â‚Ĵa$tertfoe Winston ;g>alem il^ortt) Carolina COPYRIGHT 1908 BY SHAFFNER'S DRUG STORE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/moravianeastertiOOunse PALM SUNDAY Chere is scarcely a day in the entire year to which we attach greater importance than Palm Sunday, commemorating as it does our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the multitude saluted Him by waving palm branches and strewing them before Him, singing as they went : " Hosanna ! Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord." Palm Sunday emphasizes the kingship of Christ. We love to think of Him as our Friend, our Elder Brother, our Saviour, but on this day we think of Him, more particularly, as our King. The prophet in speaking of this day, said : "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem ; behold thy King cometh unto thee." Therefore the services of this day are of a character which leads us to open our hearts to receive Christ as our King. Palm Sunday brings to our minds the self-abnegation of our Lord, and His deep concern for man. In the midst of His great triumph, while the multitude shouted His praises, while honor was being fairly lavished upon Him, He wept over unbelieving Jerusalem. He turned from earthly honor to the crown of thorns and cross. The teachings of this triumphal day have led us to regard it as an appropriate time for receiving into the Church any who have received Christ into the heart. In view of the children's glad welcome to Christ on the occasion of His notable triumph, we esteem this a peculiarly appropriate day for welcoming young people into the com- municant membership of the Church. The service for the reception of members is one of marked simplicity and tenderness. Edward S. Crosland, Pastor Calvary Church. THE PASSION WEEK READINGS Che reading of the Passion Week Manual is something unique in the line of religious service. The story of the last nine days of Jesus Christ on earth is carefully taken from the four Gospels, and arranged so as to make a continuous and connected narrative. The services are planned in such a manner as to have the reading correspond to the time when the events occurred. On Palm Sunday the account of the entry into Jerusalem is read. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the events of those days form the theme of the readings. Maunday Thursday, the account of the institution of the Holy Communion and the arrest in Gethsemane is heard in the services, and the Holy Communion is celebrated at night. The sub- jects for Good Friday are the crucifixion and burial of the body of Jesus Christ. The lovefeast on Saturday or Great Sabbath is to com- memorate the rest in the tomb. The early Easter Sunday meeting on the graveyard as well as the other services of the day all show forth the happy resurrection thought. This reading of the narrative as a connected whole, without com- ment or exhortation on the part of the minister, has a solemnity and power about it which must be heard to be appreciated, and once heard can never be forgotten. John H. Clewell, President Salem Academy and College. MAUNDAY THURSDAY Che crisis approaches. The storm clouds of envy and hate have thickened overhead. A few hours, and they will burst in full fury on the meek and lowly Jesus. Voluntarily He leaves peaceful Bethany. In the upper chamber, with His disciples, He partakes of the Passover, prophetic of His own death, and with the bread and wine He institutes the Lord's Supper. Finally, the parting words — tender, comforting, pulsing with love. Then Gethsemane ! Beneath friendly olives, with soul "sorrow- ful even unto death" He falls "on His face on the ground" and pours forth His soul-burdened prayer — "O, My Father, if this cup may not pass from Me except I drink it, Thy will be done." Strengthened for the great trial, and accepting the "cup" as His own, He rises, and, a few moments later, receives the traitor's kiss and is seized by the Roman soldiery. GOOD FRIDAY FOR THEE " In judgment hall abased, With scourges lacerated, Thy thorn-crowned Saviour see ! The mocking robe He's wearing, The jeers and blows He's bearing, Because of love for thee, for thee. On Calvary's hill behold Him, As darkness doth enfold Him, Fast nailed to cruel tree. From wounded side is flowing The blood for sin atoning, He's dying there for thee, for thee. J. Kenneth Pfohl, Pastor Christ Church. GREAT SABBATH n six days God created the heavens and the earth and rested on the seventh day, wherefore, God blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it." It was again hallowed by divine providence,when, after His crucifixion, the body of Jesus rested in the rock-hewn tomb in Joseph's garden, where on the following day, very early in the morning, He arose from the grave. Therefore, the day before Easter Sunday is called the "Great Sab- bath," and is commemorated by the Christian Church at each returning Eastertide. To believers it brings great comfort, for as Jesus rested in the grave and rose again, so the grave has become to them a resting place of the body, to await the final resurrection, which will as surely come, as the Easter morn succeeds the evening shadows of the Great Sabbath Day. This is the dominant thought in the Great Sabbath Lovefeast, when hymns expressing faith in the crucified Saviour, and brotherly love among His followers, are succeeded by thoughts of those who "fall asleep," and the triumphant strains which tell of the safety of their rest, and of the coming glorious awakening. r Superintendent Emeritus Salem Home Sunday School. EASTER