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Rector's Corner

Holy Week and Easter

Holy Week is our special time to go with Christ through the last events of his earthly life so we can be fully present with him in the abundant life he came to give us. This week should be the high point of our liturgical lives as Christians. It is like a wedding to a bride and groom, or the Superbowl to a professional football player. Don't be a spectator.  Let yourself come with Christ and his people this week --Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter.

Our Schedule at Resurrection for Holy Week and Easter

Palm Sunday, March 28
On Palm Sunday, at both 8:00 and 10:30 a.m., we gather outside the church (weather permitting) for the Palm Liturgy and procession into the church carrying our palms of victory. At 10:30, we will sing the ancient hymn "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" in procession.  In place of the gospel, we will read the Passion Narrative in parts, with the congregation taking the part of the crowd. At the end of this service, we leave in silence with the sense that this has been the first act of a four-part drama. We are lifted through the prayer of the Church into the presence of Christ in his passion.

We will have Morning Prayer in the church at 8:30 a.m. on Holy Monday through Maundy Thursday morning.

Maundy Thursday, April 1
On Maundy Thursday at 7:00 p.m., we gather for the Holy Eucharist, the foot washing, and the stripping of the altar. This service recalls the New Commandment of Jesus: "Love one another as I have loved you," and his command that his followers "Do this in remembrance of me."

After the service, the Maundy Thursday Watch begins at the Altar of Repose (where the columbarium is). The Sacrament is reserved through the night and into the day on Good Friday.  Everyone is encouraged to make a watch for one hour at the Altar of Repose in answer to the question Jesus asked his disciples in the Garden of
Gethsemene, "Could you not watch with me one hour?" We will sign up for times so that someone will always be present until just before the Good Friday service. Devotional materials will be available, including readings for the Holy Hour from the St. Augustine's Prayer Book. 

Good Friday, April 2
The Good Friday liturgy will be at 3:00 p.m., which is the hour when Jesus died on the Cross. It will include the liturgy of the word, with the Passion according to John, and the Solemn Collects, in which we pray for all the people Christ died to redeem, the Veneration of the Cross, in which we come up to the altar rail and kiss the foot of the Cross, and Communion from the Reserved Sacrament. While it is not appropriate to have a celebration of the Holy Eucharist on the day that Jesus was crucified, it is permissible and, in my belief, highly appropriate to receive communion on that day from the sacrament that was consecrated the night before. Everyone who wants to will be given the opportunity to receive. Afterwards, we leave in silence, but we will have hot cross buns in Rogers Hall. After the solemnity of the Good Friday liturgy, we will enjoy some refreshments! Every one who can physically do so is encouraged to fast until after the liturgy.

Holy Saturday, April 3
Holy Saturday is the Great Sabbath, when our Lord "rested" in the tomb before the re-creation of the world through his resurrection. At 10:00 a.m., we will have the brief Holy Saturday liturgy of the word. From 10:30 until 11:30 a.m., Father Joe will be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the prayer chapel to the left of the font just inside the church.
At 8:00 p.m., the Great Vigil of Easter begins. We will gather outdoors to light the New Fire of Easter, bless the Paschal Candle, and process into the church to keep the Great Vigil in expectation of the Resurrection of our Lord. The lessons we hear that night recall the entire history of God's relationship with his people until the coming of Christ, and point to the new life we have through his death and resurrection. This is one of the best times for baptism, and we renew our baptismal covenant at this service, even if we have no candidates for baptism. Finally, we will celebrate the First Eucharist of Easter. Following this service, there is a short reception in the Rogers Hall.

Easter Day, April 4
There will be two celebrations of the Holy Eucharist on Easter Day, at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m., with music at both, and with an Easter egg hunt in between.  On this great day, we come to the end of the long journey we began on Ash Wednesday,  and we celebrate God's victory over sin and death with all our heart, mind, and strength. We pray that we may keep the spirit of Easter throughout the Great Fifty Days until Pentecost, as well as for the rest of our lives.
--JND+

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