ST JAMES’S, SUSSEX GARDENS
THE PARISH CHURCH OF PADDINGTON
LENT,
HOLY WEEK
& EASTER
2015
WHAT IS LENT?
Lent is a time of preparation – lasting 40 days - for the events of Holy Week & Easter.
Easter was traditionally the time when baptisms were celebrated, and the time when
those who had become separated from the communion of the Church because of their
serious sins were restored to the Church’s fellowship. This means that Lent has a
solemn character. It is the season of the year where the disciplines of penitence, selfexamination, self-denial & study are practised. Almsgiving has also traditionally been
associated with Lent.
Originally these Lenten disciplines were adopted by candidates for
baptism and penitents preparing themselves to be readmitted to
communion, but it became the custom for the whole Christian
community to join in the process of study, preparation and
repentance. The Lenten disciplines happened over forty days to
remind Christians of the forty days that Jesus spent in the
wilderness, being tested by Satan.
Ashes are an ancient sign of penitence, and from the Middle Ages it
became the custom to begin Lent by being marked in ash with the
sign of the cross. It is for that reason that the first day of Lent – Ash
Wednesday – is so called.
Liturgical dress is at its simplest during Lent. Churches are kept bare
of flowers and decoration. The Gloria in excelsis is not said or sung.
The joyful word alleluia is not used. However, the Fourth Sunday of
Lent (known variously as Laetare or Refreshment Sunday) was
provided as a day of relief from the rigours of fasting - it is the day
on which in more recent times the Church has kept Mothering
Sunday.
The Feast of the Annunciation almost always falls in Lent, but
because it is a day of rejoicing marking the announcement to the
Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to conceive Christ in her womb,
the disciplines of Lent are suspended so that a feast can be
celebrated.
As Holy Week approaches, the atmosphere of the season darkens; the readings begin
to anticipate the story of Christ’s suffering and death, and the reading of the Passion
Narrative gives to the Fifth Sunday of Lent its name - Passion Sunday.
EVENTS IN LENT
ASH WEDNESDAY
The First Day of Lent
18th February
Solemn Mass with Imposition of Ashes
7.30pm
THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
22nd February
Sung Mass & Sunday School
10.30am
HOLY HOUR
Wednesday 25th February
Mass 6.30-7pm
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, concluding with Benediction 7-7.30pm
A time for silence & reflection before the Blessed Sacrament each Wednesday
evening in Lent.
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
1st March
Sung Mass & Sunday School, followed by Parish Conversation
10.30am
Mass will be followed by the first of our Parish Conversations: a time of
sharing ideas and open discussion of opportunities of mission and outreach
in the Parish. This first session will focus on work with children and young
people.
HOLY HOUR
Mass 6.30-7pm
Exposition and Benediction 7-7.30pm
Wednesday 4th March
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
8th March
Sung Mass & Sunday School
10.30am
The second of our Parish Conversations, focusing on mission and outreach in
the Parish, takes place after Mass.
HOLY HOUR
Wednesday 11th March
Mass 6.30-7pm
Exposition and Benediction 7-7.30pm
CONFIRMATION CLASS
Session One
Thursday 12th March
Children’s class at the School 3.30-4.30pm
Adult’s class in church 7-8.30pm
Theme for session one: Introduction, God, Human Nature and Sin
FAITH TALK
Thursday 12th March
Mass 6.30pm
Refreshments 7-7.30pm
Talk 7.30-8.30pm
A talk given by Gillian Crow to members of the London Branch of the
Fellowship of St Alban & St Sergius – but open to all – on the late
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. The talk is entitled ‘Metropolitan Anthony:
Leadings us to the light of the Resurrection’
MOTHERING SUNDAY
The Fourth Sunday of Lent
15th March
10.30am
Sung Mass & Sunday School Pageant
The service will be followed by special Mothering Sunday refreshments, and
the third of our Parish Conversations on mission and outreach opportunities.
