Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Churches prepare Easter servicesBy JUDY KILGORE This weekend concludes months of preparation by local churches for one of the holiest event of the Christian year, the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Congregations and church leaders have planned special worship services, musical performances, and other events to celebrate the very foundation of their faith. While not observed by all denominations, special celebration days include Maundy Thursday, March 24, and Good Friday, March 25. Easter Sunday, celebrated by all Christians, is March 27. The following churches have announced plans for Easter observances. The annual Community Good Friday Service in Peachtree City will be held this year at noon, Friday, March 25, at the First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City on Willowbend Road. Pastors from six Peachtree City churches will speak on The Seven Last Words of Christ and congregational singing will be interspersed throughout the service. Attendees are encouraged to come and go as their schedule permits. Dr. George S. Dillard III, senior minister of Peachtree City Christian Church, organizes the community service each year. Participating churches include Peachtree City Christian Church, Peachtree City United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church of Peachtree City, Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Holy Trinity Catholic Church and Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church. For more information about the Community Good Friday service, call Peachtree City Christian Church, 770-487-9711. Antioch Community Baptist Church will hold a community Easter egg hunt and cookout Saturday, March 26, at 2 p.m. The church is at 144 Brooks-Woolsey Rd., south of Fayetteville. Phone: 770-461-8270. Bethany United Methodist Church will have a Maundy Thursday communion service March 24 at 6:30 p.m. Easter Sunday will begin witha sunrise service followed by an Easter breakfast. The Easter Sunday Celebration service will be at 11 a.m. Bethany is at 607 Rivers Rd. in north Fayette County. Phone: 770-964-6999 or 770-964-6992. The Body of Christ Church International, U.S.A. will have Easter Resurrection services Sunday, March 27, at 8 and 10:30 a.m. Childcare will be provided. The church is at 3650 Flat Shoals Rd., College Park. Phone: 770-472-4800, or visit the Web site, www.boccc.org. Carriage Lane Presbyterian Church will have a Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m. on March 24. The Easter Sunday service will be at 11 a.m., March 27. Carriage Lane is at 101 Carriage Lane, Peachtree City. Phone: 770-631-4618. Christ Our Hope Lutheran church will have two services on Maundy Thursday, March 24. One will be a spoken service of worship with communion at noon, and another will be held at 7 p.m. The evening service will be a gathering for a simple meal of soup and bread, followed by sharing the bread and wine at the tables. A period of silent prayer and meditation will be held in the sanctuary. The Good Friday Service of Tenebrae will be held in the sanctuary at 7 p.m. on March 25. After the reading of scripture, the altar will be stripped and the sanctuary left in total darkness. Following a period of silent prayer, a single candle is returned to the altar symbolizing the hope of the resurrection. Easter Sunday Festival Services of Communion will be held at 8:30 and 11 a.m. During the Sunday school hour, the youth group will serve a homemade breakfast. A freewill offering will be collected to underwrite the cost of the youth groups summer trip to Lutheridge. Christ Our Hope is at 2165 Ga. Hwy. 138, SW, in Riverdale. Phone: 770-997-7117. Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Peachtree City, will offer two services on Maundy Thursday, March 24, both including Holy Communion. One service is at 12:15 p.m., the other at 7 p.m. The First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City and Christ Our Shepherd have established a tradition of sharing Maundy Thursday worship, and this year the service will be at Christ Our Shepherd. First Presbyterians pastor David Miller will preach on the topic, Go the Distance, and First Presbyterians music director David Stivers will conduct the combined adult choirs. The symbolic stripping of the altar will conclude the service. On Good Friday, March 25, Christ Our Shepherd Pastor John Weber will speak at the noon community service. Members will leave the church at 4:30 p.m. carrying three heavy crosses to Picnic Park, singing and remembering Christs Via Dolorosa. The structure of the 8 p.m. service at the church will be Tenebrae: Service of Darkness, which includes readings, prayers, and music anchored by the adult choir. The service ends in silence and darkness. The Vigil of Easter service begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26, planned