Christmas & Easter at S. Stephen's
For many people, Christmas and Easter are times to return to church even if they do not normally attend the rest of the year. We enthusiastically welcome all visitors on these most holy days.
CHRISTMAS
In most years, our schedule of Christmas services includes a Pageant and Family Mass at 5:30 pm on Christmas Eve; the Solemn Mass of the Nativity (commonly called the “Midnight Mass”) at 10:30 pm, and a said Mass in the Lady Chapel on Christmas Day at 10 am. (Check the schedule posted on this website for exact times of services in any given year.)
If you have young children, you may want to bring them to the 5:30 pm Pageant and Family Mass, which features the members of our Sunday School. The 10:30 pm Midnight Mass (so-called because it usually ends at around midnight) is a choral service that may be more appropriate for adults and older children.
Since Brown University is observing Winter Break at Christmas, the streets around S. Stephen’s are unusually quiet, and on-street parking is generally plentiful. Instrumental voluntaries are played in the church for about twenty minutes prior to the beginning of the Mass.
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER
On Easter Day, our services follow our normal Sunday schedule of Morning Prayer at 8 am; Low Mass at 8:10 am; and Solemn High Mass (with Procession) at 10 am. If Brown University is in session and not on Spring Break, it is advisable to arrive early to find parking in the vicinity of the church.
The week preceding Easter, known as Holy Week, begins on Palm Sunday; services follow the regular Sunday schedule. The principal liturgies of Holy Week take place on the 'Sacred Triduum' (Sacred Three Days) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Eve; participation in these liturgies brings to life the mysteries of our Lord's Last Supper, Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
For more information on what to expect when attending services at S. Stephen’s for the first time, go here.
