Holy Week
Palm Sunday | April 10 | 9 am, 10:30 am, 6 pm
On Palm Sunday, we celebrate and remember Jesus’ triumphant arrival in Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday starts off a week of remembrance for Christians, often referred to as Holy Week. The week ends with the celebration of Easter, and throughout this week we mark the different events that led to Jesus' Resurrection and Easter. This means that Palm Sunday is a kind of paradoxical celebration. At worship services, there is a festive atmosphere. Over the years, there have been services where children wave palm branches and parade around the worship space shouting "Hosanna!" The paradox is that we celebrate knowing full well what came next in the story, after Jesus' triumphal entry: he was rejected, betrayed and crucified.
Artist: Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman, “Even the Stones Cry Out,” inspired by Luke 19:28-40.
Maundy Thursday | April 14 | 7 pm
On Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus’ last night before he was betrayed.
Maundy Thursday is an alternate name for Holy Thursday, the first of the three days of solemn remembrance of the events leading up to and immediately following the crucifixion of Jesus. The English word "Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, which means "commandment."
As recorded in John's gospel, on his last night before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and then gave them a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34). This is why services on this night generally include the washing of feet or other acts of physical care as an integral part of the celebration.
While John's gospel does not record the institution of the Lord's Supper among the events of this night, the other gospels do. This is why Christians have traditionally observed this night both at the basin (footwashing) and at the Lord's Table (Holy Communion).
Artist: Rev. T. Denise Anderson, “Threshold,” inspired by John 13:1-17, 31b-35.
Good Friday | April 15 | 7 pm
On Good Friday, we proclaim God's purpose of loving and redeeming the world even in the face of human rejection and cruelty through Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on the cross.
On Good Friday, or Holy Friday as most of the rest of the world calls it in their languages, is a day that is holy and makes us holy because God was drawing the world to God's self in Christ. This Service of Tenebrae, or "Shadows," is based on a twelfth–century late night/early morning service and is an extended meditation on the passion of Christ.
Artist: Carmelle Beaugelin, “Posca,” inspired by John 19:1-30.
Holy Saturday | April 16 | 7 pm
On Holy Saturday, we celebrate God's saving work in Christ through the symbols of light, word, water, and the heavenly banquet.
Holy Saturday is the first service of Easter and consists of four parts: light, word, baptismal covenant, and the table. Holy Saturday or Easter (Paschal) Vigil has both historic and symbolic roots in the Jewish Passover. That is why so many images are from the Old Testament and why so many analogies are experienced in Christ. In this service we experience the passage from slavery to freedom, from sin to salvation, from death to life.
Photographer: Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity.
Easter Sunday | April 17 | 9 am, 11 am
On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Christ’s resurrection.
The Easter Season, also known as the Great Fifty Days, begins at sunset Easter Eve and continues through the Day of Pentecost. It is the most joyous and celebrative season of the Christian year. It focuses on Christ's resurrection and ascension and on the givings of the Holy Spirit on the first Easter (John 20:22 –23) and the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Lessons from the Acts of the Apostles replace readings from the Old Testament because the early church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is the best witness to the Resurrection. The ancient Christian name for this festival is Pasch, derived from the Hebrew pesah ("deliverance" or "passover"), thus connecting the Resurrection to the Exodus. The origin of the English word Easter is disputed but may come from the Anglo–Saxon spring goddess Eastre and her festival. Pentecost comes from the Greek pentekoste, which means "fiftieth." It refers to the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which Greek–speaking Jews called the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). Early Christians also used the term Pentecost to refer to the Great Fifty Days as a season.
Artist: Hannah Garrity, “Prepared,” inspired by Luke 24:1-12.