Easter Services 2025

Below is a description of all the services that we have planned for helping people reflect on the Lord's crucifixion and resurrection. We hope that you will use this information to be able to attend many of the services, and to invite your friends and family members to attend with you.

This time leading up to Easter can be a useful and powerful time in the cycle of our year. You might find it valuable to use this worksheet: "Some Ways to Get Ready for Easter" (PDF). If you'd like to watch the talk that goes with it, you can find that here: "Anticipating Easter".

You also might like to subscribe to receive free daily Easter readings and might like to join an online group to discuss the Easter readings.

 Jump to…

Sunday, April 6

Young Children's Marionette Service (9:30 am - Council Chamber)
This service will feature a simple depiction of the Easter story, using marionettes. It will be in the Council Chamber (the room above where Young Children's Service normally takes place). The whole service will be 15-20 minutes long. The Rev. John Odhner will lead this service.

Informal Family Marionette Service (10:15 am - Council Chamber)
This service will also feature a simple depiction of the Easter story, using marionettes. It will be in the Council Chamber (the room above where Young Children's Service normally takes place). This service will be longer than the Young Children's Marionette Service and will include more discussion of the story after the marionette portion. The Rev. John Odhner will lead this service.

Sunday, April 13

We will have Palm Sunday celebrations at all four of our regular Sunday services. There will be a live donkey near the undercroft from about 9:00-11:00 am. People attending Family Service are invited to see the donkey before or after those services. At the Young Children's and Informal Family Services the donkey will be incorporated into the palm procession.

Young Children's Palm Sunday Service (9:30 am - Undercroft)
There will be a celebration of Palm Sunday as part of a regular Young Children's Service. There will be palm branches to wave around, donkey stuffed animals, a procession with a live donkey, and Palm Sunday songs to sing. The Rev. Jeremy Simons will lead this service.

Family Palm Sunday Service (9:30 am - Nave)
The Family Service Palm Sunday celebration will be a regular Family Service with the addition of a palm procession in the middle, accompanied by the Cathedral Brass. The Rev. Coleman Glenn will lead this service.

Informal Family Palm Sunday Service (10:15 am - Undercroft)
The Informal Family Service Palm Sunday celebration will begin, as usual, with music to sing along with at 10:15 am. Partway through the service there will be an opportunity for those who are able to go outside and participate in a palm procession involving the donkey. The Rev. Jeremy Simons will lead this service.

Adult Palm Sunday Service (11:00 am - Nave)
The Adult Service on Palm Sunday will be a regular Adult Service with an opportunity, for those that want, to lay a palm branch down as they come into the nave at the beginning of the service. The Cathedral Brass will also play Palm Sunday preludes and postludes. The Rev. Coleman Glenn will lead this service.

Palm Sunday Zoom Discussion (11:30 am - Zoom)
There will be an online small-group discussion of the Palm Sunday service hosted by the team that regularly meets on Sundays to discuss the Informal Family Service. These meetings usually last 60-75 minutes. All are welcome. Join the meeting.

Thursday, April 17

Informal Family Maundy Thursday Holy Supper (6:30 pm - Undercroft)
This will be a less formal opportunity to reflect on and take Holy Supper. The majority of the service will happen sitting together and sharing food. Children are welcome to attend. This service will not be live-streamed to allow those who attend to fully focus on the in-person experience. The Rev. Coleman Glenn will lead this service. Note: unleavened wheat bread and gluten-free bread and wine and grape juice will be on offer at this service.

Adult Maundy Thursday Holy Supper(7:00 pm - Nave)
This will be a reflective Holy Supper service with readings and a talk on the significance of the Last Supper and an opportunity to take Holy Supper. The Rev. Malcolm Smith will lead this service. Note: unleavened wheat bread and wine will be on offer at this service.

Download the program here (PDF).

Refreshments After Holy Supper Services (7:30 pm - Social Hall)
After the service in the nave is over there will be an opportunity for the attendees of both services to share some simple refreshments in the social hall of the cathedral.

Online Easter Readings Group with Holy Supper (7:30-9:30 pm - Zoom)
The Rev. John Odhner co-leads a weekly Thursday evening Zoom group at 7:30 pm, currently discussing the Easter Readings sent out by the office of Outreach. People are invited to join them any week, but April 17 the discussion of the Easter Story and the Last Supper will include an opportunity to take Holy Supper together. Join the meeting. The meeting generally lasts two hours, but you are welcome to join for any portion of that time. Contact John.Odhner@BrynAthynChurch.org for more information.

Easter Walk (Sunrise to Sunset - Cathedral Gardens)

This year, we invite you to come and enjoy the Easter story, as told in the Gospels, in the beautiful setting of our Cathedral gardens. There will be a welcome sign just before the porte-cochère that will direct you to enter through the garden arch to see the table of the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples while he was still here on Earth. From there, you will follow our signs, which have text from the Gospels detailing the main events of the Easter story. You will finish at the Alpha/Omega garden by reading about the Lord ascending to heaven in front of His disciples.

Please take your time on this walk! Allow yourself to absorb and meditate on the words of the Gospel as you go. Give yourself time for prayer and listening to God as you take in this powerful and emotional story.

If you have young children with you, you may pick up an activity booklet at the Welcome sign. The booklet has modified text to read to your child, and they will collect a sticker at each sign to put in the appropriate place in their booklet.

This experience will be ready for you beginning at sunrise on Good Friday and continuing through sunset on Easter Sunday. Please feel free to come and enjoy it any time that the grounds are open during Easter weekend. This is in place of the Easter Scenes with actors that we have done for the past few years on Easter Sunday.

Friday, April 18

Mozart's Requiem: Good Friday Choral Vespers (7:30 pm - Nave)
The Festival Chorus will sing Mozart's Requiem accompanied by chamber orchestra, interspersed with the Rev. Malcolm Smith reading the Passion portion of the Gospel of Luke and some selections from the teachings for the New Church. Preludes begin at 7:10pm and the Introit and Kyrie from the Requiem are part of the preludes.

Download the program here (PDF).

Livestream the service. 

Sunday, April 20

Easter Family Festival Services (9:30 & 11 am - Nave)
On Easter Sunday, we will offer two identical services, both in the nave. There will be one talk for the whole family. The Rev. Derek Elphick will lead these services.

Download the program here (PDF).

To celebrate the Lord’s resurrection, the congregation is invited to bring an offering of flowers or potted plants at the beginning of either service. These offerings will be distributed to church members who have suffered a recent loss or challenging time. Bryn Athyn Church ministers will deliver the flowers on Easter Monday.

If you have not already, you can go on the Easter Walk before or after either service. (See the details about the walk above.)

Easter Zoom Discussion (11:30am - Zoom)
There will be an online small-group discussion of the Easter service, hosted by the team that regularly meets on Sundays to discuss the Informal Family Service. All are welcome. These meetings usually last 60-75 minutes. Join the meeting.

*NO Informal Family or Young Children's Service on Easter Sunday.
Live stream the Easter services.

Where are the Nave, Undercroft, Council Chamber, and Social Hall?

You can just come to the cathedral and someone will help you figure out where to go. And you also might find this picture helpful: