Holy Week and Easter Services at Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Emmanuel Episcopal Church announces this year’s Holy Week and Easter schedule. Worship services will feature musical selections offered by the Emmanuel Parish Choir under the direction of Michael Salvatore.

Holy Week events commence on April 13 with a Maundy Thursday community Agapé Supper at 6:00 p.m. The supper consists of homemade soups, bread, cheese, salads, and fruit. At 7:00 p.m. youth and adult parishioners will reenact Jesus’ last night with his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion. The participatory service includes foot washing and Holy Communion, as well as the choir’s “Ave Verum Corpus” anthem by Mozart. It concludes with the procession of the reserved sacrament to the Garden of Repose, where parishioners are invited to pray by candlelight.

The Good Friday liturgy will be held at 12:00 noon on April 14. It includes St. John’s passion gospel, veneration of the cross, and communion from the reserved sacrament. Cantor Cecilia Gandolfo will lead the congregation in singing traditional hymns. The Rev. Dr. Matthew P. Cadwell, the church’s rector, will officiate and offer a Good Friday meditation.

The Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 95 Woburn Street, in Reading. Beginning at 7:00 p.m., the vigil is rich in symbolism and recalls early Christian traditions, including lighting the first fire, readings, chants, sprinkling holy water, and Holy Communion. The combined choirs of Emmanuel Church and Good Shepherd will sing. The Rev. Roger Nelson, retired rector of St. John’s Church in Saugus, is the guest preacher.

Two services are held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Easter Sunday, April 16: Holy Communion with a small choir at 8:00 a.m., and a larger Festival Choral Eucharist at 10:00 a.m. Both include favorite hymns and Dr. Cadwell’s Easter sermon. The latter service also features choral anthems by William Boyce and Randall Thompson and the children’s flowering of the cross. Professionally staffed childcare will be offered beginning at 9:45 a.m. A children’s Easter egg hunt follows, as will a festive coffee hour reception.

The Rev. Dr. Matthew Cadwell invited the wider community, saying: “All are welcome here—singles and families, younger and older, LGBTQ, absolutely everyone. God’s promises of abundant life are for us all, without exception. If you don’t have a church home, we invite you to visit Emmanuel Episcopal Church for Holy Week and Easter as we share in the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith and life.”

Emmanuel Episcopal Church is located at 5 Bryant Street (corner of Main and Bryant Streets) adjacent to the Veteran’s Memorial Common. The church and parish hall are handicap accessible. Contact 781-245-1374 or info@emmanuelwakefield.org for more information.