Religion Offerings: 4-12
4/12/2014Palm Sunday to Easter
Christians celebrate Holy Week as the contemplative period of Lent ends with the remembrance of Jesus' crucifixion, often called Good Friday, and their belief in his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The week begins with Palm Sunday, celebrating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, and ends on Easter Sunday, April 20. Many area churches will hold special religious services Friday and Sunday, and other gatherings also take place during the week.
On Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd., oil used throughout the year for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, to anoint the sick, and for other rituals will be blessed at the annual Chrism Mass by Bishop Michael Byrnes, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, and Toledo's diocesan administrator, the Rev. Charles Ritter. Along with many priests from the Diocese of Toledo, they will celebrate Mass, and representatives of all 124 Diocese of Toledo parishes will be present. The public is invited to attend.
Father Ritter returns to the cathedral Wednesday for a 7 p.m. Tenebrae, or darkness, service that marks Jesus being deserted by his apostles.
Trilby United Methodist Church, 5918 Secor Rd., will have its traditional Maundy Thursday ceremony, which commemorates Jesus' washing his disciples' feet, at 6:10 p.m., after a potluck supper in its Fellowship Hall beginning with prayer at 5 p.m. Pairs will wash each others' feet; participants are asked to wear pants and socks.
In Sylvania, three churches will join for a community service on Good Friday at Sylvania United Church of Christ, 7240 Erie St., Sylvania, at noon. Sylvania UCC will welcome St. Stephen Lutheran Church and Sylvaina First United Methodist for the solemn ceremony.
Also on Friday, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams St., the church's Canterbury Choir will sing during a Stations of the Cross observance at 7 p.m. Trinity's stations will highlight nine points from Jesus' arrest through his execution and burial.
Holy Saturday is a time of Easter Vigil services, when people reflect on Jesus' death and prepare to celebrate resurrection on Sunday. On Saturday at 8 p.m., scheduled to go until Sunday at 12:30 a.m., St. George Coptic Church, historically and Egyptian Christian Church, has its Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Resurrection. St. George is at 4860 Waterville-Monclova Rd.
Then it will be difficult to find a Christian church that won't be celebrating Easter on April 20.
Lenten lecture
The Corpus Christ University Parish spring lecture series concludes Tuesday with Jeanine Diller, director of the University of Toledo's Center for Religious Understanding and a professor there, speaking on “Embodying Religious Multiplicity.” Her address is from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and there will be time for questions until 7. Cost is $10 at the door, but those with University of Toledo ID's are admitted for free. The parish is at 2955 Dorr St.
Bible study
“Forgiven and Set Free” is a 13-week Bible study for women who have had abortions. Offered by Heartbeat of Toledo at 4041 W. Sylvania Ave., the class starts Sunday and meets Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m. To register, call 419-241-9131. Heartbeat also has a support group, Hope & Healing, that meets monthly on the fourth Wednesday at 7 p.m., for women and men affected by abortion.