Full churches expected for Easter

Fr Jiss and Fr Mark participating in the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion  last year for the parishes livestream.

With people flocking back to Easter ceremonies after church closures last year, parishes are getting ready for a high turnout.

Holy Spirit Parish in Gungahlin has added a service on Easter Sunday and has moved its Good Friday liturgy outdoors to accommodate up to 1200 worshippers.

“People really resonate with the meaning of Good Friday and it brings the biggest individual crowd of the Easter ceremonies,” Parish Priest Fr Mark Croker said.

Holy Spirit covers 17 suburbs across Gungahlin, and Fr Mark said that it was important to adapt and schedule more services because numbers in the church were restricted.

“Because of the size of our parish it was vital for us to change our usual arrangements,” he said.

St John the Apostle at Kippax has been booked out for all Easter ceremonies since February, and there is a long waiting list.

Parish Priest Fr Kimi said the parish church could accommodate only 130 people, which was why it booked out so quickly.

“Each ceremony was booked out within 24 hours and because we use TryBooking we know how many people will be attending per booking,” he said.

“This allows us to allocate seating for big and small families, for couples and for individuals and because of this we can have a few extra people join us from the waitlist.”

The Easter liturgies are emotional and spiritual and Fr Kimi said that it is significantly different from any other time of the year.

Easter is a time when families come together and “parishioners often come to Mass with their extended family which is always wonderful to see”.

If you are looking for an Easter Mass time click here.

To watch the livestream from St Christopher’s Cathedral click here.