On today's episode...

We finish our series of episodes on the worship services of Holy Week. Today we discuss the Great Vigil of Easter (Easter Vigil), the last of three services called the Triduum.

We discuss not only what the service is about but its meanings. Why is there a fire? What is the prayer to the candle about? Why so many readings? Why are we celebrating Easter at night, shouldn’t it be in the morning? Most of all, why would anyone come to this service?

Up next: Next Wednesday we will release an episode on the Resurrection and what it means for us.

We look forward to seeing you for worship during Holy Week and Easter! Tonight is Tenebrae and we’ve got services all week leading up to Easter Sunday, April 5. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/easter/ and see you in church!

Thank you for listening to this episode of Cross Connections. Be sure to follow or like us on your favorite podcasting app to find us easily each week, or join our email list at ⁠⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections/

We love getting your questions! Please call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. You can also email questions to us at crossconnections@stdavidschurch.org.

If you like what you hear, please share this episode with your friends and rate us in Spotify and Apple podcasts so other people can find us as well. If you really love what you hear, we'd be ever so grateful if you would donate to St. David's Church. You can visit our website at ⁠stdavidschurch.org/giving⁠ and write "Cross Connections" in the memo line to indicate your support.

Cross Connections is a ministry of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA and is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode / Pond5.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship and ministries at https://stdavidschurch.org.

On today's episode...

We continue our series of episodes on the worship services of Holy Week. Today we discuss Good Friday, the second of three services called the Triduum.

We first talk about the oddities of language in the name of Good Friday. Why is it called good? Do you also confuse Good Friday and Black Friday? We also touch on some of the colloquial names for other days of Holy Week.

When we get into the liturgy of the day, we note a few things right away: it’s not participatory in quite the same way that Maundy Thursday is; it starts in silence (the continuation from Maundy Thursday ending in silence, perhaps?); and the Passion reading is always only from the Gospel of John. We do talk about two of the participatory moments: standing/ kneeling during the Gospel reading and the veneration of the cross. Before we get into talking about the veneration, first we discuss the Gospel of John and how its specific wording hascaused great damage over the years and up to today. You can hear more about this in our episode on the Gospel of John from last season. We also get into Elliot’s issues with only using the Gospel of John for this service.

Then Rick asks us why we think people should come to this service, which looks death in the face and sits in grief, on a sunny spring evening. Elliot and Natalee give their answers and then Rick gives his own thoughts – which, interestingly, include a reference to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Finally, we move on to the other participatory moment of the service – the veneration of the cross. Rick explains it for Natalee (“Explain to me how this is not idolatry?”) in a satisfying way. We then talk about Elliot’s favorite part: thesolemn collects – something you’ll only ever experience in this service–prayers that go back thousands of years.

We close out with a few quick fun facts and fascinations. First, a rundown of the Holy Saturday service. This is a short one-page liturgy for during the day, ahead of when we would celebrate Easter Vigil, which is our next episode. Then, a noteabout the tradition around Holy Saturday being the day that Jesus “descended to the dead.” Finally, Natalee’s fascination with imagining what it was like to be a disciple on that day between Jesus’ death and resurrection. Up next: our Easter Vigil episode.

We look forward to seeing you for worship during Holy Week and Easter! Palm Sunday this year is Sunday, March 29 and we’ve got services all week leading up to Easter Sunday, April 5. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/easter/ and see you in church!

Thank you for listening to this episode of Cross Connections. Be sure to follow or like us on your favorite podcasting app to find us easily each week, or join our email list at ⁠⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections/

We love getting your questions! Please call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. You can also email questions to us at crossconnections@stdavidschurch.org.

If you like what you hear, please share this episode with your friends and rate us in Spotify and Apple podcasts so other people can find us as well. If you really love what you hear, we'd be ever so grateful if you would donate to St. David'sChurch. You can visit our website at ⁠stdavidschurch.org/giving⁠ and write "Cross Connections" in the memo line to indicate your support.

Cross Connections is a ministry of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA and is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill. Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode/ Pond5.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship and ministries at https://stdavidschurch.org.

On today's episode...

We continue our series of episodes on the worship services of Holy Week. Today we discuss Maundy Thursday, the first of three services called the Triduum, and what Rick calls the “most full” service of the year. We start off by defining some terms – which includes a funny and relatable story about Rick’s sister. Then we get into the many Biblical events commemorated by this one liturgy – from foot washing to the new commandment to the Last Supper and the vigil in the Garden of Gethsemane. Learn about the biggest controversy in all the Christian denominations – and how the Anglican Church (and thereby The Episcopal Church) finds a middle way through it. Find out what you can expect at St. David’s Maundy Thursday worship, or what you might find at your local Episcopal church if not able to join us here.

We look forward to seeing you for worship during Holy Week Easter! Palm Sunday this year is Sunday, March 29 and we’ve got services all week leading up to Easter Sunday, April 5. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/easter/ and see you in church!

Thank you for listening to this episode of Cross Connections. Be sure to follow or like us on your favorite podcasting app to find us easily each week, or join our email list at ⁠⁠⁠https://stdavidschurch.org/crossconnections/

We love getting your questions! Please call us at 484.588.5656 and leave a voicemail with your name, where you’re from, and your question or comment. You can also email questions to us at crossconnections@stdavidschurch.org.

If you like what you hear, please share this episode with your friends and rate us in Spotify and Apple podcasts so other people can find us as well. If you really love what you hear, we'd be ever so grateful if you would donate to St. David's Church. You can visit our website at ⁠stdavidschurch.org/giving⁠ and write "Cross Connections" in the memo line to indicate your support.

Cross Connections is a ministry of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA and is hosted by the Rev. Rick Morley, Elliot VanHoy, and Natalee Hill.

Logo graphic design and podcast production by Natalee Hill with editing support from Blinck Media . Stock Media Music provided by Marscott and MoodMode/ Pond5.

You are welcome to learn more about all of St. David’s worship and ministries at https://stdavidschurch.org.