University Church of Christ invites community to celebrate Easter Sunday

The University Church of Christ in Denver invites the community to celebrate Easter Sunday. (Photo by Annie Spratt from Unsplash)

University Church of Christ will host a community celebration on Palm Sunday, including an Easter Egg Hunt, a luncheon, and worship services on Sunday, Apr. 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Per the Eventbrite post, the event will be held at the University Church of Christ, 2000 South Milwaukee Street, Denver, CO.

Although the event is reportedly free, the church requires registration because the space is limited.

Easter Sunday

On the Christian calendar, Lent comes immediately before Easter. Lent is a time of forty days that does not count Sundays that precedes Easter and is usually commemorated by performing acts of self-denial and abstaining from food. 

Easter, much like Christmas, has developed many customs and rituals over the years. Some of these traditions have little to do with the Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. 

They are instead based on ancient pagan practices. The term "lamb of God" is used to refer to Jesus in the Bible (John 1:29; "behold the lamb of God which wipes away the sins of the world"), and the lamb was traditionally used as a sacrifice in ancient Israel. 

Hence, the custom of having an Easter lamb appropriates both terms. In ancient times, Christians celebrated Easter by eating lamb deposited under the altar, blessed, and consumed. 

Since the 12th century, the fasting period known as Lent has been broken on Easter with dinners that include eggs, ham, cheeses, bread, and sweets explicitly blessed for a holiday.

As mentioned, Holy Week comes right before Easter and includes the commemoration of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples on Maundy Thursday, the day of his crucifixion on Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, the day that marks the transition between the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Easter comes immediately after Holy Week. In terms of the liturgy, Easter is celebrated after the Great Vigil, which was traditionally held at some point between the setting of the sun on Easter Saturday and the rising of the sun on Easter Sunday. 

Later on, it would be celebrated in Western churches on Saturday evening, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning. 

Initially, it was celebrated on Saturday evening. In 1955, the Roman Catholic Church moved the hour of the Easter vigil to ten o'clock at night, making celebrating the Easter mass possible after the clock struck midnight. 

The Vigil remains an important liturgical event in Orthodox traditions. However, in Protestant churches, it is not well-known or observed.

Practices During Lent

During Lent, individuals focus on three essential things: prayer, fasting (giving up something to limit distractions and focus more on God), and giving or charity.

Throughout Lent, prayer focuses on our need for God's pardon. It is also about repentance and accepting God's grace and love.

Fasting, or giving up something, is a widespread practice during lent.

Spending time during lent fasting, praying, and giving can make the sacrifice that Jesus made on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter much more significant. Lent begins on Mar. 6 and continues until Holy Saturday.

 

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