Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4575/-1/135/
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Religion - Palm Sunday Parade: Methodists Join Anglicans, Catholics
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This year there have been two changes to the Palm Sunday procession which originally involved the congregations of St. Mary’s Anglican Church and St. Gerard’s Roman Catholic Church.
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Frs. Jore and Lapaz, Rev. Dr. Niles and Rev. Menes Hodge
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One change is that, for the first time, the Methodist Church joined the parade, with its contingent being led by the Reverend Dr. H. Clifton Niles, to Ebenezer Chapel in The Valley. The second change is that the palm-bearing procession began at the Valley Well Trough instead of the customary courtyard of the James Ronald Webster Building which houses Social Security, other offices and business establishments. The change of location was to make the walking distance more even for all three churches.
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Rev. Dr. Niles leading Methodist Church members
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“I think it is a good thing,” the Superintendent Minister of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit commented when asked why his church participated in ‘The Liturgy of the Palms’ and the procession. “We met and thought we should do it.” It was a fitting reason as all three churches comprise the Anguilla Christian Council.
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St. Gerard’s Roman Catholic Church Priests and members
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Reverend Niles, who welcomed the attendees, reminded them that during Lent the churches had been preparing “for the celebration of our Lord’s paschal mystery.” He went on: “On this day (Palm Sunday), our Lord Jesus Christ entered the Holy City of Jerusalem in triumph. The people welcomed Him with palms and shouts of praise, but the path before Him led to self-serving suffering and death.
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Anglican Church choir members and others
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“Today, we greet Him as our King, although we know that His Crown is thorns and His throne is a cross. We follow Him this week from the glory of the palms to the glory of the resurrection by the way of the dark road of suffering and death. United with Him in His sufferings on the cross, may we share His resurrection and new life.
St. Gerard’s Church was represented by resident Minister Fr. Digno Jore, who read the Scripture and visiting Priest, Fr. Luis Lapas from Haiti.
In delivering the brief sermon, Reverend Hodge said the procession called to mind what took place in the life of Jesus just under a week before His crucifixion. “As a devout Jew, Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover,” the clergymen recalled. “According to the record it was customary for hundreds of thousands to gather there for this special occasion. The year that Jesus went – 33 AD – was no exception. Word had gone out that Jesus, who had raised Lazarus from the dead, was on His way to Jerusalem and so the crowd flocked there.
“There were no limos in those days so Jesus went riding on a young donkey in humility,” he continued. “The crowd met and received Him joyously. They spread palm branches on the road which today would amount to a red carpet reception… The crowd shouted ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord’- He who is the king of Israel. As of then, they did not understand who Jesus really was and what His purpose of coming into the world was. They had been awaiting the Messiah whom they thought would have delivered them from Roman oppression. Jesus is a king yes, but He would later tell Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world.
“Their cry of ‘Hosanna’ was an appeal to Jesus to save them. Indeed, Jesus came to seek and to save humankind not from political or social bondage or captivity, but to save us from sin and its consequences... Jesus came to restore us to our rightful relationship with the Father – a relation which was once enjoyed but which was lost through disobedience.”
A large number of members of the three churches and affiliate organisations participated in the Liturgy of the Palms which was followed by separate services.
The next procession will be on Good Friday at 4.30 p.m. It will commence at Connor’s Corner at South Hill and travel to the Bethel Methodist Church for an ecumenical service.