Lent and Easter at Central Church
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, meaning “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of spring. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians. Today, Christians focus on relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.
Sundays of Lent 2022 are March 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 4. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, April 10. Easter Sunday is April 17.
NEW SERMON SERIES: "OUR UNTIED LENT" : These past couple years have left many of us feeling untied and threadbare. Like shoelaces pointing and twisting in a million directions, we are reaching for connection, reaching for meaning, reaching for honest relationship with God and others – even reaching to find ourselves again. There are so many reasons we are at loose ends, and many more are the reasons we want to come together again, to connect and seek meaning. This Lent, we explore the Psalms – the emotions they express, the naming of frustrations and the igniting of new hope after hardship. Join us!
Please join us for Sunday Morning Worship during Lent in one of the following ways:
8:00 a.m. Traditional Worship in the Chapel
An intimate and brief style service offering traditional worship with hymns, prayers and a message for the walk of faith.
9:00 a.m. Well Worship: Upbeat & Casual
The Well offers an engaging worship experience and welcomes seekers of all ages looking for a alternative worship format different from the traditional service.
11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship: Organ & Choir
Experience a familiar pattern of liturgy with prayers, hymns led by our Chancel Choir, and an encouraging message.
Not ready to join us in-person?
Click Here to Watch LIVE on Facebook (9 & 11 am Sundays)
Click Here to Watch LIVE on the Church Website (9 & 11 am Sundays)
Listen LIVE on the Radio WCCW 1310AM (11:00 am Sundays only)
Our weekly radio broadcast is generously sponsored by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Traverse City.
SPECIAL LENT AND EASTER OPPORTUNITIES:
Online Lenten Devotional: #PICTURE LENT
This daily resource invites you to reflect on scripture with your eyes and hearts using Visio Divina (Latin for "divine seeing"). This is a method for praying with images or other media. Every day you will receive an e-mail with an invitation to:
- View: 3-4 images
- Read: Daily Scripture
- Wonder: reflect on the questions (as an individual, family, or in community)
- Pray
- Respond: using the #picturelent bingo tool
Our prayer is that in this wondering space you will experience the Holy Spirit as you open your hearts and homes to the beauty of this season.
Click Here to Subscribe to the Picture Lent Daily Email
Lenten Book Study: Passion Play: Living the Story of Christ's Last Days, by Rob Fuquay
6:00 - 7:15 p.m. Sunday Evenings in Room 301 or online via Zoom
March 6 - April 3
Leader: Pastor Chris Lane with Dick and Candice Wallace
This study takes you on a journey to the origins of the Passion Play and helps you understand how the play has been used both as a ritual of praise and later as a weapon. The play covers the final period of Jesus’ life from his visit to Jerusalem to the journey to the cross.
Click Here to Join the Zoom Meeting
Lenten Book Study: Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren
12 noon - 1:15 p.m. Thursdays in Room 301 and online via Zoom
March 3 - 31 (5 sessions)
Leaders: Pastor Chris Lane and Sarah Drews
Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep is Episcopal priest Tish Harrison’s latest book, based on the Anglican Compline, a prayer to close the day. Written during a dark time when Harrison was experiencing difficult personal challenges—including the death of her father, a traumatic relocation, and two miscarriages—it describes the comfort she found in prayer. Join Pastor Chris Lane and Wellness Advocate Sarah Drews for this Lenten journey into Compline, a prayer to help us face the dark. Copies available from the church office for $15.
Click Here to Join the Zoom Meeting
Ash Wednesday Worship - March 2
12 noon Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary
This traditional service will offer an opportunity to prepare your heart and mind for the Lenten season with liturgy, prayers, music and marking with ashes.
6:00 p.m. Outdoor Fireside Worship in the Central Church parking lot
Join us for this simple service including traditional readings, a pastoral meditation, music from Central's Chancel Choir and optional marking with ashes.
7:00 p.m. Special Online Worship Experience
Produced by the Candler Seminary Collective
"Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." Join Pastor Linda and a diverse group of pastors and artists throughout the US for the Candler Collective’s online Ash Wednesday service Live at 7pm.
