First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia
(Cazenovia, NY – March 2013) The First Presbyterian Church in Cazenovia will celebrate a Palm Sunday worship service at 10 a.m. March 24. Catharine Wheat, director of music, has planned a significant service of music. The Reverend Dr. Steven R. Thomas, Jr. will deliver the message “These Very Stones Would Cary Out.”
The children from the Sunday school will distribute palms.
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, is the Sunday before Easter. Palm Sunday remembers Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem near the end his public ministry. When Jesus entered the city with his entourage, people laid palm branches in the road before him and greeted him as the long-awaited Messiah. They shouted “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”
After the Palm Sunday service, there will be a gourmet brunch at 11:30 a.m. in the church’s meeting house. The brunch will honor the new people joining the church, but the event is free and open to anyone wanting good food and good fellowship.
Maundy Thursday Tenebrae: Service of Darkness
On Maundy Thursday, March 28, the Cazenovia Presbyterian Church will hold a service of Tenebrae at 7:30 p.m. The service will be centered on a choral and narrative piece titled “Light in the Darkness” by Patrick Liebergen. This work offers a unique blend of classical Georgian chants and classic hymns. Mary Coburn will be accompanying the choral works on her violin.
The dramatic narrative readings are drawn from biblical passion accounts and the Psalms. There will be a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The cross behind the pulpit will be draped in black. The sanctuary will be lit by candles that are extinguished after each of the readings.
The service of Tenebrae follows a tradition of the church dating back to the eighth century. The word ‘Tenebrae’ is Latin for shadows or darkness. The service commemorates the final hours of our Lord’s life on earth, as he suffered death upon the cross.
Two large candelabras will light the sanctuary at the beginning of the service. Candles will be extinguished as the service evolves, symbolizing the fading loyalty of the disciples and friends of Jesus. The gradual darkening of the church sanctuary portrays the diminishing light of the world as Christ was departing from it. The service ends in silence with the relighting of the Christ candle.
The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment and agony of the events leading to Christ’s death, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn’t over until Easter Day.
A fully supervised nursery will be available for the Tenebrae service.
For more information about the Tenebrae service or other Easter Season celebrations, contact the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia at 315.655.3191 or visit www.cazpres.org. If you are looking for an open and friendly place to celebrate Palm Sunday, Thomas invites you to worship at the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia. Child care and Sunday school are available during the service.