Alleluia! Christ is risen!!

Good day,

 Just a short email today to pass along an important “Liturgical Note For You”. Here it is…

Octave of Easter: We are in what is called the Octave of Easter – it began yesterday, with Easter, of course, and goes until next Sunday for a total of eight days. We feast and celebrate our risen Lord with particular joy and vigour from Sunday to Sunday 🙂 Who needs to diet anyway?! The Octave of Easter takes precedence over all other days. This means that there are no other calendar observances throughout this time as we focus on the glory and redemption of the resurrection. If you have any worship services throughout the week, in addition to next Sunday, the “Alleluia” may be doubled at the Sending of the Church. There is then a single “Alleluia” at the dismissal from then until the Day of Pentecost when it is doubled once again. Speaking of Pentecost, I’ll say this again when the time comes but, importantly, the Day of Pentecost is NOT the first day of a new season; it is the last day of the Easter festival, “uniting the events of the Resurrection and the empowerment of the Church” (p.99 of Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary published by Abingdon Press.)

May the joy and hope of the Easter gospel fill your hearts and minds. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!!

Susan+