Manitoba / Northwestern Ontario Synod
Shares Its Synod-wide Easter Vigil

Saturday, April 3rd at 6 pm Central / 4 pm Pacific Time

The following information was posted on the Manitoba / Northwestern Ontario Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s website on March 17, 2021

The Easter Vigil will be available on the Synod’s YouTube channel and Facebook page at 6pm Central/7pm Eastern on Saturday, April 3.

More than 40 people from at least 13 congregations throughout the MNO Synod contributed to a virtual Easter Vigil service, which will be shared on MNO Synod’s social media channels at 6 pm on Holy Saturday.  The Easter Vigil is a service of readings, responses, music and prayers that invite participants to dwell in the broad narrative of God’s presence with God’s people through creation, seasons of disruption and chaos, and into our lives through the gifts of grace and faith in Christ.  The Vigil is traditionally held on the Saturday before Easter, and can include up to 12 readings from the Old and New Testament.  Historically, the Vigil is sometimes used as the backdrop for celebrating baptism and affirmation of baptism with new members.

This year, the MNO Synod’s Easter Vigil was developed as an extension of an idea that a few leaders were working on in 2019 & 2020 that had to be delayed because of the pandemic.  The hope for an intergenerational, multi-sensory, experiential service that honours the tradition of the Vigil–with the extended readings, responses and prayers–was re-imagined to build on the experience of collaborative, online worship that the pandemic has created.  What results is a service of readings, responses and prayers that includes drama, poetry, art, dance, music, and photography contributed by people throughout the synod.

As the church prepares to dwell in the epic drama of our faith–beginning with Palm Sunday and extending through Easter Sunday–you are invited to plan to participate in a variety of ways from your home.  Read the stories, connect to times for prayer and worship with others, reflect on your experience of Christ, and anticipate in new ways the gift of life given through the Resurrection.