TAVISTOCK Parish Church is lining up some thought-provoking addresses for the climax to Holy Week and Easter.

Addresses over the next few days will be given by the priest-in-charge the Rev Michael Brierley, curate the Rev Tim Treanor, and lay readers Sue Tucker and Wendy Roderick.

Today (Maundy Thursday), Jesus's last supper will be commemorated with holy communion at 8pm and an address on 'loneliness'.

The service will end with the dramatic stripping of the altars, and a silent vigil in a side-aisle until midnight, for people quietly to come and go as they are able, marking the time that Jesus spent praying in the garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested.

On Good Friday, a short family service will be held at 9.30am, followed by hot cross buns and the making of an Easter garden. At noon, addresses will be given on 'Identity' and 'Guilt', and at 1pm on 'Despair' and 'Liberation', followed at 2pm by holy communion.

For these afternoon devotions, people are invited to come and go on the hour as they are able.

Then on Easter Sunday, the church will join other churches in Tavistock for a vigil at the Pimple at 5am, with readings from scripture while waiting for dawn to break, and holy communion at sunrise at 6.30am, followed by a cooked breakfast in the parish centre. The parish church main Sunday service is at 9.45 am.

Mr Brierley, said: 'All of us have ups and downs in life. We hope that the rollercoaster that is Holy Week and Easter, will, through all that we're laying on at the parish church, bring to the rollercoasters of our own lives the richest possible meaning, depth and joy. All are warmly invited.'