and led by pastoral intern Liz Albertson. Rich in scriptures and prayers, the Vigil also includes appropriate hymns for the congregation. Easter Sunday brings six services. The outdoor sunrise service at 7 a.m. will be led by the churchs youth. Services at 9 and 10:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall feature contemporary music led by the GraceFlock Band. The adult choir and the Christ Our Shepherd brass, conducted by Karl Dietmeyer, will help lead the sanctuary services at 8:30 and 10 a.m. Musical leadership at the 11:30 a.m. service will be by the Evening Praise Team. All services include Holy Communion, at which all baptized Christians are welcome. A nursery will be available for all services Sunday morning except the sunrise service. The church is at 101 Peachtree Parkway North, on the corner of Peachtree Parkway and Ga. Hwy. 54 in Peachtree City. Phone: 770-487-8717. The Fine Arts Ministry of Christs Church at Whitewater will present the ninth annual performance of its Easter pageant, this year entitled, Christs Passion at Christs Church on Maundy Thursday, March 24 and Good Friday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 26 at 4 p.m. Saturdays performance is interpreted for the hearing impaired. The Christs Church orchestra will accompany the choir throughout the entire pageant this year. The part of Jesus Christ is played by Darren Phillips, who is in his sixth year in the role. Due to the graphic nature of the crucifixion scene, the play may not be appropriate for children 5 and under. Childcare is provided for children ages birth through 5 years. Early arrival is advised since there is no reserved seating. For more information or to inquire about childcare, call the church office, 770-461-1487. Christs Church at Whitewater is on Ga. Highway 85 South, 4.5 miles south of the Fayette County Courthouse. Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church will begin Easter weekend activities with a service on Maundy Thursday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. Father David Epps will bring the message, a liturgical foot-washing service will be conducted, Holy Eucharist will be celebrated and the altar stripped. Christ the King observes an open table at Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion), meaning that all Christians who have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit may receive Eucharist. On Friday, March 24, the church will participate in the Peachtree City Community Good Friday service at noon at First Presbyterian Church. That evening, at 7:30 p.m., the congregation will observe Good Friday with a solemn ceremony of the Stations of the Cross at Christ the King. Easter Sunday celebration services will be held at 8 and 10 a.m. Epps will speak at both services. Christ the King is on Ga. Hwy. 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. Phone: 770-252-2428. The Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Fayetteville will offer the opportunity to walk The Way of the Cross with the children of the parish on Wednesday of Holy Week, March 23, at 5:30 p.m. This popular devotion, also called The Stations of the Cross, involves praying before a series of depictions of events on Christs journey to the cross. Weather permitting, it will be held in Nativitys Memorial Garden of the Resurrection. A simple supper will follow. Also on Wednesday, a healing service will be held at 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday, March 24, will offer a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 7 p.m., including the traditional washing of feet. This service commemorates the last supper shared by Jesus and his disciples. Good Friday observances will begin on March 25 at noon at St. Gabriels Catholic Church, next door to Nativity on Antioch Road. During this time, various local clergy and laity offer reflections on The Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross. Continuing at Nativity, the Way of the Cross will begin in the sanctuary at 3:15 p.m. Weather permitting, it will continue in the Garden of Resurrection. The Solemn Liturgy, including The Passion of St. John, Solemn Prayers, and The Veneration of the Cross, will begin at 7 p.m. on Good Friday. Easter, the greatest and oldest feast of the Christian Church, will begin at Nativity at 6 a.m. March 27 with The Great Vigil of Easter, the culmination of the celebration of Holy Week and the beginning of the celebration of Christs resurrection. An Easter breakfast will follow at 8 a.m. Easter Sunday will continue with two Festal Services of Holy Eucharist at 9 and 11 a.m. Both will be family-friendly, traditional services. Children at both services are encouraged to bring cut flowers and join the entrance procession, participating in the tradition of the flowering of the cross. The Episcopal Church of the Nativity is at 130 Antioch Road, of Ga. Hwy. 