All are welcome for a service of light with Holy Communion on Easter Eve. The vigil begins with a candlelight gathering in the courtyard (weather permitting) and procession. A festive reception follows.

Please note: Incense will be used during this service.

About the vigil

On the evening before Easter Day, Christians around the world gather to celebrate Christ’s passage from death to life. This sacred service begins with “a new fire” in the darkness, and the lighting of candles from the Paschal Candle. We hear once again the stories of God’s saving power from the Hebrew scriptures and the first Easter Gospel. This is a night of vigil, a night where we stand about in the dark, carry candles about, sing lengthy and sublime religious texts, read stories from the Bible, all to begin the great celebration of the fifty days of Easter.

Relax and make yourself comfortable in the darkness and don’t even try to “make sense” of everything happening around you. Just hear it, Let it roll over you in waves.

A practical word about relaxing: if you need to get up and move about, do so. If you need a breath of fresh air, go out to get it. We’ll still be telling the story when you rejoin us. Whatever you need to do to stay comfortable, do it.