Other Festivals
Other Festivals/Services
In addition to the regular Sunday Mass, we celebrate Mass on high feast days on the church calendar throughout the year, and we also have midweek prayer services during special seasons of the year.
Festivals
The following festivals do not always occur on Sunday, but we nonetheless intend to celebrate these festivals as public services of worship on each of these days:
Christmas Eve - Dec 24
Lessons and Carols by Candlelight
Christmas Day - Dec 25
Holy Mass is celebrated at 10 a.m. on The Nativity of Our Lord - Christmas Day.
Epiphany - Jan 6
Holy Mass is celebrated at 6 p.m. on The Epiphany of Our Lord.
Ash Wednesday - Date Varies
Holy Mass is celebrated on Ash Wednesday, which occurs 40 days before Easter. This service includes the rite of the Imposition of Ashes.
One local custom popular at POPLC is that just prior to the Ash Wednesday service and before Lententide fasting commences, a fellowship meal is offered to all.
Maundy Thursday - Date Varies
Holy Mass is celebrated on Maundy Thursday, which occurs at 6 pm during Holy Week, the week prior to Easter. This service begins a Three-Day (Triduum) service and includes many special rites and ceremomies which commemorate our Lord’s Passion on the night when He instituted the Lord’s Supper and was betrayed. See more on Holy Week.
Good Friday–Chief Service - Date Varies
A continuation of the Triduum service, Holy Mass is celebrated on Good Friday–Chief Service, which starts at noon on Friday during Holy Week, the week prior to Easter. This service includes many special rites and ceremomies to highlight Christ’s Passion and Death and is the Chief Service of Good Friday. See more on Holy Week.
Good Friday–Tenebrae Vespers - Date Varies
A continuation of the Triduum service, the Tenebrae Vespers service is prayed on the evening of Good Friday at 6 pm during Holy Week, the week prior to Easter. This service includes many special rites and ceremomies to highlight Christ’s Passion and Death on Good Friday. See more on Holy Week.
Vigil of Easter - Date Varies
Holy Mass is celebrated at The Vigil of Easter service, which occurs on Saturday evening (at sunset - service time varies) on the Eve of Easter. This service completes the Three-Day (Triduum) service which began on Maundy Thursday as well as the Season of Lent and ushers in the great festival of Easter. This service includes many special rites and ceremonies in keeping with the Vigil’s purpose. See more on Holy Week.
Ascension - Date Varies
Holy Mass is celebrated on The Ascension of Our Lord festival, which occurs 40 days after Easter.
Holy Mass (10 a.m. EST)
We celebrate the Mass every Sunday and on special festivals of the church year, and we use this historic form of worship handed down to us from many previous generations of Christians. If you’re new to Lutheran teaching and worship, our worship practices have a long history in the Church. If you want to learn more about the Mass, as preserved in churches of the Augsburg Confession but without the false teaching and rites that pertain to the Papal Mass of the Roman Catholic Church, please check it out here.
We receive Christ’s gifts in the Divine Service (the Holy Mass). This is the time and place where Christ comes to feed His people with His life-giving Body and Blood. This miracle happens during Mass in the Nave of our church, where the Faithful gather to hear God’s Word and receive Christ’s precious Sacrament. If you want to learn more about our beliefs and practices with regard to the Lord’s Supper, please read our statement on Closed Communion.