(more details on how to join this service: facebook.com/cumctc)
Family Friendly Indoor Stations of the Cross Walk - Open during regular business hours April 3 - 16
The Stations of the Cross in the Lower Level Children's Ministry Hallway will take families on a self-led journey to remember what happened during Jesus' last week. Take-home coloring sheets representing each of the stations will also be available.
Palm Sunday - April 10
IN-PERSON in the Central Church Sanctuary AND LIVESTREAM via the Central Church Facebook Page and Church Website.
There will be a Palm Processional in all three Worship Services.
8:00 a.m. Traditional Worship (in the Chapel) - An intimate and brief style service offering traditional worship with hymns, prayers and a message for the walk of faith.
9:00 a.m. The Well Worship Service - The Well offers an engaging worship experience and welcomes seekers of all ages looking for a alternative worship format different from the traditional service.
11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship Service - Experience a familiar pattern of liturgy with prayers, hymns and an encouraging message.
Good Friday - April 15
IN-PERSON in the Central Church Sanctuary AND LIVESTREAM via the Central Church Facebook Page and Church Website
Community Worship - 12 noon - 3:00 p.m.
Join together in this Ecumenical Service of remembering the hours of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion. Seven area pastors will tell the story through brief, but powerful messages as they reflect on The Seven Last Words of Christ.
Tenebrae Worship - 8:00 p.m.
This dramatic service is about standing with Jesus at the end of his life. We will strip the altar bare, depart in darkness and await the Resurrection.
Stations Of The Cross - Holy Saturday - April 16
12 noon - 1:00 p.m.
Christ the King Catholic Church in Acme
Join Pastor Chris and others on Holy Saturday for a short outdoor walk through the Stations of the Cross. Christ the King Catholic Church in Acme offers the public to walk their accessible simple pathway through woods off their parking lot. Protestants and Catholics alike can appreciate marking the steps of Jesus in his Passion, as we await his resurrection. Pastor Chris and Brian Meagher will be stationed at the entrance to the path on Saturday, April 16, noon to 1pm to greet you and provide a handout to help guide you. Christ the King is located at 301 Shore Rd in Williamsburg. Path entrance is located at the back of the parking lot. If you need assistance, Pastor Chris can be reached at 231-313-4480.
Easter Sunday Worship Experiences - April 17
IN-PERSON AND LIVESTREAM via the Central Church Facebook Page and Church Website.
Join us as we celebrate the Joy of Easter morning!
7:00 a.m. Sunrise Service at Greilickville Marina Park Pavillion (map) - A brief outdoor service celebrating the Easter message in word and song and a sunrise over Grand Traverse Bay.
9:00 a.m. The Well Worship Service in the Central Church Sanctuary - The Well celebrates the Resurrection through an engaging worship experience and welcomes seekers of all ages looking for a alternative worship format different from the traditional service.
10:00 a.m. Easter Sunday Outdoor Storywalk - This Easter offering will feature the story walk of the book “Twas the Morning of Easter” by Glenys Nellist, and we will explore the story by walking and reading through the beautifully illustrated images of the story of Jesus as he arose from the grave on Easter morning. The walk will start at the Cass Street Bridge (just south of the church), and end right outside our doors. Please join us for cocoa inside afterwards, and grab an activity booklet to take with you to remember all the things you saw along the way. This outdoor offering is open to all.
11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship Service in the Central Church Sanctuary- Experience a familiar pattern of liturgy with prayers, hymns led by our Chancel Choir and Brass section, ending with an encouraging message for all.
In accordance with CDC recommendations, we ask that all individuals be masked while in our building (individuals with medical conditions or disabilities affected by masks should follow the guidance of their medical team). Additionally, we encourage you to continue to use healthy hygiene practices and ask you to be especially mindful of safe distancing while interacting with vulnerable adults and young children.
Although we have not resumed official contract-tracing protocols at this time, we do continue to ask you to check in online when you arrive at worship so that we can more easily track attendance, and eliminate the use of paper attendance tracking.
Sunday morning in-person worship services have been revised to meet COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Please review our COVID Worship Protocols document prior to planning your worship visit to Central Church.