Onkaparinga Lutheran Parish Adelaide Hills

Good Friday - a solemn day of reflection, centering on Christ’s crucifixion, death, and forgiveness for sins. The altar is bare, and the colour black is used to signify the death of the Son of God.

"He suffered the things we should have suffered. He took on himself the pain that should have been ours. But we thought God was punishing him. We thought God was wounding him and making him suffer. But the servant was pierced because we had sinned. He was crushed because we had done what was evil. He was punished to make us whole again. His wounds have healed us. All of us have turned to our own way. And the Lord has placed on his servant the sins of all of us." Isaiah 53:4-6

Maundy Thursday - the beginning of the sacred three days leading to Easter, commemorates the Last Supper, the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and Jesus' command to love one another through service.

Following Communion, the altar is stripped of its decorations and linens. This act symbolises the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples, his arrest, and the humiliation he suffered before his crucifixion.

Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:26-28