Regardless of where you find yourself on your spiritual journey – questioning, doubting, full of faith, or simply curious – you are welcome at All Saints Kingsway for Holy Week and Easter services. Whether you’ve never been to church, it has been a long time, or you are a regular attender, we invite you to join us!
These services contain beautiful liturgies that include singing, reading scripture, praying, confessing our faith, repenting of our sin and receiving God’s forgiveness, and sharing together in Holy Communion.
If you have questions before you attend, check out the FAQs below or please email us at office@allsaintskingsway.ca. We hope you’ll join us!
What is Holy Week?
Holy Week is a special time for many followers of Jesus when we gather together to worship and remember many of the events in the days leading up to and including Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a holy week because we intentionally set this time apart in our calendar every year to retell this story of how God acted in Jesus Christ to save us and all humanity.
What is Maundy Thursday?
Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, which translates as mandate. On this holy night we remember Jesus’ command to His disciples that they should love one another. This was Jesus’ mandate to them. On this night, Jesus also washed His disciples’ feet as an example of the kind of love He wanted them to share (that of a servant) and shared the Last Supper with them. In remembrance of these acts, we gather and have a time for those who wish to have their feet washed and we share in Holy Communion.
Why is it called Good Friday?
On this holy day we remember Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross. It is because of His death on the cross that we can be forgiven our sins and receive God’s free gift of salvation and life eternal. In and through Jesus’ death we are saved, freed, healed, and made whole. This is why it’s called Good Friday. While it is a somber day and a solemn service, it is good too because of what Jesus did for us all.
Who is the Family Service for?
This service is mainly offered for those with children, but is open to all. It will be an interactive time where children and parents/grandparents participate together in learning more about Holy Week and all that Jesus did for all of us through His death and resurrection. Activities are appropriate for children in JK-Grade 5, although younger and older siblings are welcome.
What is the Easter Vigil?
Traditionally on this holy night, there would be a vigil of watching and waiting, fasting and prayer, that lasted through the hours of darkness and would end in the first celebration of the resurrection in the morning. It was also traditional on this night for new followers of Jesus to be baptized and to receive their first Holy Communion. They would’ve spent the whole of Lent preparing and on this holy night, they would be joined with Christ in His death and resurrection through baptism.
This service begins in the dark to symbolize the darkness of death and Christ’s tomb. Worshippers begin the service outside the dark church where we light the new fire of Easter and then we process into the darkness with lit candles and proclaim to the darkness that Christ has risen!
This is the first Holy Communion of Easter and a holy service full of symbols of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His great triumph over sin and death.
