St. Paul’s Lenten Observances
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, 4:30 p.m.; tickets at the door:
Adults, $7.00; children under 12, $3.00. Family of four, $18.00.
Stations of The Cross, Fridays 12:00 noon.
Ash Wednesday: Mass and Imposition of Ashes, 7AM, 12 Noon & 7PM
Holy Week Schedule: 2-9 April 2023
Palm Sunday: All three regular weekend services. Blessing of the Palms on The Green at the 10AM service.
Maundy Thursday: 6 PM – The Agape Meal with the traditional Foot-Washing observing the Last Supper. Procession into the Church, the stripping of the Altar, and the Watch with Christ in the Garden. Bring a Dish to share (Mediterranean Style).
Good Friday: 12 Noon – The Passion Narrative and the Solemn Collects followed by the Stations of the Cross.
Holy Saturday: 8PM – The Great Vigil of Easter. We await the Resurrection of Christ hearing the story of Redemption in Scripture and Song, and Celebrate Holy baptism.
Easter Day: Begins with a 6AM Sunrise Service at All Saints, Brookland. The Festive Eucharist of the Resurrection (St. Paul’s) at 8AM and 10AM with special activities for the children.
Stations of The Cross
As part of its Lenten observances, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wellsboro offers the service of Stations of the Cross at 12 noon on Fridays.
The practice of following Christ’s path to Golgotha, the place of His crucifixion, with recollections of the events that occurred on the way, was observed by a nun visiting Jerusalem in the Fourth Century. At St. Paul’s, fourteen ‘stations’ located around the inside of the church recall these events for worshipers, who may move from station to station if they wish. At each station, a brief meditation and an appropriate prayer are offered.
The service is brief, lasting for only about twenty minutes, making it possible for persons to attend during the lunch hour. Although brief, the service can be very helpful as one draws closer to Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and the Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection. The congregation of St. Paul’s welcomes all who may wish to join in this very appropriate Lenten devotion.
Holy Week Observances
From Palm Sunday through Good Friday, the events of the Passion of Jesus Christ, from his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, to his betrayal, denial, trial, sentence, and death on the Cross, are recalled at various services conducted at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wellsboro.
‘The intent of our Holy Week observances is not to leave each of us with a feeling of personal guilt,’ said Canon Gregory P. Hinton. ‘Rather, the intent of the liturgies is to lead us to a profound sense of gratitude for that which our Lord endured for us all – indeed for the whole of the human condition.’
The story of Christ’s bold entry into Jerusalem, followed almost immediately by his betrayal and agonizing death, are recalled at the 10 a.m. Palm Sunday Eucharist. The congregation enters the church carrying palm fronds and singing ‘Hosanna to the son of David!’
But the ‘Hosannas’ that greeted Jesus two thousand years ago quickly change to cries of ‘Crucify him,’ as the service reflects this dramatic turn of heart. The congregation participates in the story of Christ’s Passion as it is told in the Gospel of St. Mark.
A shorter version of the Palm Sunday liturgy (without music) begins at 8 a.m. Palm Sunday morning. A less formal version begins at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.
To observe the solemnity of the days between Palm Sunday and Good Friday, there is a celebration of the Eucharist during Holy Week and Thursday, at 6 p.m. The Thursday Eucharist recalls Christ’s mandate to His apostles that they must love one another, and concludes with the removal of the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose and the stripping of the Altar.
Good Friday, unlike any other day in the Christian calendar, is marked at St. Paul’s with a liturgy that is also unlike any other in the year. The service beginning at 12 noon with readings from scripture and meditations are followed by a reading of the Passion of Jesus Christ according to St. John, with members of the congregation taking the varied speaking parts.
The people of St. Paul’s extend a sincere welcome to persons of all denominations and faiths to renew their acquaintance with the Passion of Christ at the church’s Holy Week worship services.