Ours is a worshipping community grounded in the Protestant Christian tradition. As such, we mark our year by the liturgical calendar as well as our regular, solar calendar. We begin with the season of Advent (four Sundays before Christmas Eve) and during this time often add midweek contemplative services or opportunity to study. Traditionally a time of fast in the early church, we use this time to prepare for the joy of celebrating Christ’s birth, culminating with our candlelight service of lessons and carols on Christmas Eve.
During Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, we again recognize the “fast period” during which time we ready ourselves for Holy Week. We share in the opportunity to participate in the imposition of ashes as we recognize our need for repentance and enter the season with intention. During Holy Week, we not only remember Palm Sunday with a symbolic parade around the sanctuary; we also gather for a Maundy Thursday remembrance of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples as we celebrate the sacrament of Communion. On Good Friday, we often gather with other churches in Blue Hill to walk the Stations of the Cross on the Murphy Trail, which begins in our parking lot. An evening service to share in a reading of Christ’s Passion continues in our preparation for Easter.
Easter is celebrated first at dawn, with a sunrise service at the base of Blue Hill Mountain. Our usual 10:00 service is an even more festive one, often complete with brass choir and an augmented choral group. Remembering the possibility for resurrection is at the heart of our worship throughout the year.