March for Life at Church of the Messiah

This week more than a dozen members of Church of the Messiah will be heading up to Washington, D.C., to join with CEC for Life and participate in the 47th Annual March for Life.  If you cannot make the trek to the frozen north, you can still participate in a series of events planned right here at Church of the Messiah.

On Thursday night, beginning at 7:00, we will have a night of pro-life intercession and prayer at Church of the Messiah.

On Friday morning, starting at 9 o’clock, we will participate in a silent prayer vigil at All Women’s Health Center at 1545 Huffingham Road (click HERE for a map.  Please park in the church parking lot or alongside the road.)

On Saturday morning, starting at 9 o’clock, we will be leading the Liturgy for the Pre-Born in front of All Women’s Health Center.  If you have never attended one of these liturgies, this will be a perfect opportunity to do so.

For more information on any of these services, please contact Casey Harlow or Fr. Scott Melanson.

In light of these scheduled event and our many youth who are traveling to Washington this week to participate in the March for Life, we are cancelling both Youth Group and our Adult Bible Study on Wednesday night, January 22nd.  This events will resume as normal on Wednesday, January 29th.

Holy Week at Church of the Messiah

Holy Week is the most incredible time of the year for churches throughout the world and Church of the Messiah is no exception.  We are so excited to share with you all that we have planned as we relive the events of Christ’s betrayal, death, and, ultimately, His Resurrection!  We want you to join us for all of these remarkable services.

Palm Sunday: Holy Week begins with the fanfare and celebration of Our Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  We celebrate this momentous event in Jesus’ life by gathering in the church’s courtyard, blessing the palms, and processing into the church together.  During this service there is also a special dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel.  The service begins in the church courtyard at 10 o’clock

Maundy Thursday: Join with us as we commemorate Jesus celebrating the Last Supper with His Disciples on the night He was betrayed.  This deeply moving service includes the once-a-year foot washing service as well as the solemn stripping of the altar in remembrance of Christ’s betrayal.  Prior to the service we will have our regular mid-week soup supper from 6-6:45.  The Maundy Thursday service itself begins at 7 o’clock.

Good Friday:  Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the church year is Church of the Messiah’s annual Good Friday service.  From noon til three o’clock we reflect on the Passion of our Lord taking inspiration from seven different meditations each coupled with solemn prayers and contemplative songs and dance offerings.  The service also includes the reading of the Passion Gospel and the Veneration of the Holy Cross.  While the service is three-hours long, it is structured in such a way as to accommodate those who are only able to attend a portion of the service.  Come for the whole service, come for thirty minutes.  For whatever amount you can attend, you will be blessed.

Holy Saturday: While Our Lord may have rested from His labors, the abortion industry does not rest from its and Saturday is one of its busiest days.  We will take a prayerful stand for those who are condemned to die that day and pray the Liturgy for the Pre-Born outside A Woman’s Choice clinic.  We encourage everyone to join us on this very solemn occasion.

Easter Sunday: Celebrate with us the most glorious and triumphant of Feasts, the Feast which makes all other feasts possible, the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord!  Death has been defeated and the grave has been overthrown!  This year we are especially blessed to welcome Archbishop Craig W. Bates, the Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church back to Church of the Messiah to preach and celebrate Easter Sunday.  Also that morning, be sure to bring spring flower for the annual “flowering of the cross.”  Help beautify our Easter cross by bring your own flowers to help decorate.  The service itself begins at 10 o’clock and, as always, we pull out all the stops for the most glorious day of the year.  Immediately following the service we will have an Easter egg hunt in the courtyard outside the church.

Everyone is welcome to attend all of our services and childcare is provided at all events.  To help facilitate inviting others to join us, we have created Facebook events for each of these services.  To find these events, simply go to Church of the Messiah’s Facebook page and click on the “events” tab or click on the each event’s bold name.