92 South, at Harps Crossing in Fayetteville. Phone: 770-460-6390, or visit www.fayettenativity.com. Fayetteville First Baptist church will have a church-wide Passover Seder on Thursday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. Easter Sunday services will be held at 8:25 and 11:05 a.m. Fayetteville First Baptist is at 205 Stonewall Ave., Fayetteville. Phone: 770-461-8378. Fayetteville First United Methodist Church will have a service of Holy Communion in the sanctuary at 7 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, March 24. On Good Friday, Requiem by John Leavitt will be presented in the chapel at 8 p.m. Easter Sunday worship services are planned for 8:30, 9:45 and 11 a.m. All Sunday services will be held in the sanctuary. The church is at 175 East Lanier Ave., Fayetteville. Phone: 770-461-4313. The First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City will host its annual Easter egg hunt and breakfast Saturday, March 26, from 9-11 a.m. The men of the church will serve pancakes, sausage, eggs, juice and coffee. Family activities include an egg hunt, childrens crafts, face painting, pictures with the Lamb of God, games and a raffle. The church is at 206 Willowbend Rd. Phone: 770-487-7757. Flat Creek Baptist Church will have its Easter Sunday service at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 27. The evening service, normally scheduled for 6 p.m., will not be held. Flat Creek is at 161 Flat Creek Trail, between Fayetteville and Peachtree City. Phone: 770-487-4890. Harps Crossing Baptist Church will have Easter services at 9:30 and 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday, March 27. That evening, the choir will present its Easter musical celebration at 7 p.m. The service also will include the Lords Supper. Harps Crossing is at 1183 Ga. Hwy. 92 South Hopewell United Methodist Church will celebrate Maundy Thursday, March 24, at 7 p.m. with a Tenebrae Service. Called the service of darkness, this event strips the church of all religious symbols and drapes the sanctuary in black to emphasize a period of mourning. The candles are snuffed out and the congregation leaves the church in darkness and total silence. The church choir will present five selections from The Resurrection and the Life to compliment the service. The annual Easter egg hunt will take place on the church grounds Saturday, March 26. The childrens activities will begin at noon. Those who are interested in participating are asked to contact the church office for more information, 770-306-7537. On Easter Sunday, March 27, the church will hold both an 8:30 a.m. and an 11 a.m. service. The choir will present five more selections to celebrate the season. Hopewell is on Jenkins Road, across from Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone. Phone: 770-306-7537. Liberty Baptist Church will have a sunrise service at 7 a.m., Easter Sunday, March 27. Following the service, breakfast will be served. Sunday school will be at 9:30 a.m., followed by the regular church service at 10:45. The church is at 1055 Highway 314, Riverdale. Phone: 770-461-5644. Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Fayetteville will have its annual Good Friday Love Feast and Easter program Friday, March 25, beginning at 6 p.m. The event is sponsored by the youth department. An Easter egg hunt is planned for Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m. Church members will have their first Easter sunrise service March 27 at 6:30 a.m. A homestyle breakfast will follow and events will close with Sunday school. Casual dress is encouraged. Mt. Olive is at 192 Graves Rd., Fayetteville. Phone: 770-461-6526. National Heights Baptist Church will begin its Easter celebration with a pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Easter Sunday morning. The breakfast will be followed by an Easter egg hunt at 9:30 a.m. Sunday school will be held at 9:45 a.m. and the Easter Celebration service will begin at 10:55 a.m. During the Easter service, the choir will present two anthems, Christ is Risen, and Open the Gates of the Temple and the handbell choir will present a hymn arrangement of Beethovens Ode to Joy. National Heights is at 103 Old Norton Road, on the corner of Old Norton Road and Ga. Hwy. 54, west of Fayetteville. Phone: 770-461-1704 or 770-461-3899. New Hope Baptist Church will have Good Friday services at both the north and south campus locations at 7 p.m. Friday, March 25. The North campus service will be at the North Campus Worship Center and the South Campus service will be at Starrs Mill Hall. Easter Sunday services at the North Campus will be held at 8 and 10:45 a.m. and on the South Campus at 9 a.m. New Hopes North Campus is at 551 New Hope Rd., Fayetteville. The South Campus is at 1563 Ga. Hwy. 74 South. Phone: 770-461-4337, or visit the Web site, www.newhopebc.org. The Peachtree City Church of God will have Easter services Sunday, March 27, at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Excerpts from the churchs recent production of The Christ, The Cross, The Crown will be presented by the music and drama teams. Peachtree City Church of God is at 3935 Ga. Hwy. 34, between Peachtree City and Newnan. Phone: 770-251-3777. Peachtree City United Methodist Church will have Easter Worship Services at 225 Robinson Rd. on March 27 at 7, 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. The 7 a.m. service is a youth-lead sunrise service which will be held on the lower parking lot. Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs. The remaining services, with nursery available, feature the Chancel Choir and orchestra, with the Rev. Chuck Hodges preaching. These services will be held in the worship center. Parking and shuttle service will be available at 400 Windgate Road. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fayetteville will observe Maundy Thursday with a worship service at 7:30 p.m. A Tenebrae service will take place on Good Friday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. All children through 2nd grade are invited to an egg hunt on Saturday, March 26, at 11 am. Hot dogs will be served for lunch. Easter Sunday services on March 27 include a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. in the outdoor Peace Chapel, traditional services at 8:15 and 11 a.m., and the 9:30 a.m. contemporary service. Holy Communion will be celebrated at all services except the sunrise service. For more information on the ministries at Prince of Peace, call the church office, 770-461-3403 or visit the church Web site, www.popdove.com. Providence United Methodist Church will hold a Maundy Thursday service on Thursday, March 24, from 7-8 p.m. The service will feature four biblical portrayals and Holy Communion. On Good Friday, March 25, the church will host a covered dish dinner followed by a showing of the movie, The Passion of the Christ. Easter Sunday services will be held at 9, 10, and 11:11 a.m. Providence is at 592 Bernhard Rd., in south Fayette County. Phone: 770-719-8800, or log onto www.provumc.com. Rolling Hills Baptist Church will offer (adults only) a free viewing of Mel Gibsons movie, The Passion of the Christ at 7 p.m. on Good Friday, March 25. The viewing will be in the church sanctuary. A pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and Easter egg hunt at 10 a.m. are scheduled for Saturday morning, March 26. Easter Sunday activities will begin with adult Bible study and childrens Sunday school at 9:30 a.m., followed by a special Easter worship celebration at 10:45 a.m. Rolling Hills is at 1481 Redwine Road, Fayetteville. Phone: 770-719-1493. Southside Baptist Church will begin Easter weekend activities with a free Easter egg hunt and cookout Saturday, March 26, at 11 a.m., rain or shine. Hot dogs, chili, slaw, chips, drinks and desserts are free to all. Eggs used in the egg hunt will be plastic eggs filled with wrapped candy. Children participating are asked to bring their own Easter baskets. An early morning Easter service is scheduled for 8 a.m. with the regular worship service at 10:45 a.m. The choir will present its Easter cantata during the 10:45 service. All persons attending will receive a free gift from Southside Baptist. The church is at 1332 Ga. Hwy. 92 south, about a mile and a half from the Fayetteville city limits. Phone: 770-461-3393. St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Peachtree City will have a Tenebrae service at 9 p.m., Wednesday, March 23. The Maundy Thursday rite on March 24 will be held at 7:30 p.m. and includes washing of the feet and stripping of the altar, followed by the Tenebrae at 9 p.m. The Altar of Repose will continue until 9 a.m. Friday morning. On Friday, March 25, a Good Friday service will be held at noon, with the Tenebrae planned for 9 p.m. On Saturday, March 26, the Holy Saturday rite is planned for 7:30 a.m., with the First Mass of Easter at 9 p.m., lighting of the Pascal Candle, and Service of Lessons and Psalms. On Easter Sunday, March 27, services will be held at 9:15 and 11 a.m. St. Andrews Episcopal Church is at 316 Peachtree Parkway North, Peachtree City, and offers the traditional Anglican service. Phone: 770-487-8415, or e-mail standrewsptc@juno.com. Members of St. Gabriels Catholic Church are getting ready for the conclusion of the Lenten season and are making plans for Holy Week. The Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the highlight of the entire liturgical year and will be a busy week for the Catholic community. The Lenten season officially ends on Wednesday and the Easter Triduum begins. On Holy Thursday, March 24, the Evening Mass of the Lords Supper will be celebrated at 7 p.m. The enactment of the washing of the feet also will take place during this Mass. Good Friday liturgies will begin at noon Friday, March 