All men, women, boys and girls who fish, clam or quahog are welcome to have their rods, reels, baskets, rakes, boat keys, bait, nets, etc. blessed at this special Celtic service. All are encouraged to invite all of their friends as well.

Our Environmental Committee is asking town and business leader to join in this Earth Day celebration so that it can be an All-Falmouth event.

Jesus was called the fisher of men (Matthew 4:18-20). In that vein, we are reaching out to the Falmouth community to invite all who celebrate fishing and the joy the Sea has to offer. Please mark this date on your calendar and bring a friend to experience the Joy of St. Barnabas on Earth Day!

 9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Family Service) with Flowering of the Cross
(Easter Egg Hunt follows this service)

11:00 a.m. Festival Holy Eucharist Rite II with Choir

For Easter Sunday, we are adding a third service to our usual two Eucharists:the first will be a Rite I service at 7:30 a.m.; a Family Service with Holy Eucharist Rite II and music at 9 a.m. followed by an Easter egg hunt. Our 11 a.m. service will be Holy Eucharist Rite II with full choir.

We will also have the “flowering of the cross’ for children at the 9 o’clock Family Service. The children come up and transform a plain cross into one covered with flowers. We will have flowers and ask you to bring flowers from your gardens as well.

Please spread the word, invite your friends and help make this a glorious Easter on April 8.

The Easter offering this year will go to Touching Tiny Lives Foundation. Touching Tiny Lives Foundation is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children and families that are struggling to cope with the ravages of HIV/AIDS in rural Lesotho. Local personnel, assisted by international volunteers, provide essential care to severely malnourished, critically ill, or orphaned babies. TTLF provides outreach health services, nutritional supplements, medication, and continued social support to children, pregnant women, and caregivers in their village communities. You may make checks out to St Barnabas with TTLF in the memo line or use our secure online donations page.

This is the great climax of Holy Week and the whole Christian year. It is the Feast of Feasts when the Church joyfully hails her risen Lord. Here we proclaim and celebrate the central fact of our faith – that Jesus has triumphed over death and lives among us. On this Saturday night at the beginning of the Service the church is in darkness: it is the end of the crisis which began on Palm Sunday when we traced our Lord’s path to Jerusalem, to betrayal and death.

The Resurrection is symbolized by the kindling of the new fire, a small fire lit outside the church and from which the Paschal Candle is lit. This candle is then carried into Church with the cry “The light of Christ.” We sing hymns and hear readings from the scriptures and psalms telling of God’s salvation to his people. This leads us to the blessing of the baptismal font and water and everyone then renews their baptismal vows. The Gloria is sung and the church bells ring out with Joy! The resurrection reaches its climax in the first Eucharist of Easter when we celebrate the only way possible the new life which is ours through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The first part of the Service consists of readings that culminate in the singing of St. John’s Passion Gospel. The solemn prayers follow the Gospel. During these ancient biddings we pray for the Church and for the world. Finally, the Blessed Sacrament is brought from the Altar of Repose and all receive Holy Communion, thus ending what was begun on Maundy Thursday. Although our hearts feel as bereft as the church building looks bleak – nevertheless we end on a note of subdued triumph. We go home to await the Easter Vigil on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and Easter Sunday 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

At 7:00 p.m., please join us for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper which recalls the institution of the Church’s liturgy by our Lord on the night that he was betrayed, the night before he died.

The word Maundy comes from the Latin word Mandatum: meaning mandate or commandment. This comes from the phrase used by our Lord after he had washed the disciples’ feet: “A new commandment (mandate) I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you”. Jesus himself expressed his love for them in that gesture of humility and service. In our church the action is repeated as people wash each others feet as a symbol of service to others.

The Maundy Thursday Eucharist is a unique blend of joy and sadness. There is joy because it is the annual remembrance of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament. But there is sadness here also, because this is a farewell meal overshadowed by the treachery of Judas and the knowledge that suffering and death were waiting for Jesus.

This Eucharist is like no other, it has no formal ending (no blessing) and it continues into and is finally concluded at the Good Friday Liturgy. Sufficient wafers are consecrated on Maundy Thursday for those who attend the Good Friday Liturgy. After the faithful have received Holy Communion, The Blessed Sacrament is taken to the Altar of Repose where it is reserved until Good Friday. At St Barnabas, we move the bread and wine to the “garden” set up in our chapel.

At the end of the service, the sanctuary is stripped as a symbolic reminder of the stripping of Jesus. Then a watch is kept before the Blessed Sacrament and we recall our Lord’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We stay with him until his arrest. We stay with him as he asked the disciples to do, to watch and pray.

You may sign up for Watch Hours in the Narthex or by calling the office.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this musical highlight to start Holy Week,” said Todd Beckham, interim music director at the church. “Rutter wrote this as a memorial to his father, who died in 1983. He wanted to remember him in a way his father would appreciate and imagined him sitting in the front pew.”

Thus, explained Beckham, the music isn’t too difficult to sing or to listen to and is a piece that is perfect to be performed during Holy Week as part of the service liturgy.

Beckham, who has been at St Barnabas since November, is pleased to be able to offer this to the Falmouth community. He is happy with the improved acoustics at St. Barnabas and with the voices of the choir. The piece will be supported by a flute, oboe, cello, harp and organ. Eva Schlitz is the featured soprano.

The service and requiem begin at 10 a.m. on April 1. All are invited to attend. For more information please call 508-548-3863.

The organ in the church is the original installation of a 2 manual by George Hutchings renovated by Andover Organ Company. In the chapel is a 2 manual house organ by C.B. Fisk from the estate of Frank Taylor. The choir room has a Steinway grand and a 2 manual harpsichord by John Challis; we also have Suzuki choir chimes and Whitechapel handbells.

St. Barnabas is seeking a part-time (20 -25 hours) musician to continue our strong tradition of excellent music. Applicants should have training and proven experience in liturgical settings and in choral directing. It is expected that the musician will work closely with the clergy in planning the liturgy and music for worship, building on the traditions of the Episcopal Church while being open to new forms of liturgy and multiple musical styles. Salary and benefits reflective of AGO guidelines, and includes pension with the Episcopal Church and health insurance. Additional compensation is available from weddings and funerals.

The position is currently held by an interim and will be available in September 2012. Applications should include current resume, letter regarding your interest in the position, and names and contact information of three references. Please send applications by April 1 to the Rev. Patricia Barrett, Rector, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, PO Box 203, Falmouth, MA 02541. St. Barnabas is an equal opportunity employer; younger and minority candidates are encouraged to apply.