The Guadalajara Reporter
Guadalajara's Largest English Newspaper
The Guadalajara municipal government appears to be pushing ahead with an ambitious development in the north of the city despite the fierce objections of neighboring residential communities.
St. Mark’s Anglican
St. Mark’s Anglican church begins the holy season on Palm Sunday, March 29, with a bilingual Mass. Parishioners first gather in the garden at noon for a ceremonial palm procession with hymns led by the choir. During Mass, parishioners will put on a reading of the Passion of Christ and the choir will sing Bach’s chorale “O Sacred Head Sore Wounded” among other pieces. Later, a bake sale to support the choir’s plans for Easter will be held.
On April 2, Holy Thursday will be celebrated with a 6 p.m. bilingual service to conclude with the stripping of the altar. The choir will sing the Afro-American spiritual “Were You There When They Crucified my Lord?” and Bach’s “O Sacred Head Sore Wounded.”
On April 3, Good Friday will be commemorated with a service in Spanish beginning at noon.
On Easter Sunday, April 5, St. Mark’s celebrates with an English Mass at 10:30 a.m. (Daylight Saving Time begins on April 5.) St. Mark’s 12-member choir and invited singers, directed by Debra Rodriguez, will sing traditional Easter music, including Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Bach’s arrangement of “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands” (lyrics by Martin Luther). Finally, the choir will roar out with Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from “The Messiah.” Organ accompaniment by the acclaimed Ana Silvia Guerrero.
An Easter Bonnet Parade and contest and an Easter egg hunt follow in the garden after Mass. All are invited.
St. Mark’s is a two-minute drive north of Plaza Mexico, at Aztecas and Chichimecas in Colonia Monraz, near end of bus route 33-A. More information: Rev. Dr. James Priddy, (33) 3817-4511. www.stmarksanglican.org
English Fellowship
English Fellowship of Guadalajara (an offshoot of Rey de Reyes Presbyterian church) plans Palm Sunday worship (March 29) at their regular time and location, 6 p.m. at address below.
A special worship service on Good Friday, April 3, will be at 9 a.m. in the morning at Parque Metropolitano at the red towers in the center of the park, near parking lots. The program consists of singing, prayer and teaching on Jesus’s seven sayings from the cross and, afterwards, a continental breakfast.
Easter Sunday worship is planned for the usual location at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 5 with a potluck meal and Lord’s Supper.
Services at English Fellowship feature contemporary music.
Located at Gabriel d’Annunzio 5184 (next door to the Bridge Club of Guadalajara), 1 1/2 blocks NW of Patria and Vallarta, Colonia Jardines Vallarta. englishfellowshipgdl.org
Christ the Redeemer
On Good Friday, April 3, 7 p.m., the Bugambilias area bilingual congregation Christ the Redeemer Presbyterian church will have a service of reflection on the Seven Sayings of Jesus on the Cross. This service will be in Spanish
On Easter Sunday, April 5, the English group will have its regular English service at 9:30 a.m. followed by a potluck fellowship brunch at 11 a.m. (before the Spanish service at 12 noon). The church has communion every Sunday.
Callejon del Iris 45 off Cto. De Las Flores N., (33) 3684-5448.
St. John Crisostomo
This year, the English-speaking Roman Catholic congregation at St. John Crisostomo will hold their regular English Mass on Palm Sunday, 11 a.m., with a reading of the Passion of the Lord and special Lenten songs by the congregation’s beloved a capella choir Cantabile, directed by Jesus Chavez.
On Easter Sunday, April 5, the English Mass will again be at 11 a.m., with Cantabile singing two classical favorites: Mozart’s “Gloria” from the “Coronation Mass” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from “The Messiah.”
Gran Plaza shopping center is between Vallarta and Lazaro Cardenas near Sears.
On Thursday, April 2, thousands of Tapatios will go to church seven times for the “Visit to the Seven Churches,” a Roman Catholic tradition dating back to medieval Spain.
In Guadalajara, pilgrims tend to visit seven of the oldest churches in the city center: the metropolitan Cathedral and the churches of San Agustin, Santa Teresa, Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Santa Maria de Gracia, San Francisco and Santa Aranzazu. Most Catholic churches in the city hold their Maunday Thursday services around 7 p.m.
The seven-church visit commemorates Christ’s departure from the Last Supper and his walk through the Garden of Gethsemane, where he was ultimately betrayed by Judas Iscariot. After taking communion at their starting church, worshippers amble through the streets to their next chosen destination.
Because fasting is customary on Good Friday (the following day), vendors of traditional Easter empanadas (pastries filled with a variety of stuffings) do a brisk trade. In fact, the empanadas are so famous that it is claimed many people take part in the seven-church visit just to sample the different varieties.
Maunday Thursday saw vendors of the sweet bread delicacy, empanadas, out in force in their dozens, especially in the center of Guadalajara, as the faithful made their traditional annual visit to seven churches. The vendors will sell their treats throughout the weekend.
U.S. new-age guru Deepak Chopra will appear at the Teatro Galerias in Guadalajara on Sunday, May 17, 6 p.m.
The United States Consulate joined forces with the Charros de Jalisco baseball club to offer a training clinic to children from a Guadalajara shelter.
The United States Embassy and Consulates in Mexico will close on the following dates: January 1 and 19; February 2 and 16; March 16; April 2 and 3; May 1, 5, 10 and 25; July 3, September 7 and 16; October 12; November 2, 11, 16 and 26; December 25. The Canadian Embassy and Consulates in Mexico will close on January 1, February 2, April 2 and 3, May 18, July 1, September 16, October 12, November 16, December 25 and 26.
