The story of Jesus’ journey through Holy Week and Easter will be told anew at Bradford Cathedral through a programme of services and events starting on Palm Sunday on the 29th March with morning services and, in the evening, a performance of Handel’s Messiah at 7pm.
At the start of the week, the 10:30am Palm Sunday Eucharist service will feature a dramatic reading of The Passion according to St Matthew, the story of Jesus as he approaches crucifixion, within the celebration of Holy Communion. All are invited to join in person but the service is also streamed online. The Revd Canon Jonathan Triffitt, Interim Dean of Bradford, will be preaching.
This will be followed by a performance of Handel’s Messiah by Bradford Cathedral Choir starting at 7pm. This epic choral work narrates Christ’s Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection through a three part oratorio, including the iconic ‘Hallelujah’ chorus. The concert will feature the full force of the Cathedral Choir, conducted by Bradford Cathedral’s Organist and Director of Music, Geoffrey Woollatt. From joy and exuberance to moments of great anguish and sorrow, this great work showcases the full range of what choral music can achieve.
Geoffrey Woollatt, Bradford Cathedral’s Organist and Director of Music, and conductor for the performance says, ‘I’m very much looking forward to conducting our performance of Handel’s Messiah in March. I was privileged to conduct this work during my time at Manchester Cathedral, and we’ve already started teaching movements to the choir, as well as singing movements during services. It promises to be a wonderful event, accompanied by our very own William Campbell, who has the mammoth task of accompanying the whole oratorio on our wonderful Cathedral Organ.’
During Choral Evensong on Monday 30th March and Tuesday 31st March during Holy Week, Bradford Cathedral Choir will be singing Thomas Tallis’ ‘The Lamentations of Jeremiah’. This is a two-part composition that sets five verses of the Biblical book of Lamentations to music. It is often sung during Holy Week, and is an exquisite and mournful remembrance of Christ’s suffering that will be accompanied by a gradual extinguishing of candles.
Later in the week, the Liturgy of Maundy Thursday at 7pm on the 2nd April continues to re-tell the story of Jesus’ passion for the world through a moving service in which we re-enact his washing of the disciples’ feet, remember him in the sharing of bread and wine, and then have the opportunity to keep ‘The Watch’ with him at the Altar of Repose until his arrest at midnight.
On Good Friday, the traditional three hours that mark the crucifixion will be kept in two services. At 12noon the Revd Duncan Milwain will lead the Meditations around the Cross, a service of readings, reflections, music and silence. At 1:30pm, the Liturgy of Good Friday offers an opportunity to meditate on Jesus’ crucifixion through choral music, silence, the reading of The Passion according to St John, the Reserved Sacrament (Holy Communion), and the symbolic burying of the cross in St Aidan’s Chapel.
On Holy Saturday the Easter Vigil will retell the story of the resurrection through ancient prophecy, the lighting of a fire, and the sharing of Holy Communion. The Revd Canon Jonathan Triffitt, Interim Dean of Bradford, will be preaching at this service.
Finally, on Easter Day, there will be services at 8am (Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer), Choral Eucharist at 10:30am with the Rt Revd Toby Howarth, Bishop of Bradford, leading and preaching, and Choral Evensong at 3:30pm.
You are invited to attend any of these services, with some streamed online. More details can be found on the Bradford Cathedral website, where you can also find videos all about Holy Week and Easter, alongside resources available for use by schools.
The Revd Canon Ned Lunn, Canon for Intercultural Mission and the Arts, says:
“The story of Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, at the threshold between acclaim and abandonment, triumph and tragedy, as Christ crosses into Jerusalem. That evening, Handel’s Messiah becomes part of this same unfolding drama: music that traces Jesus’ journey across the ultimate border between heaven and earth, revealing a God who steps across every human boundary to make all things belong. The One who is hailed and rejected, crucified and raised, opens wide the gates of divine hospitality for all creation.
From procession to vigil fire, from lament to alleluia, we tell the colourful story of Jesus in beauty, silence and song. In this place that is both home and destination, ordinary yet transcendent, we invite Bradford and beyond to walk this pilgrim way with us. Through these ancient and ever-new rhythms, we seek to create a generous welcome to the world, trusting that here all may discover, afresh, the God who changes lives and transforms communities.”