Welcome to all on this Easter, the Day of Resurrection! We have passed through 40 days of Lent, and at last the day has come to celebrate the central event of our Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. Although we are individually apart today, our faith teaches us that we are together as the Church and together we can proclaim: Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
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Download and Print Coloring Pages & Activities for Children
Easter Indoor Scavenger Hunt
Jesus Loves Me
He is Risen
Mary sees Jesus outside the tomb
Floral Cross
Opening Hymn #199: Come Ye Faithful Raise the Strain
1. Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
of triumphant gladness!
God hath brought his Israel
into joy from sadness:
loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
led them with unmoistened foot
through the Red Sea waters.
2. ‘Tis the spring of souls today:
Christ hath burst his prison,
and from three days’ sleep in death
as a sun hath risen;
all the winter of our sins,
long and dark, is flying
from his light, to whom we give
laud and praise undying.
3. Now the queen of seasons, bright
with the day of splendor,
with the royal feast of feasts,
comes its joy to render;
comes to glad Jerusalem,
who with true affection
welcomes in unwearied strains
Jesus’ resurrection.
4. Neither might the gates of death,
nor the tomb’s dark portal,
nor the watchers, nor the seal
hold thee as a mortal:
but today amidst thine own
thou didst stand, bestowing
that thy peace which evermore
passeth human knowing.
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus
Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of
everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the
day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death
of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Reading: Acts 10:34-43
The Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
his mercy endures for ever.
Let Israel now proclaim, ♦︎
‘His mercy endures for ever.’
The Lord is my strength and my song, ♦︎
and he has become my salvation.
Joyful shouts of salvation ♦︎
sound from the tents of the righteous:
‘The right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds;
the right hand of the Lord raises up; ♦︎
the right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds.’
I shall not die, but live ♦︎
and declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me sorely, ♦︎
but he has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness, ♦︎
that I may enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord; ♦︎
the righteous shall enter through it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me ♦︎
and have become my salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected ♦︎
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing, ♦︎
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made; ♦︎
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
The Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Hymn #207 – Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
1. Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!
2. Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!
3. But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
now above the sky he’s king, Alleluia!
where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!
4. Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
praise eternal as his love, Alleluia!
praise him, all ye heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!
The Gospel: John 20:1-18
Homily
Prayers of the People
O God, with faces touched by the light of a new day,
and hearts warmed by our prayers and praise
we come before you to pray
for the needs of our world.
Into the light of Easter morning
we raise those who are struggling with illness,
with despair over their lives,
or with the breakdown of relationships.
May the light of Christ shine upon them.
May the light of Christ shine upon them.
Into the light of Easter morning,
we bring those places in our world
where war, violence, poverty and need
are the experiences of everyday life.
May the light of Christ shine upon them.
May the light of Christ shine upon them.
Into the light of Easter morning,
we bring the headline news of this weekend
we hold in our hearts the pain
of those suffering violence,
bereavement or conflict.
For all who suffer from illness,
For all who mourn the loss of family and friends.
May the light of Christ shine upon them.
May the light of Christ shine upon them.
And into the light of Easter morning
we bring ourselves, the private struggles,
the heart’s yearnings, the hidden dreams,
the unfulfilled potential.
May the light of Christ shine upon us.
May the light of Christ shine upon us.
AMEN.
Now the green blade riseth
Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain
Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain
Love lives again, that with the dead has been
Love comes again, like wheat that springeth green
In the grave they laid him, Love who hate had slain
Thinking that never he would wake again
Forth he came at Easter like the risen grain
He that for three days in the grave had lain
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen
Quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen
When our hearts are wintry, grieving or in pain
Thy touch can call us back to life again
Love is come again
Lord’s prayer (Traditional)
Lord’s Prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book
Blessing
Hymn #180: He is Risen, He is Risen!
1. He is risen, he is risen!
Tell it out with joyful voice:
he has burst his three days’ prison;
let the whole wide earth rejoice:
death is conquered, we are free,
Christ has won the victory.
2. Come, ye sad and fearful-hearted,
with glad smile and radiant brow!
Death’s long shadows have departed;
Jesus’ woes are over now,
and the passion that he bore–
sin and pain can vex no more.
3. Come, with high and holy hymning,
hail our Lord’s triumphant day;
not one darksome cloud is dimming
yonder glorious morning ray,
breaking o’er the purple east,
symbol of our Easter feast.
4. He is risen, he is risen!
He hath opened heaven’s gate:
we are free from sin’s dark prison,
risen to a holier state;
and a brighter Easter beam
on our longing eyes shall stream.