HOLY HOUR
Mass 6.30-7pm
Exposition and Benediction 7-7.30pm
Wednesday 18th March
CONFIRMATION CLASS
Session Two
Thursday 19th March
Children’s class at the School 3.30-4.30pm
Adult’s class in church 7-8.30pm
Theme for session two: Jesus: Life and Ministry
LENT DAY RETREAT
Saturday 21st March
10.30am-4.30pm
A day of quiet prayer with addresses. Details to follow.
PASSION SUNDAY
22nd March
The Fifth Sunday of Lent
Sung Mass & Sunday School
10.30am
The final two weeks of Lent are called Passiontide. As the great Triduum – the
‘three days’ – draws closer, traditionally images in church are veiled in purple.
THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION
TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Wednesday 25th March
Lady Day Outing 5-9pm
A Parish Outing to our neighbouring parish - the Church of the Annunciation,
Marble Arch - to celebrate with them their Feast of Title. High Mass is at
7pm and the preacher is our own vicar, Fr Paul. There will be High Tea at 5pm
beforehand at the Bathurst Street Deli for all pilgrims before departing at 6pm.
CONFIRMATION CLASS
Session Three
Thursday 26th March
Children’s class at the School 3.30-4.30pm
Adult’s class in church 7-8.30pm
Theme for session three: Jesus: Death and Resurrection
CHILDREN’S WORKSHOP
Saturday 28th March
10.30am -1pm
Holy Week activities and craft for children and parents, ending with lunch.
HOLY WEEK
PALM SUNDAY
29th March
Liturgy of the Palms, Procession & Sung Mass
10.30am
The first day of Holy Week begins with much ceremony as palm crosses and
branches are blessed & carried in the open air, and we go in a loud procession
through the local streets and into Church, recalling the Triumphal Entry of
Christ into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday.
The Preacher throughout Holy Week is Fr Julian Browning
(Honorary Assistant Priest at All Saints, Margaret Street)
MONDAY, TUESDAY
& WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK
30th, 31st March & 1st April
6.30pm Mass
7.15pm Supper (soup, bread & cheese)
8.30pm Holy Week Address (Fr Julian)
8.40pm Compline (lasting 10 mins)
A Priest is available to hear confessions can from 8-8.30pm each evening.
Feel free to come to one, some, or all of the evening.
MAUNDY THURSDAY
2nd April
Mass of the Last Supper & Watch until Midnight
7.30pm
The events of Maundy Thursday are dramatic. In the Mass we commemorate
how Christ on the first Maundy Thursday instituted the Holy Communion at
his Last Supper. We also commemorate how he washed the feet of The Twelve
as an example of his servanthood, and how our Lord then went in obedience to
the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and to await his betrayal. The service ends
with a silent Watch until Midnight.
GOOD FRIDAY
3rd April
Children’s Stations of the Cross 10am (followed by Hot Cross Buns)
A short service for children and families that moves around the Church telling
the story of Good Friday.
The Liturgy of the Passion at 1.30pm
A solemn liturgy that commemorates and leads us into the mysterious selfgiving and suffering of Christ upon the Cross.
EASTER EVE
4th April
Lighting of the Paschal Fire, Vigil & First Mass of Easter
9pm
This service begins outside in darkness with the lighting of the Paschal
(Easter) Fire, from which a single flame is taken – a symbol of the Resurrection
- and brought into church. A hymn of praise called the Exsultet is sung to the
Resurrection, and a sequence of readings follows which takes us from Creation
to Resurrection. The Easter Acclamation is proclaimed: ‘Christ is Risen!’, a
merry noise is made, and the first Mass of Easter is celebrated. In addition the
waters of the Font are blessed and our baptismal vows renewed.
EASTER DAY
5th April
Procession & High Mass at 10.30am
The Resurrection is proclaimed with great joy at the High Mass on Easter
morning.
Festal Evensong at 6pm
Confirmation Classes resume on Thursday 16th April.