25, with mediation of the Seven Last Words of Christ. This will be a joint service with next-door neighbor, Nativity Episcopal Church, as has become a tradition, and will take place this year at St. Gabriel. The Way of the Cross will follow at 3:15 p.m. and will be held at the Church of the Nativity, 130 Antioch Road. Good Friday, also known as Friday of the Pasch, will conclude with the Passion of the Lord and distribution of the Eucharist at 7 p.m. Veneration of the Cross will also take place for the parishioners. On Saturday the parish will have a special blessing of food at noon. St. Gabriels pastor, Father Jimmy Adams, began this local parish tradition upon his arrival in Fayetteville. This is a ritual of the Eastern Church where parishioners are invited to bring food that they will consume in their individual homes for the Easter celebration. The Triduum reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil at which time those who have been preparing to enter the church are welcomed into the church. This is done by either baptism or confirmation, or by an affirmation of faith if they are already baptized in another Christian denomination. This most solemn Mass begins at 8 p.m. with the blessing of the new fire and includes many scripture readings. Easter morning will offer Masses celebrated by Fr. Adams at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. There will be no evening Mass on Easter and crowds at the morning Masses are expected to be large. Those planning to attend are urged to come early. The Catholic Church of St. Gabriel is at 152 Antioch Road, just south of the intersection of Highway 92 and Antioch Road. Phone: 770-461-0492. St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Sharpsburg will hold Holy Week Triduum in the old tin barn on the church property on Lower Fayetteville Road. Holy Thursdays Mass will be celebrated at 7:30 p.m. March 24, as the church celebrates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his apostles and the institution of the Eucharist. Holy Thursday also is considered the anniversary of the priesthood. A dozen members of the parish will have their feet washed by the priest and deacon as a symbol of their role of service. The washing of the feet is known as the Mandatum and will include men, women and children of the parish. As the liturgy concludes, the altar is stripped and the Eucharist is taken in a procession to the chapel where adoration will be held until midnight. Good Friday services will begin with Stations of the Cross at 3 p.m. at a newly erected set of outdoor stations. The celebration of the Passion of Jesus will be at 7:30 p.m., also in the barn. Parishioners will venerate a large wooden cross, symbolic of the cross on whuch Jesus was crucified. On Holy Saturday, a morning prayer will be held at 9 a.m. in the barn. Also on Saturday, the Easter Vigil begins at 7:30 p.m. During the Vigil service, new Catholics will be received into the Catholic faith. Several will be baptized and others will receive the Eucharist and Sacrament of Confirmation. The Easter vigil begins in a dark field outside the barn where parishioners will witness a bonfire symbolizing the light of Christ coming out of the darkness of the tomb. An easter candle is lit from the bonfire and carried into the worship area, bringing light to darkness. Celebration of the resurrection is the apex of the Catholic faith and has a special meaning for parishioners of St. Mary Magdalene, as it was she who was the first to experience and announce Jesus resurrection. Music for the Triduum services will be provided by musicans and choir members under the direction of Paul Bauer, music director. There is ample parking on the grounds surrounding the barn on Lower Fayetteville Road. Easter Mass will be held Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at East Coweta High School, 400 McCollum-Sharpsburg Rd. (Hwy. 154). St. Paul Lutheran Church will begin Easter weekend activities with a Good Friday Tenebrae Service Friday, March 25, at 7 p.m. Easter Sunday will begin with a sunrise service at 7 a.m. followed by breakfast served at 8:30 a.m. A combined Festival Worship service is planned for 10:30 a.m. St. Paul Lutheran is at 700 Ardenlee Pkwy., Peachtree City. Phone: 770-487-0339. The Celebration Choir and Drama Team of Woolsey Baptist Church, 115 Hampton Road in Fayetteville, will present, Believe, an Easter musical, Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26, at 7 p.m. nightly. The musical was created by Steve Moore and David T. Clydesdale and arranged by David T. Clydesdale. For more information about the Easter pageant, call the church office, 770-460-9618 or visit the church website, www.woolseybaptist.org. For services and events occurring at other churches in the area this weekend, see the worship directory, Page C16. |
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