First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia will offer a celebration service of Easter at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, April 24.  Easter is the most joyful time of the church year. celebrated against the background of the shadows and darkness of Lent and Holy Week, this season truly becomes a living expression of the hope that God has brought into the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Probably the most traditional way of celebrating Easter is through special music and song.  At the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia, Music Director Catharine Wheat has planned a program of special music.  The Prelude will be

“Trumpet Duo” by Corelli arranged by Wolff and “Trumpet Voluntary” by Boyce arranged by Wolff.  The guest trumpeters will be Samantha Kimber, a student at Eastman School of Music, and Kevin Johnson, the Band Director at Cazenovia Central School.

The Introit will be “Jubilate Deo” sung by all three choirs of the church from all parts of the sanctuary and accompanied by handbells.  The Senior Choir will sing “Alleluia Christ is Risen” words by Brian Wren, music by Beethoven and Choral Setting by Hopson and “The Heavens Proclaim” by Marcello arranged by Hopson.  Both anthems will be accompanied by the trumpeters.

The center of the service will be the message by The Reverend Dr. Steven R. Thomas Jr., “ I Have Loved You.”

The Postlude will be “Trumpet Duet” by Purcell arranged by Wolff with organ and trumpet.

If you are looking for an open and friendly place to celebrate Easter, Pastor Thomas invites you to worship at the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia.  Child Care and Sunday School are available during the service.  For more information contact the church at 655-3191.

First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia will offer a celebration service of Easter at 10:00 a.m. Sunday, April 4^th.  Easter is the most joyful time of the church year. celebrated against the background of the shadows and darkness of Lent and Holy Week, this season truly becomes a living expression of the hope that God has brought into the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Probably the most traditional way of celebrating Easter is through special music and song.  At the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia, Music Director Catharine Wheat has planned a program of special music.  The Prelude will be “Baroque Alleluia” by Bach and “Rejoicing” by Handel with  trumpet and organ.

The Introit will be “Jubilate Deo” sung by all three choirs of the church from all parts of the sanctuary and accompanied by handbells..  The Senior Choir will sing “Alleluia Christ Is Risen” by Patrick M. Liebergen accompanied by the trumpet and a chorus from Bach’s Cantata No.15 “Be Joyful Together” arranged by Hal H. Hopson

The center of the service will be the sermon by The Reverend Dr. Steven R. Thomas Jr., “Be Glad and Rejoice Forever.”

The Postlude will be “Allegro and Finale by Vivaldi with organ and trumpet.

If you are looking for an open and friendly place to celebrate Easter, Pastor Thomas invites you to worship at the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia.  Child Care and Sunday School are available during the service.  For more information contact the church at 655-3191

Catharine Wheat, Director of Music, has planned a significant service of music. The organ prelude will be “Allegro Con Brio” from Sonata IV by Mendelssohn. There will be special music from the Sounds of Chimes Hand Bell Choir as well as music from all the vocal choirs of the church. The Senior Choir will sing the anthem “The Palms” by Faure.

The Reverend Dr. Steven R. Thomas, Jr. will deliver the sermon entitled “The Lord God Helps Me!”

The children from the Sunday School will distribute Palms.
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, is the Sunday before Easter. Palm Sunday remembers Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem near the end his public ministry. When Jesus entered the city with his entourage, people laid palm branches in the road before him and greeted him as the long awaited Messiah. They shouted “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”

After the Palm Sunday service there will be a gourmet brunch at 11:30 a.m. in the church’s Meeting House. The brunch will honor the new people joining the church, but the event is free and open to anyone wanting good food and good fellowship.

If you are looking for an open and friendly place to celebrate Palm Sunday, Pastor Thomas invites you to worship at the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia. Child Care and Sunday School are available during the service. For more information contact the church at 655-3191 or visit our website at www.cazpres.org.

On Maundy Thursday, April 1st, the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia will hold a Service of Tenebrae at 7:30 p.m. The service will be centered on a choral and narrative piece titled “Tenebrae: A Service of Darkness” by Hal H. Hopson. Musical pieces include “O Sacred Head Now Wounded”, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and the African-American Spiritual: “Were You There.”

Catharine Wheat, Director of Music for the Presbyterian Church will accompany the musical pieces on the organ and direct the Senior Choir. Mary Coburn, the string instructor and orchestra conductor for the Cazenovia Central Schools, will be accompanying some of the choral works on her violin. The dramatic narrative readings are drawn from biblical passion accounts and the Psalms. There will be a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The cross behind the pulpit will be draped in black. The sanctuary will be lit by candles that are extinguished after each of the readings.

The Service of Tenebrae follows a tradition of the church dating back to the eighth century. The word ‘Tenebrae’ is Latin for darkness. The Service commemorates the final hours of our Lord’s life on earth, as he suffered death upon the cross. Two large candelabras will light the sanctuary at the beginning of the service. Candles will be extinguished as the service evolves, symbolizing the fading loyalty of the disciples and friends of Jesus. The gradual darkening of the church sanctuary portrays the diminishing light of the world as Christ was departing from it. The service ends in silence with the relighting of the Christ candle.

The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events leading to Christ’s death and it is left unfinished, because the story is not over until Easter morning.

A fully supervised nursery will be available for the Tenebrae Service.

For more information about the Tenebrae Service or other Easter Season celebrations, contact the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia at 655-3191 or visit the website at www.cazpres.org.

The accompanying hope this act of grace brings is a gift we will spend our lives attempting to understand and receive. Revel in the joy and hope that Christ gives as symbolized by all the icons of Easter: eggs, candy, flowers, babies, new clothing, soaring worship services filled with special music, rites and candles, family and friends coming together to share each other. Go ahead and give thanks for this tremendous gift of salvation and all its potential that we are enjoying!

However, celebrate also the truth that Easter is not just this large celebration in the spring. This celebration is but another icon of Easter. Resurrection also takes place in smaller, quieter ways during any season of the year. Easter is immediately present anytime we experience any kind of new life, of new hope.

Resurrection may be triggered by a feeling, or an idea, or a new understanding. When we feel new energy surging through us, filling us with life and hope, we are experiencing a small Easter. Well, maybe this really isn’t so small?

Happy Easter,
Steve

Probably the most traditional way of celebrating Easter is through special music and song. At the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia, Music Director Catharine Wheat has planned a wonderful program of special music. The introit Jubilate Deo will be played on handbells and sung by all three choirs of the church, singing from all parts of the sanctuary as well as the balcony.

The center of the service will be the sermon by The Reverend Dr. Steven R. Thomas. Jr., “This is Our God, We Have Waited for Him”.

Preludes and postludes will feature trumpet duets by Aaron and Denise Velardi. The trumpeters will be playing “Allegro Maestoso” from “Water Musick” by George Frideric Handel, “Gigue on Easter Hymn” by Michael Burkhardt, Variations on “ O Filii et Filiae” by Raymond Haan and “Trumpet Duet” by Purcell.

Aaron Velardi is a graduate of the Ithaca College School of Music and currently teaches music in the Chittenango Central School District. Velardi also performs in the Central New York rock band, Alter Ego.

If you are looking for an open and friendly place to celebrate Easter, please join us at the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia. Child Care is available during the service. For more information contact the church office