Easter services at St Luke’s 2025
Labyrinth, Tenebrae, Good Friday, Easter Sunday – there are many opportunities this Holy Week to contemplate and celebrate the journey of Jesus through death into new life.
Labyrinth: The Labyrinth, drawn in the front yard of the Church each Holy Week allows for a meditative and prayerful walk at your leisure. As you journey from the outside to the centre and back again, there are several turning points, which serve as opportunities to contemplate times and circumstances in your own life which have changed your direction or which need changing.
Maundy Thursday, 17th April, 7.30pm: The name is taken from ‘Mandatum Novum’, Latin for ‘new commandment’. It refers to the story of the last supper, as told in John’s gospel, in which Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment to love one another as he has loved them. His new commandment is given in the context of a meal in which one disciple will betray him, another will deny he knew Jesus, and the rest will scatter after Jesus is arrested. This communion service incorporates the service of Tenebrae, in which lights symbolising the 12 disciples and Jesus are extinguished, one by one, while the story of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion are told. Simple and atmospheric, the service concludes with the stripping of the Church, in which all decorations are removed, and the cross covered with black cloth, symbolising the emptiness and grief of the disciples at the death of Jesus.
Good Friday at St Luke’s. 18th April, 9.30am. On Good Friday we gather in the Church for a pared-back service centred on the cross. The musical instruments are silent and the absence of decoration helps evoke the disciple’s emptiness and grief, as well as our own.
Way of the cross – FRIDAY April 18th, 11.15am commencing at Christ our Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 41-43 Ferntree Gully Rd, Oakleigh VIC 3166
Featuring original artworks by Paul Gahan, the Way of the Cross is a travelling guided meditation on the story of the crucifixion. After the walk, you are invited to share Hot Cross Buns and refreshments in the Church hall.
All are welcome to celebrate with us.
Easter Celebration – Sunday 20th April, 9.30am. Join us for a joyous celebration of the resurrection as we share in an all-ages service of song, activities, and the odd Easter egg.