Our Holy Week observances have their roots in fourth century Jerusalem. Growing numbers of pilgrims were coming to Jerusalem, drawn by their desire to walk in the places Jesus walked and to visit the churches Constantine was building on the sacred sites of the area. The Easter Vigil, preceded by its two days of fasting, was expanded to give people an opportunity to enter prayerfully into the events of Jesus’ passion. The worship services of this week are called “rememorative.” They do not imitate the historical events of the week like a passion play but help us enter the story symbolically by moving with Christ through the events of the week as described in the gospel.
Holy Week begins with the Sunday before Easter. This year we are devoting our worship on Palm Sunday to a celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Our music and prayer direct us to our understanding of Jesus as the anointed one, the King of kings. Our worship ends with the Liturgy of the Palms: crosses made of palms are blessed and given as a sign of the transformation of the crowd’s welcoming Hosanna! into cries of Crucify! by week’s end.
Services of Evening Prayer on Monday and Tuesday evenings will tell the story of Jesus’ actions after his arrival in Jerusalem and show us the roots of the anger that grew among the leaders and people during the week leading to the crucifixion.
Tenebrae, our worship service for Wednesday evening in Holy Week, is a service of “darkness” or “shadows”. This quietly dramatic service is a form of the daily office, and our Prayer Book describes it as providing “an extended meditation upon, and a prelude to, the events of our Lord’s life between the Last Supper and the Resurrection.”
Maundy Thursday celebrates the Last Supper, the foot-washing and the institution of the Eucharist. We celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the context of a simple soup and fruit meal in the parish hall. We will have opportunity to wash each other’s feet as we gather, then we’ll have our meal together, seated at a circle of tables to give us a sense of our community. All are invited to join us. At the end of the meal and service, we will process to the church for the Stripping of the Altar, the symbolic removal of all the ornaments in the sanctuary, leaving it barren for the Good Friday liturgies. Following this ancient ritual, teams will stay in the church through the night and into the morning, remembering Jesus’ request of the disciples that they watch and pray with him.
Our Good Friday worship takes three forms. The labyrinth will be available in the parish hall from 9am throughout the day and evening. A quiet service of meditations on Christ’s crucifixion and death will be held in the church from noon until 3pm. The meditations, written as first-person accounts of those who encountered Jesus during his passion and death, help us see that day from different perspectives. Please join us when you can; leave when you must. The evening liturgy will include the Liturgy of the Word, the veneration of the cross, and music.
On Holy Saturday, we enter into the Great Vigil of Easter, the Christian Passover, the theological center of the Christian year. The Holy Week services help us live into the events of the passion, but this more ancient service leads us from death to life, filling our senses with fire, light, word, water, wine and bread. The service begins at sundown, with the kindling of the new fire and lighting of the Paschal candle. We process by candlelight into the dark church, where we hear the history of God and God’s people through psalms, hymns and scripture readings. At the news of the resurrection, the church explodes with light and alleluias, and we celebrate the Easter sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist. We continue the celebration with a champagne reception following the service, then return to the church on Easter morning, proclaiming our faith in the dawn of the new day, singing the hymns and ringing our alleluia bells as we rejoice in new life in the Risen Christ. Following the 10am service, our children will enjoy an Easter egg hunt.
We hope you will join us as we move through this most holy time.