Why is Friday Good?

Salvador Dali

Calling the day that Jesus died Good Friday seems counter-intuitive.

There is a hymn by Sidney Carter which many will know called "Lord of the Dance".

One of the verses reads:

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black

It's hard to dance with the devil on your back,

They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high

And left me there on the cross to die.

The next verse tells us why it is Good (warning: spoiler alert (as if you didn't know)).

They cut me down and I leapt up high

I am the life that will never, never die.....

God's love and life never stop, even in the darkest of places and our lowest hours. It is only through death that Jesus can bring life. He shows us the way. Most of us are not called to a literal and torturous death but we are called to leave ourselves behind and enter into a world which is full of a heavenly tune and dance steps which fill us but which we do not own.

Walking towards Easter

April 18th is Maundy Thursday. If you usually go from Palm Sunday to Good Friday, or if you do not usually even go to church, why don’t you join us?

The Last Supper by Duccio di Buoninsegna

Maundy Thursday Service.

7pm at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer,

502. W. Sumter Street, Shelby, NC. 28150

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday between Palm Sunday and Easter. On this day we remember Jesus with his Disciples at the Last Supper as he breaks bread with them and washes their feet. In The Gospel of John, Judas makes a dramatic exit into the night to arrange Jesus arrest. After the meal Jesus and his friends go to the Garden of Gethsemane where in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew there is the heart-wrenching story of his prayers as he struggles with what is to come and his Disciples sleep.

Our liturgy (the service which we use) covers all these things as we gather and wash one another’s feet. As we remember our own turning away from God and are offered holy bread and wine in the Eucharist (Communion). Then we move to the Garden, a place set up in Church where we can watch and wait with Jesus for as much of the night as we choose.

It is a beautiful service and can really help us get ready for Easter as we enter into the whole story of the week. You are welcome, no exceptions. If you usually go to another church, we respect that. Feel free to join us anyway, we are offering an open invitation. If you have been rejected or hurt by other churches, you will find a welcome here. We welcome those who are often marginalized without expecting you to sign up for anything or to change who God made you to be.