Good morning, Medford, Friday, April 3
For many people in Medford, this is a most holy week, with Easter and Passover being celebrated over a number of days.
Are you celebrating a holiday this week? Easter is being celebrated in Christian faiths and Passover in the Jewish faith. Both holidays span a number of days and include worship services and other events, so if you are celebrating, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with others in the community.
I have the pleasure of having two Easter celebrations with my family. One honors the Irish Catholic wing and the other the Greek Orthodox. They follow different calendars, with the Eastern Orthodox Easter being celebrated after Passover. So they're usually on different Sundays, but occasionally they fall on the same day.
They differ in another way, too. I was raised in the Catholic Church here on the North Shore, and Easter was fairly simple for us. We'd go to church in the morning, visit the grandparents for an Easter egg hunt, and then have a big family gathering, with copious amounts of chocolate thrown in the mix.
When I spent Eastern Orthodox Easter with my relatives in New Hampshire, it was a three-day celebration. It included a midnight Mass on Saturday followed by a feast of meat, bread, cheese, and wine. Sometimes, the Mass would go for a couple hours and the meal would be at 3 a.m. The adults would get an hour or two of sleep and then start cooking for the Easter dinner. There was singing and dancing.
I loved both celebrations, one for its simplicity and the other for the richness of its rituals.
At Gotta Know Medford, we usually focus the happenings section of the newsletter on music, art, kids activities, author talks, crafting, etc. Today, we thought we'd focus on services and events related to these holidays that are taking place today and over the weekend.
This list is not exhaustive, but it will give you a sense of the many ways that people in Medford celebrate Easter and Passover.
Passover and Easter happenings in Medford
Temple Shalom Passover Day 2: Friday, April 3, Passover Morning Service at 9:30 a.m. and Candle Lighting at 6:54 p.m.
St. Raphael Parish Easter Services: Holy Saturday, April 4, Easter Vigil, at 7 p.m. Easter Sunday, April 5, four Masses - 7:30 a.m. Mass; 9 a.m. Mass with the Children's Choir; 10:30 a.m. Mass with the One Voice Choir; 12 p.m. Mass.
Unitarian Universality Church of Medford: Easter Service Sunday, April 5 at 11 a.m.
First Baptist Church of Medford: Easter Sunday, April 5, Easter Breakfast at 9:30 a.m. and Worship & Communion at 11 a.m.
Hillside Community Church: Easter Sunday Worship, April 5, at 10:30 a.m.
Grace Episcopal Church: Good Friday, April 3, Mass of the Presanctified Gifts at 7 a.m., Good Friday Liturgy with Veneration of the Cross at 12 p.m., and Stations of the Cross at 1 p.m.; Holy Saturday, April 4, Alter Guild Preparation for Easter 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and Holy Saturday Liturgy at 11 a.m.; Easter Day, April 5, The Great Vigil of Easter at 5:45 a.m., Easter Breakfast at 7:15 a.m., Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m., and Festal Easter Eucharist at 10:30 a.m.
Shiloh Baptist Church: Easter Sunday with Holy Communion, April 5, at 11 a.m.
Redemption Hill Church: Good Friday Service, April 3, at 7 p.m.; Easter Celebration, Sunday, April 5, at 9 a.m.
