FAITH FORMATION | 2025
SUNDAYS AT 9 AM | HUTTON HALL + ZOOM
Preparing for Good Friday: A Lenten Adult Faith Formation Series + 9am in Hutton Hall
In its worship, Church tradition has remained consistent on one point: if Christians hope to enter fully into the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection on Easter Day, we must first walk the way of the cross with him and taste the reality of his suffering and death—events described by tradition as “The Passion of our Lord” (from the Latin passio, meaning “suffering”).
The oldest evidence we have tells us that for the patristic era Church in Jerusalem The Passion of our Lord according to John was the invariable principal Gospel reading for Good Friday (a day whose name in English was originally “God’s Friday” in the same way “Goodbye” was originally “God be with you”).
The ancient Church of Jerusalem established a liturgical pattern for the other churches, and the Episcopal Church carries on that pattern. All four Gospels have both a “Passion Narrative” and a “Resurrection Narrative,” opposite sides of a single coin. The Resurrection of Christ derives its significance from his suffering and death on the cross.
Our Sunday morning faith formation program for the first five Sundays in Lent will be a reflection on the Passion of our Lord according to John (Jn 18:1-19:42) led by Bruce McNab, a retired priest, now a member of Saint Barnabas. Fr. Bruce was ordained in 1972 and after graduate school served as rector of five parishes in the USA and overseas. He is author or co-author of four books, including Believing is Seeing: A Guide for Responding to John’s Gospel (©2016).
March 9: How does the Passion Narrative fit in the Gospel Tradition, and why is it important?
This Lent, join Bruce McNab, a retired priest and Saint Barnabas parishioner, for an adult faith formation series on the Passion according to Saint John entitled “Preparing for Good Friday.”
LOOKING AHEAD:
March 16: Jn. 18:1-27 – A story of betrayal. Jesus is arrested in the garden, interrogated by the High Priest, denied by Peter, and then taken to Pilate.
March 23: Jn. 18:28-19:16 – The King of Truth is put on trial before the military Prefect of a third-class Roman province.
March 30: Jn. 19:17-37 – The King is crowned with thorns, enthroned on a cross, and finally buried in a borrowed tomb with regal style.
April 6: What do we think about the Passion now, as we arrive at Holy Week? How can a Church “walk the way of the cross” in reality, not just symbolically?