Special Annual Services
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Holy Week
The week leading to Easter marks the most somber time in the Christian year . Palm Sunday commemorates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and anticipates his crucifixion. It has been King’s Chapel’s custom to observe themes of acclaim and rejection in alternate years. In alternating years, we read the Passion of Jesus Christ. Palm fronds are handed out before or during the service. Morning Light 9 AM, Little Chapel, 64 Beacon St. Morning Prayer 11 AM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. Maundy Thursday is so named from the Latin word mandatum, which refers to Christ’s command to his disciples to love one another. We commemorate Christ’s last meal with his disciples by celebrating Holy Communion and the ritual of Foot Washing. The service ends with the stripping of the altar. Service at 6:00 PM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. Good Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion, is observed at 12:15 with Morning Prayer and a sermon and in the evening with the Office of Tenebrae. The name tenebrae, meaning “darkness,” refers to the darkening of the sky at the time of the crucifixion, and to the darkening of the church during the course of this service. Morning Prayer 12:15 PM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. Tenebrae 8:00 PM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. Holy Saturday is celebrated with The Great Vigil, a service of light, lessons, Holy Communion, and Baptism. The service ends with the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. 8:00 PM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. On Easter we celebrate the mystery of the empty tomb with a festive service of Morning Prayer. As is tradition, we open our historic painted glass window in celebration. Morning Prayer, 11 AM, 58 Tremont St. |
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Blessing of the Animals
Held in the beauty of our Parish House Garden [Accessible via Branch Street] this annual service of celebration and thanksgiving is for the animals that give us joy and love. Through a liturgy that includes brief readings, prayers, and hymns, we will bless each animal and each relationship. We will thank God for the loving and forgiving creatures that bless our lives. |
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Partner Church Sunday
King’s Chapel and the First Unitarian Church of Kolozsvar, Transylvania, have been in partnership since 1922. To honor this special historical relationship, on this day we celebrate Holy Communion in the tradition of Unitarians in Transylvania. Special vestments and cloths from Romania are used on this day. Click below to download the June 5th, 2022 invitation 
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All Saints & All Souls
This day commemorates those loved ones who have died. We observe this feast on the Sunday nearest to November 1 with a service of Holy Communion. In recent years this has been celebrated with a Requiem Mass by the King’s Chapel Choir. Those in the congregation are invited to come forward to light candles for those who have died. Pillar candles are displayed on the Communion Table to honor those members of the church who have died in the past year. |
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Thanksgiving Day We give thanks and celebrate life's good gifts and blessings with a festive service of Morning Prayer on the morning of Thanksgiving Day. Our service, taken from the Book of Common Prayer, provides time for worshipers to pause in their busy holiday weekend to give thanks. We continue the time-honored traditions of classic Thanksgiving hymns and a reading of the Governors Thanksgiving Proclamation. |
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Christmas Eve & Day
Christmas Eve Family Service: The story of Jesus’ birth comes alive through word and carols. In this service, the ministers serve as narrators and tell the story of the birth of Jesus as children in the congregation participate in various ways. With classic Christmas carols and an age old story, this service is rooted in time-honored traditions. Any child who wants to participate as a shepherd or angel in our nativity pageant will have the opportunity to do so. 5:00 PM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. |
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Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols: A traditional service with full choir and candlelight modeled after the service offered at Truro Cathedral in 1880. The King's Chapel Choir serves as our guide, as we hear again the message of the angels told through scripture and song. The candlelit sanctuary helps us to keep vigil as we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. Be sure to arrive early. This is our most popular service of the church year.
8:00 PM (Prelude begins 7:30 PM), King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. Christmas Day Holy Communion: King's Chapel was the first known Christian church to celebrate Christmas Day in British New England. In 1686, Boston Anglicans (and curious onlookers) gathered to celebrate Holy Communion. This tradition continues to this day. 10:00 AM, King's Chapel, 58 Tremont St. |
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New Year's Eve
We greet the coming new year with a service of the Word read from the King’s Chapel Book of Common Prayer. This service is held in the beauty and intimacy of The Little Chapel, located in our historic Parish House 64 Beacon Street. The service is followed by a potluck dinner. |
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Ash Wednesday
Services at 12:15 PM and 5:30 PM. Services of prayer, silence, confession and the imposition of ashes to mark our entrance into the reflective and somber season of Lent. Clergy are available throughout the day for imposition of ashes and private prayer. |
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