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 14:10-31, 15:1; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Job 19:20-27; Jonah 3:1-10; Daniel 3:1-30) are selected from the list of traditional lessons read in this service. Historically this was the service at which people were baptized. In former years we have been blessed to have at least one baptism. This year, though, we do not have a baptism. Therefore, following Liturgy of Readings, we will have a Remembrance of Baptism. Following this we will have the Gospel Procession, in which the resurrection Gospel is read (John 20:1-18). The service will end with the singing of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia!”.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
Were You There - A Cappella
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia!
The Lord be with you
We will have two opportunities to worship the Lord this coming Holy Saturday, April 7, 2012. The first will be a Stations of the Cross service and the second will be a Great Easter Vigil service. The two services are very different. The Stations of the Cross service is our final Lenten service. The Great Easter Vigil is our first Easter service.
The Stations of t
he Cross service will be conducted entirely outside at Lamb of God and will begin at noon. The Stations service is chiefly a service of meditation and prayer, guided by our stations and scripture. At each station, the congregation and pastor will read responsively scripture lessons that relate to the various stations. After the reading there will be a brief silence for personal reflection and prayer, followed by a corporate prayer, led by pastor. After the prayers are completed at each station, the congregation will be led by our crucifer to the next station, until we have traveled from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Garden Tomb of Jesus. The service will concluded with the singing of the hymn “Were You There?”.This is the first time we have offered this service at Lamb of God. Real interest in it from the community has been expressed, so we anticipate a number of visitors. It is a non-communion service.
Due to the nature of this service, no opportunity to worship the Lord with offerings is provided in the service. However, if individuals wish to worship the Lord in this fashion, a box will be located near the front doors of the church. Offerings may be placed in it.
The Great Easter Vigil is a joint worship service offered by Lamb of God, Spartanburg, Good Shepherd, Greenville, and Abiding Savior, Anderson. The service will be at the centrally located Good Shepherd (1601 N. Plesantburg Dr, Greenville) and begin at 8:00 PM.
The Great Easter Vigil begins outdoors on Good Shepherd’s plaza with the Liturgy of Light. A large fire is kindled which reminds us of the pillar of fire that led Israel in the wilderness and the tongues of fire that fell upon the Apostles at the first Pentecost. Both fires represented the presence of God among his people. The congregation receives candles, which are lit off the Christ Candle, representing that the presence of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, goes wit
h us. With candles burning, we process into the sanctuary. In the sanctuary the Exsultet (or Paschal Proclamation) is read. After this we extinguish our candles and move to the main part of the service, the Liturgy of Readings. The readings are interspersed with prayers, singing, and moments of silence. The lessons (Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18 and 9:8-13; Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 14:10-31, 15:1; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Job 19:20-27; Jonah 3:1-10; Daniel 3:1-30) are selected from the list of traditional lessons read in this service. Historically this was the service at which people were baptized. In former years we have been blessed to have at least one baptism. This year, though, we do not have a baptism. Therefore, following Liturgy of Readings, we will have a Remembrance of Baptism. Following this we will have the Gospel Procession, in which the resurrection Gospel is read (John 20:1-18). The service will end with the singing of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia!”.Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
Were You There - A Cappella
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; Alleluia!
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