Bishop Ken Clarke to lead Good Friday 3 Hour Service
On Friday 3rd April, 2026 Bishop Ken Clarke will lead the Good Friday 3 Hour Service at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, when he will consider the Seven Final Words of Christ from the Cross.
Starting at 12 noon, and running through to 3.00pm, Bishop Ken Clarke will share seven meditations on the final words of Jesus, spoken from the cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago.
In preparation for his reflections on the words which Christ spoke, and the gospel writers recorded, Bishop Ken writes:
“May we be moved by Christ’s amazing grace, inspired by His incredible love, humbled by His profound suffering and transformed by the truth that He gave everything for us.”
He adds
“Beyond a shadow of doubt we remember …the greatest love story ever told. We worship the greatest person who ever lived. In this time of reflection we come into the presence of the living God who so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Those attending are welcome to stay for as long or short a time as they are able out to the three hour service, which will also include periods of silence, prayer and hymns chosen to reflect the theme of each section. During the middle hour, congregational singing will be led by members of the Cathedral Past Choristers’ Association.
Bishop Ken Clarke has ministered in both the North and South of Ireland. Then from 1979-81 he and his wife Helen, served as Mission Partners with SAMS (the South American Missionary Society) in Chile, South America.
Following his time as Rector of Crinken, in the Diocese of Dublin, Ken Clarke served in the Diocese of Connor as Rector of Coleraine and Archdeacon of Dalriada. He was elected as Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh in November 2000, where he led in a diocese which stretches from the shores of Lough Erne to the Atlantic Coast. After 12 years as Bishop of Kilmore, Ken Clarke became Mission Director for SAMS. It was a post he held until 2018.
Always an engaging and thought provoking speaker, Bishop Ken will bring his passion and his challenge to Jesus’ final words spoken from the cross to a world never more in need of hearing them.
