Maundy Thursday commemorates the day that Jesus ate his last supper with his friends before he was betrayed and arrested. It was during that last supper that Jesus gave his disciples a special way of remembering him – what we now call “The Lord’s Supper” or “Holy Communion” (or in some traditions “The Eucharist” or “Mass”).
Because of these two different features of that first Maundy Thursday (which was not called that at the time), we use different forms of services to mark it. Sometimes, we hold a service of Holy Communion and remember Jesus’ gift to us of that sacrament. On other occasions, we hold a reflective “Service of Shadows” in which we recall the different ways in which the light of the world was extinguished, and remember with sorrow our own part in that increasing darkness.
Our service this year is at Wareside Church at 8pm.
Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash