by the Very Rev. Dr. Jacob Owensby

Holy Week and Easter are fast approaching.  Please take careful note of the service schedules posted in the Evangelist, in our Sunday bulletin and on our website.  The liturgies for this holy season are rich and meaningful.  The more fully we participate, the more deeply we will experience the Paschal mystery.

Instead of outlining the schedule here, I want to highlight some elements of these services.

On Palm Sunday, children will lead us in the Palm procession.  Their joyful leadership underscores our ministry to children, but it also heightens the sense of celebration appropriate to the beginning of this liturgy.  We will then feel even more keenly the sorrowful turn from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the Passion.

Maundy Thursday will once again feature washing of the feet.  Four stations will be set up at the front of the nave: two in front of the pulpit and two in front of the lectern, respectively.  All will be invited to have their feet washed and to wash the feet of their brother or sister in Christ.  We begin by having our feet washed as a symbol of our need of Christ’s love.  Christ became our servant to save us.  We in turn wash the feet of others to follow the example of our Lord as servant.

I especially want to underscore the importance of the Great Vigil of Easter. It is drawn from the traditions of the ancient Church and dramatically recounts salvation history and the resurrection of our Lord.  The lighting of the new fire, lighting handheld candles from the Paschal Candle, chanting the Exsultet, and ringing bells as we turn on the lights and proclaim the Lord’s resurrection are just a few of the elements that make this service so special.  (Incense will be used.)  Attendance at this service has been low in the past, and since it is especially fitting for the Cathedral to celebrate the Vigil, I urge you to plan on making it a part of you worship plans.

Also fitting for the life of a Cathedral, our Bishop will lead us in worship for Easter.  He will preach different sermons at the Vigil and on Easter Day.  (Incense will be used at the 9:45 service.)  His focus will be dry bones and new life on Saturday evening, reflecting on the wonderful passage from Ezekiel.  Sunday morning the Bishop will turn to Mark’s account of our Lord’s resurrection.

Please invite a friend to attend Easter service with you.  Most of us know someone not presently involved in a church.  Some are new in town and some no longer feel at home in the church community that used to nurture them.  You would be surprised what a gift it is for someone without a church family to be invited by a friend to join them on this holy day.

I look forward to celebrating this first Easter with you as Dean of St. Mark’s.  Words cannot express how grateful I am to serve among you and how the affection I have for you grows every day.  The Lord has blessed you to be a blessing to me!