Special Services
Throughout the year we hold many special services honoring different parts of our faith and the Liturgy.
These services are highlights of our time together in worship of God.
Epiphany
The first Sunday in January is the Feast of the Epiphany with a visit from the Three Kings, who each process up the aisle bringing their gift and then sing a solo from the pulpit. The Three Kings are played by high school choristers who wear royal costumes and gem studded crowns.
Children of the parish accompany the Three Kings up the aisle as their entourage, dressed in costumes and carrying gifts which are items for the Food Pantry. After the service the celebration continues with King's Cakes and Epiphany themed activities.
Teddy Bear Sunday
Every year on the Sunday before or on Valentine’s Day, everyone is invited to bring a new or gently used teddy bear (or other stuffed animal) to church. Teddy bears, etc. are blessed at both services, after which they are donated to the Department of Children and Family Services to be given to children who need one! After the service we gather for a Valentine-themed coffee hour.
Ash Wednesday
We hold three Ash Wednesday services, all held at the Church on the Hill, 784 Sheridan Road, and all offering ashes and Holy Eucharist.
7:00AM: Perfect for those heading to work, school, or an otherwise busy day. This service is held in the choir stalls. An early start to a holy Lent!
5:30PM: Just 30 minutes in length, this service is specially geared to children, but many others enjoy it too. Children are given upfront seating. Elizabeth Clemmitt will lead us in song accompanied by guitar.
7:30PM: With candlelight and the full choir. If you love choral music and prefer a service at the conclusion of the day, this is the service for you.
Palm Sunday
On the Sunday before Easter, we celebrate Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphant entry by Jesus into Jerusalem on the back of a colt. People took palm branches and laid them on the ground ahead of him so that royalty such as Jesus would not be required to touch common dirt. This occurs just four days before the Last Supper, where Jesus shares a meal of bread and wine with his apostles.
Holy Week
Palm Sunday also signals the beginning of Holy Week, where the final events of the last week of the life of Jesus are remembered in a series of special church services. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Washing of the Apostles’ feet and Last Supper, along with the new commandment Jesus gives to the Apostles to love each other as he has loved them. (‘Maundy’ comes from the Latin ‘mandatum,’ meaning ‘commandment.’) After that meal, Jesus leaves and enters the Garden of Gethsemane where he turns his will over to God by saying, “Your will, not mine, be done.” Our Good Friday service is focused on the Crucifixion of Jesus and the burial of his body in the tomb, given to him by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council who helped put him to death.
Easter
On the first Sunday after the full moon on or after March 21, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from death, his emergence from the tomb shocking and eventually delighting his closest followers. The Easter Vigil is celebrated on Easter Eve and mirrors the celebration of the early Christians who used this feast to baptize and initiate new Christians into the fellowship of Jesus. This borrows from the Jewish tradition of marking a new day at sunset rather than at midnight or sunrise. Easter morning is celebrated with great fanfare across Christendom as well as at Christ Church. Our intergenerational choir is joined by instrumental musicians to sing praises to the God of Glory who makes all things new while our Flower Guild fills the church with floral displays which bring to mind the miraculous nature of God’s power and presence overcoming death.
Easter is the heart of our faith as God’s display of mercy and justice are combined in the raising of a man from death to show the world that there is a power from before the beginning of time which operates in our midst to assure us of grace at the end of life.
Pentecost
Pentecost celebrates the Holy Spirit on earth, approximately fifty days after Easter. Acolytes lead the procession with a dove and the sanctuary is decorated in red.
Children & Youth Service
Celebrated on Mother’s Day, our children and youth do everything in the service from ushering to helping serve Communion. Usually high school seniors preach and our newly Confirmed youth are honored.
Children & Youth Volunteer Recognition
During worship on the third Sunday of May, we recognize by name every volunteer that has contributed to the spiritual growth of our children and youth by helping with Sunday School, Kids Connection, Club 56, Confirmation, Soul Fuel, special youth and young family events, and acolytes. We also recognize our Children and Youth Leadership Team and Prayer Team. Following worship, all children and youth volunteers are invited to a special coffee hour and to pick up their gift.
Graduate Recognition
Graduates from high school and college are honored with a special bulletin insert that shares their accomplishments and plans, usually on the last Sunday in May.
Choir Recognition
Held during our 9:30 a.m. service on a Sunday morning in early June, includes a short, traditional ceremony of thanks for our youth and adult choir members. Youth in particular are featured today. Each youth chorister receives an award in gratitude for helping our congregation praise God through music throughout the year.
Welcome Back Sunday & Backpack Blessing
On the first Sunday of the fall, everyone brings their backpacks, satchels or work bags to receive a special blessing for the upcoming school/work year! Christ Church supports and loves all of its students, teachers, and working people, and we want to show our love and support. All participants receive a colorful tag for their bag. Following the service is our Welcome Back Picnic!
Annual Blessing of the Animals
Each year, on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4, Christ Church blesses pets and other animals at the Church on the Hill. We do this during a regular Sunday service at 9:30. The clergy are also available after the service to bless animals that would have a hard time being in the church for an hour. It’s a festive occasion that reminds us all that every creature God has made can be a vessel of grace and blessing to those who share their lives. We get dogs and cats, of course, but also turtles, fish, hamsters, snakes, and just about any other animal you can imagine.
All Saints’ Sunday
The first Sunday in November, is the day we celebrate the lives of those who have gone before us into life eternal. Our Sunday service at 9:30 a.m. features festive choral music accompanied by added instruments. Later in the day, our All Saints’ Evensong features traditional Anglican music sung by our Youth & Adult Choir in honor of all the faithful departed.
Advent Lessons & Carols
This is our annual festival of readings and music in preparation for Jesus’ birth at Christmas. The service features our Youth & Adult Choir singing beautiful, traditional hymns and anthems accompanied by organ and handbells. The celebration is held during our 9:30 a.m. service on the first Sunday in December.
Christmas Pageant
Our Christmas Pageant takes place at a 9:30 a.m. service in December. Children and youth of all ages are involved as readers, performers or behind the scenes. Our pageant, “The Nativity of Christ,” replaces the Liturgy of the Word in this service. Afterwards everyone gathers for Christmas cookies and cocoa to honor our pageant participants.
Christmas Eve
Along with Easter, our Christmas Celebration of the birth of Jesus in the town of Bethlehem is the biggest feast of the Church year. This is the moment we celebrate God becoming human and being named, “Emmanuel,” translated from the Hebrew to “God with us.” Our intergenerational choir is in full voice and the Flower Guild spends a full day testifying to the wonder of the day with flowers of the season. From this Feast, we walk through the life of Jesus through Epiphany, Lent, and Easter reminding ourselves that God has come to dwell among people of every description to reveal to them the wonders that await.