Sunday, March 30, 7pm

THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER is, in a nutshell, the most symbolic, meaningful, personal, and experiential service of the church year, explaining and demonstrating how we move from the Passion and death of Jesus Christ to his Resurrection.

The Easter Vigil is an incredibly powerful and special worship experience. The Vigil begins at ‘sundown’ as we move from Holy Saturday to Easter. Our abbreviated version of this timeless celebration begins with a “Service of light.” This is marked with the lighting of the ‘new fire,’ which is used to light the Paschal candle, representing the risen Christ. This ‘Light to the World’ is then carried in solemn procession, entering a darkened church where it will start to spread light throughout. The service of light concludes with the most glorious of all chants, the Exsultet, which explains the whole story of salvation. We then move into the liturgy of the Word with stories from the Old Testament. This is the night when the Church around the world welcomes the newest members to God’s family and renew our own baptismal vows, as well as being the first Eucharist of Easter – marked by the Easter Acclamation: “Alleluia. Christ is risen!” The Great Vigil of Easter gives the full meaning behind our celebration of the next day. Come experience a new dimension of the wonder and majesty of Easter this year!

“This is the night, when all who believe in Christ
are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life!”