What is Holy Week?

Holy week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. On Palm Sunday our liturgy reflects the “highs” of welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem, singing with palm branches, and then moves to the “low” of reading the story of Christ’s Passion.  Thursday-Saturday of Holy Week are known as the sacred “Three Days,” or in Latin,  Triduum.  Technically, these are one service-there's no final blessing or dismissal from Thursday’s opening until the end of the Great Vigil on Saturday. Our observance is also deepened with Services of the Stations of the Cross on Friday both in a traditional service and one for children.

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Palm Sunday (10am)

 On Palm Sunday our liturgy reflects the “highs” of welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem, singing with palm branches, and then moves to the “low” of reading the story of Christ’s Passion. 

 

Maundy Thursday Liturgy (7pm)

Our celebration of Maundy Thursday comes from the account in Scripture of Jesus’ last night as described in the Gospel of John, when he washes his disciples’ feet to model God’s commandment to love and serve (the word "Maundy" comes from the Latin, mandatum, which means commandment).  It is also the time we remember the institution of the Holy Eucharist; we say the same words from the Gospel as every time we celebrate Communion: This is my body, this is my blood.  Participants are invited to wash each other’s feet (it’s OK not to participate). After the service, we strip the altar of all the hangings and candles  and the Church reflects the desolation of Good Friday.  

 

Good Friday  (12pm)
On Good Friday, we share communion from the reserved sacrament (blessed on Thursday).  We also pray at the foot of a hand built cross we place in front of the altar. Everyone is invited to reverence-to bow, to kiss, to kneel, or just to stand and wonder at the mystery of that symbol, an object of shame and violence transformed into life and love. 

 

The Stations of the Cross (1pm)

At this service, we walk the pilgrim walk of the Way of the Cross as a way to pray the last day of Jesus’ life from his condemnation to being laid in the tomb: the path Jesus would have walked in Jerusalem.      

 

Children’s Good Friday Service (4pm)

We’ll read The Story of the Cross together. Written in the same format as the Stations of the Cross prayer service, it offers accessible, age appropriate and spiritually centered conversation on Jesus’ death and resurrection.  

 

The Great Vigil of Easter (Saturday, 7pm)
The Easter Vigil is a different kind of Vigil from the Thursday night kind—more like stories around a campfire. We enter a darkened church, after lighting the Pascal candle from the “new fire” of Easter outside the church and then we process in singing, “The light of Christ,” and hear the stories of our salvation from the Hebrew Scriptures. Halfway through the service, Easter begins!-we ring in our celebration with bells and more light (you can bring your own bell to ring).  We are sprinkled with holy water.  The service continues with a festive Eucharist, with incense and wonderful Easter hymns. The alleluias will be back!  

 

Please come for the whole journey!