Passover meal

My dear Friends

Just to tell you that the Passover meal, the Seder, took place at Sawston Parish Church last night. It coincided with the first night of the Passover for the Jewish people, so quite a grace.There were about 45 people present and I sat with Fr Dick, a priest from the large Catholic Church in Cambridge, and together we conducted the Seder.

It began with the lighting of the festival candles and there followed a reading of the account of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. There were also the 4 questions that normally the children ask and I sing a lovely melody in Hebrew to start this off. 'Why is this night different from all other nights?' Because on this night we eat bitter herbs(to commemorate the bitterness our people experienced in Egypt) Because on this night we recline like free men. And so on.

We drank the 4 cups of wine of liberation and salvation and ate the unleavened bread, the Mazzoh, after having an explanation of the ritual foods eaten in the Passover and which are on the Passover plate: a roast shankbone to commemorate the lamb our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt the night before they fled, a roast egg also to commemorate the sacrifice, the bitter herbs and the salt water which reminds us of the tears the Israelites shed.

Then there was another beautiful melody on a passage which relates how many are our enemies but we have overcome:the Holy One, Blessed be He, has saved us from their hands.

After a shared meal, we sang Hallel psalms (as Jesus would have done in the Last Supper) and I accompanied the gathering on my guitar.We then opened the door for Elijah, the herald of the Messiah and the Passover was almost concluded. But we finished with a round of Shalom Chaverim, Shalom Chaverim, lehitraot shalom. Peace my friends, until we meet again, peace my friends.

It was a moving occasion and an opportunity for Christians to participate in their Jewish heritage and to enter into the mystical experience of being slaves in Egypt and being liberated. Several Churches were represented: the Free church, the Anglicans and the Catholics, so it was truly an ecumenical Seder.

Shalom from
Sister Gila