Church of the Messiah to Hold Liturgy for the Pre-Born this Wednesday Night

This Wednesday, January 16th, beginning at 7 o’clock, Church of the Messiah will hold a Liturgy for the Pre-Born in place of our usual Wednesday night worship services.  The date for this liturgy was chosen in anticipation of the March for Life and the Feast of Our Lord and Giver of Life, both of which occur later on in the week.  Church of the Messiah has been holding the Liturgy for the Pre-Born on the last Saturday morning of every month since March of 2018, but those services have been outside A Woman’s Choice, one of Jacksonville’s local abortion clinics.  This Wednesday night people have an opportunity to experience the Liturgy for the Pre-Born at Church of the Messiah.  The Liturgy for the Pre-Born was developed by Fr. Terry Gensemer, Executive Director of CEC for Life and longtime friend of Church of the Messiah, who based the service on the service of Last Rites and intended the Liturgy to be both prayers to bring and end to abortion and memorial prayers for those children murdered by abortion who have no one to mourn or pray for them.  The Liturgy for the Pre-Born this Wednesday night will also include a time of praise and worship as well as the Holy Eucharist, two elements which are not logistically possible outside on the sidewalk.  Childcare will be provided although our Youth Group will participate in the Liturgy for the Pre-Born.  We encourage everyone to join us this Wednesday to experience the Liturgy for the Pre-Born and to pray for an end to abortion in America and throughout the world.

Church of the Messiah to Pray Liturgy for the Pre-Born

This Saturday, April 28th, starting at 9 o’clock, the clergy and people of Church of the Messiah will gather outside of A Woman’s Choice, one of Jacksonville’s few abortion clinics and one which often performs abortions on Saturday mornings.  We will be praying for an end to abortion and especially for those who are about to die in that very clinic that weekend.

Please join with us as we pray for the pre-born children throughout Jacksonville and the world, but especially those a A Woman’s Choice, (Click HERE for a map) who will be murdered by the holocaust of abortion and have no one to pray for them. Let us pray for those who are about to die and for and end to abortion in America and in the world.

The best place to park is in the parking lot near the Payless ShoeSource (click HERE for a map) and walk to short distance to where we will be praying.  Be sure to park, however, away from the stores, because we do not want to be a nuisance to the vendors.

Fr. Terry Gensemer to Lead Liturgy for the PreBorn This Saturday Morning

Liturgy for the PreBornThis Saturday morning, at 10 o’clock, Fr. Terry Gensemer, International Director of CEC For Life, will lead the local pro-life community in a Liturgy for the PreBorn.  The Liturgy will be held in the public right-of-way in front of A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville (Click HERE for a Map).  The service is being held in conjunction with Jacksonville’s Fall 40 Days for Life campaign.  The Liturgy for the PreBorn is a service similar to a prayers at the time of death for the many preborn children who will face death in abortion clinics in Jacksonville and all over America each day.  A Woman’s Choice of Jacksonville is one clinic in Jacksonville where abortions are performed six days a week so people will be praying at the same time women and children could be going into the clinic to have abortions.  The following morning, Fr. Gensemer will preach at Church of the Messiah’s 10 o’clock service.

Fr. Terry Gensemer to Visit Church of the Messiah

Fr. Terry GensemerFr. Terry Gensemer, the International Director for CEC For Life, will visit Church of the Messiah October 3-4.   During his time at Church of  the Messiah, Fr. Gensemer will lead a Liturgy for the Pre-Born outside of one of Jacksonville’s most notorious abortion clinics as part of the annual 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign.  Sunday morning, Fr. Gensemer will preach and celebrate the Holy Eucharist at Church of the Messiah’s regular services beginning at 10 o’clock.

In addition to leading CEC For Life and sitting on the Patriarch’s Council, Fr. Gensemer is a Board Member of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, a Pastoral Care Associate for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, and the Pastoral Director for the Society of Centurions, an organization which hosts healing retreats for those who have left the abortion industry.  Fr. Gensemer’s tireless work for the Pro-Life cause has taken him to five different continents and countless churches across the world.  On this trip, Fr. Gensemer will be joined by his wife Patti.

Be sure to mark your calendars because October 3-4 are going to be an exciting weekend.  There is never a dull moment with Fr. Terry and Patti Gensemer around.  Be sure to join us for each of these powerful events.