Holy Week at Redeemer
Holy Week at Redeemer
Maundy Thursday Service—Holy Communion, 7:00pm
Good Friday Service, 7:00pm
Holy Saturday Prayer, noon
Easter Sunday—Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, 10:00am
New Music this Sunday
We will be singing two new (to us) songs on Easter Sunday. The first is a beautiful setting of the Gloria in Excelsis (listen here) by Steve Williamson, which we will incorporate regularly in our worship toward the end of the service, just before the blessing. The other is a gripping worship song called “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death” (listen here).
Changes to Our Liturgy
You can’t be curious about Anglicanism for long without running into the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), which forms the liturgical heart of the Anglican tradition.
Based on the title, you might reasonably assume that there’s just one BCP out there. However, if you Google “Book of Common Prayer”, you’re faced with an abundance of options. You’ll often see them referred to by numbers such as 1662, 1928, and of course, 2019… the Anglican Church in North America’s BCP . So, the reality is the Book of Common Prayer is a family of books with a shared lineage dating back to the Reformation.
Beginning the Sunday after Easter we will be adjusting the order of our liturgy (currently 2019) to conform more closely to the order of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer—the standard of Global Anglicanism. We’ll also implement a couple of order changes for Easter Sunday.
One of the Fundamental Declarations of our Provence (the ACNA) states, “We receive The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.”
What you’ll notice primarily about the 1662 order is that:
The Nicene Creed is said just before we dismiss the children to their time of formation—preceding, rather than following the sermon.
The Gloria in Excelsis (“Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth…”) is said or sung—we will be singing it (and you can practice it here)—just before The Blessing at the conclusion of the service rather than near the beginning.
The language in the Eucharistic Prayer of Consecration is slightly different than what we’re used to hearing, though briefer and quite beautiful.
The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments) is read more frequently (we currently read it only during the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent).
The Exhortation is read more frequently than just the first Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Trinity Sunday.
In addition to meeting the goal of better aligning our Sunday worship with Global Anglicanism, the 1662 order offers a more cohesive narrative arc, moving from candidly confessing our need for mercy, to the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel, to celebration and thanksgiving: guilt–grace–gratitude.
It is our intention, after we’ve had some time to “settle in” to the rhythms and language changes, to spend a Sunday morning service in “guided liturgy”—to offer context and clarity about what we’re doing, praying, and saying.
Steve+
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADLW Missions Conference and Synod—May 28–30, 2026, McLean, VA
Bishop Julian Episcopal Visitation—Sunday, June 7
Weekly:
Around the Table—A prayer time for women, Thursdays, 9:00am at the Wishart’s. Email Lauren for details.
Youth Formation (ages 10–13)—Sundays at 9:00am in the Rectory apartment (the side of the Rectory nearest the Sanctuary).
Morning Prayer—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:00–8:30am on Zoom.
Men’s Bible Study—Thursdays, 7:00am @ 1309.
Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash
