Journey with us through Lent and Holy Week as we follow Jesus' path to his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection on Easter Day.
Lent
Reflections for Lent - Journeying with Jesus
An opportunity to be still in the middle of the day and reflect on the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, that led to his death. The half-hour comprises readings, prayers, music and silence led by Abbey clergy. All welcome.
Mondays, 7 March - 11 April
1pm - 1.30pm in the Abbey
Palm Sunday: 10 April
We remember the entry of Christ into Jerusalem.
8am Holy Communion
Quiet, reflective worship
9.30am Church Family Communion
Worship for all the family
11.30am Sung Eucharist
Sung by the Abbey Chamber choir. Hosanna to the son of David Weelkes, Missa Papae Marcelli Palestrina, Christus Factus Est Bruckner.
3.30pm Choral Evensong
Sung by the Abbey Chamber Choir. Christus Factus Est Bruckner, Blair in B minor, The Wilderness Wesley.
6.30pm Informal Service
Informal worship at the close of the day
Holy Week: Mon 11 – Wed 13 April
Monday 11 April
8.30am - Morning Prayer
5.30pm - Still Point: Evening Reflection (30 mins)
7pm - Passiontide Prayer in Music & Words: Symphonie Passion (organ meditations) by M Dupré.
Tuesday 12 April
8.30am - Morning Prayer
5.30pm - Still Point: Evening Reflection
7pm - Passiontide Prayer in Music & Words: Stabat Mater by G B Pergolesi, sung by members of the Abbey Girls Choir with members of the Bristol Ensemble. Directed by Huw Williams.
Wednesday 13 April
8.30am - Usual Morning Prayer
12 noon - Holy Communion as usual
5.30pm - Still Point: Evening Reflection
7pm – Passiontide Prayer in Music & Words: Compline with The Lamentations of Jeremiah by T Tallis sung by the Abbey Lay-clerks.
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday
Maundy Thursday, 14 April
8.30am - Morning Prayer
12noon - Holy Communion
7pm - Sung Eucharist and Vigil
Sung by Abbey Choirs of Girls and Lay-Clerks.
Introit: Ubi caritas Ola Gjeilo
Setting: Mass for Five Voices Byrd
Communion: O sacrum convivium Tallis
With footwashing and stripping of the altar followed by Vigil with readings, silence and choral solos.
Good Friday, 15 April
12noon - 2pm - Meditation
2pm - 3pm - Final Hour, with Abbey choir
Sung by the Abbey Girls and Lay-clerks. Directed by Huw Williams. Organ Shean Bowers. The Reproaches Sanders, Crucifixus Lotti, Miserere Allegri O vos omnes Casals.
7pm - Passiontide Prayer in Music & Words: J Stainer’s The Crucifixion
Sung by the Abbey Boys and Lay-clerks. Narrator Alex Edwards; Christus Mike Entwisle. Organist Shean Bowers. Conductor Huw Williams.
Easter Day, 17 April
We remember the resurrection of Christ.
8am Holy Communion
Quiet, reflective worship
9.30am Family Communion
Worship for all the family
11.30am Sung Eucharist
Sung by the Girls and Lay-clerks. Surrexit Christus hodie Scheidt, Mass in D Dvorak, Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth Handel, Dic nobis Maria Bassano.
3.30pm Choral Evensong
Sung by the Boys and Lay-clerks. Introit: Easter Vaughan Williams, Dyson in D, Blessed be the Lord and Father S. S. Wesley.
6.30pm Informal Service
Informal worship at the close of the day
Messiah by G. F. Handel
Friday 29 April, 7pm
Handel’s moving and famous work will be performed during the season of Easter, as it was at its first performance in April 1742. The final section of this monumental piece focuses on the Easter message; the Hallelujah chorus and ‘I know that my redeemer liveth’ crown the work. The Abbey choir of Girls and Lay-clerks will be joined by baroque instrumentalists Rejouissance in an elegant and stylish performance with soloists from the choir, as in the first performance in Dublin in 1742.
Tickets £20, £18, £10 (16s and under half price) available from: www.bathboxoffice.org.uk
‘Let There Be Light’: An exhibition of artwork inspired by stained-glass windows
18 April - 31 May
Featuring over 20 works by local artist, Shelley Ashkowski, each piece is
inspired by the history and beauty of churches as well as many intricate studies
of stained-glass windows. At the heart of the exhibition will be one of the artist’s newest pieces featuring Bath Abbey’s magnificent Great East Window. Completed in 1873 and repaired after World War II, the East Window tells the story of Jesus’ life from birth to resurrection in 56 scenes.