SUNDAY t has been very truly said that every Sunday should be an Easter day, and one of the best ways of accomplishing this happy end is to send the glow of the one great Easter celebration out over all the Sun- days of the year. " Enthroned in thy sovereign sphere, Thou shed'st thy light on all the year; Sundays by thee more glorious break, An Easter Day in every week." In a Moravian community like Salem, North Carolina, the chorals of the Church Band enliven a good part of the night previous to the Easter dawn. Then there settles down upon the streets the solemn silence, as it were, of a great expectation, until at five o'clock the church bell begins to ring out its joyous salutations. In the dim light of the morning a great and reverent crowd gathers about the church doors. As the last sound of the church bell dies away, the minister, stand- ing at the top of the church steps, utters the glad message with which the first Christians were accustomed to greet each other : "The Lord is risen", and the great audience answers : "The Lord is risen indeed." Then follows, in exultant paragraphs, that Christian confession of faith in the risen Lord and Saviour which has come down through the ages, and to it the assembled multitude answers from time to time : "This I verily believe." The Christian confession having been made, in terms accepted by the whole Church of Christ on earth, the congregation repairs, in solemn procession, to the thrilling music of alternate church bands, toward the "God's Acre," up the lovely Avenue of Cedars, until they stand under the old evergreens, in reverent gathering, and by hymns as well as by litur- gic sentences, express their happy hope in their own resurrection, along with that of the dear ones whose bodies rest under the white stones all around them. And as they finish these glad confessions of an everlast- ing consolation, the rising Easter sun, from behind a curtain of forest, sheds his radiance on the glad and solemn scene. Later in the day comes the Easter sermon, and in the evening the reading of the Easter narrative completes a festal day, which may be expected to influence all the Sundays of the year. Edward Rondthaler, Pastor Home Church and Bishop of the Southern Province of the Moravian Church. t THE EASTER MUSIC o other season of jjl the Church year calls for such va- riety or amount of mu- sical effort as the Holy Week from Palm Sun- day to Easter. The ser- vices of the week are largely interspersed with congregational singing of selected hymns and chorals. The Choir and Orchestra render anthems from Moravian composers, besides appropriate selections from oratorios and the best music of to-day. The services of Easter Sunday are the triumphal climax of the week. Before the appearance of dawn the Trombone Choir visits the various portions of the town and renders in rich harmony the favorite chorals of the Church. When the hour for the early service has arrived and the Litany has been read at the church, this company of musicians is divided into two sections, and as the pro- cession moves to the graveyard these two companies discourse antiphon- ally the impressive music of the Church. The first division plays the first line of each choral, the second division responds promptly by play- ing the second line, and though separated by a great procession the ren- dering of this music is as exact as if the musicians stood side by side. Upon the graveyard and while returning to the church the most triumphal chorals are played. „ T ^ Bernard J. Pfohl, Director Church Band. PROGRAM OF SERVICES HOME CHURCH Palm SUNDAY, April 12th 10:30 a. m., Festal Service Confirmation and Adult Baptism 7:45 p. m., "Bethany" MONDAY, April 13th 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service TUESDAY, April 14th 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service Wednesday, April 15th 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service MAUNDAY THURSDAY, April 16th 2:30 p. m., "The High Priestly Prayer" 3:45 p. m., "Gethsemane" 7:45 p. m., "The Lord's Supper" GOOD FRIDAY, April 17th 10 a. m., The Holy Communion 11a. m., "Before Pontius Pilate" 2:30 p. m., "Calvary" 7:45 p. m., "In Joseph's Tomb" SATURDAY, April 18th 2:30 p. m., The Great Sabbath Love Feast Easter Sunday, April 19th 5 a. m., "He is risen ! " 10:30 a. m., The Easter Sermon 7:45 p. m., Closing Easter Service CALVARY CHURCH Palm Sunday, April 12th 10:30 a. m., Festal Service 4:00 p. m., Reception of Members 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service Monday, April 13th 8 p. m., Holy Week Service Tuesday, April 14th 8 p. m., Holy Week Service Wednesday, April 15th 8 p. m., Holy Week Service Friday, April 17th 2:30 p. m., "Calvary" 7:45 p. m., "In Joseph's Tomb" Easter Sunday, April 19th 10:30 a. m., Easter Sermon CHRIST CHURCH Palm Sunday, April 12th 3 p.m., Reception of Members 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service Monday, April 13th 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service TUESDAY, April 14th 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service Wednesday, April 15th 7:45 p. m., Holy Week Service MAUNDAY THURSDAY, April 16th 2:30 p. m., "The High Priestly Prayer" Good Friday, April 17th 2:30 p. m., "Calvary" Easter Sunday, April 19th 10:45 a. m., Easter Sermon 7:45 p. m., Closing Easter Service CALVARY CHURCH Palm Sunday, April 12th Monday, April 13th ... . Tuesday, April 14th . . . . Wednesday, April 15th . Easter Sunday, April 19th . Pai.m Sunday, April 12th . Monday, April 13th ... JOS. J. STONE & CO., PRINTERS, GREENSBORO