by Peter Elliott
On Sunday, April 21, millions of churchgoers will celebrate Easter Sunday, which marks the start of the Easter season of the liturgical calendar. Whether you decide to bring your kids to an Easter egg hunt or want to go to a festive Mass to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, there are plenty of churches around Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy holding celebrations for Easter.
Christ Ascension Lutheran Church will be holding an Easter egg dyeing event on Saturday, April 20 at 12:30 p.m. The church will also be holding a Great Easter Vigil mass at 7 p.m. on Saturday, with a Festival Eucharist mass at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, which will be followed by a reception and Easter egg hunt.
The Church of St. Martin-in-the- Fields will hold a Great Easter Vigil mass at 8 p.m., followed by a Vigil party. The church will be holding four Easter Sunday masses from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., with Easter egg hunts following the conclusion of the 9:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. services.
For Easter Sunday, the Chestnut Hill Baptist Church will have a Sunrise Service at 7 a.m., followed by breakfast at 8 a.m., Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. and an Easter Musical and Worship at 10:30 a.m. Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church will have Easter Sunday services at 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill will be holding Easter Sunday services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. These services will feature performances of the song “Alleluia” and “Christus Vincit,” the latter of which will feature trumpets and timpani, a type of kettledrum.
St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh will have three Easter Sunday services, starting with a quiet traditional service at 7 a.m., followed by Festival Services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., which will feature choir and brass performances. The church will also have an Easter egg hunt at 10:30 a.m. and a Family Table Service event at 11 a.m.
Passover Observances
Easter is not the only religious celebrating that will start within the following weeks. On Friday, April 19, the Jewish celebration of Passover will begin. Lasting over eight days, there are numerous plans by synagogues in the Chestnut Hill area for Passover.
Beth Tikvah B'nai Jeshurun synagogue will start Passover with a Service of the First Born at 8 a.m. on Friday. Pesach services will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Additionally, the synagogue will have Pesach services on the third and eighth days of passover, April 21 and April 26, respectively.
Beth Tikvah B’nai Jeshurun will hold a Congregational Seder at 6 p.m., which will have catered gourmet Pesach food. Registration for the Seder can be found online.
On Saturday, April 20, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia will hold its Temple Brith Achim Community Seder at 6 p.m. to observe the second night of Passover. The four-course meal will include appetizers and Passover deserts. Drinks available will include Passover wine, drinks, coffee and tea. There will also be a children’s activity table at the Seder. For more information and to register for the event, visit the Temple Britch Achim website.
