An Invitation to Holy Week

Greetings Trinitarians!

Thank you very much indeed for supporting our Sound System Fundraiser last Friday! Special thanks to David Roseberry for speaking on Psalm 22, to the outreach team for cooking, to all who attended, and especially all who gave. Thanks also to the kids for singing our new version of Psalm 22 (the text of which you can find here). I am happy to share that we raised the full $7500, and we are working to get the system installed before Easter. Ephphatha!

I'm writing today to invite you to our upcoming Holy Week services. From Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, we hold a service every day, taking a journey with Jesus in his final week in Jerusalem. For many, these are the most powerful and moving services of the Christian year, and so I encourage you to bring a friend and attend as many as you are able.

Here is a schedule of services, together with a few explanatory notes:

• Palm Sunday (10AM) is notable for the palm procession and for the presence and singing of children. A potluck after the service emphasizes the friendship we share as we follow Christ together.
• Holy Monday (6PM) commemorates the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem; we also cleanse our own hearts by writing our sins on paper, and giving them to the Lord to be burned.
• Holy Tuesday (6PM) recites the teachings of Jesus in Jerusalem during his final week, in the Temple and with his disciples. This service also features many classic hymns of Holy Week.
• Holy Wednesday (6PM) emphasizes the contrast between Mary's anointing of Jesus, and Judas' betrayal & Peter's denial of Jesus. We include a time of healing prayer with anointing.

The services of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter, are sometimes called the Triduum, or the three great days.

• Maundy Thursday (6PM) remembers the last supper, complete with foot washing, communion, and the stripping of the altar to set up the Gethsemane watch.
• Gethsemane Watch (Overnight) provides an opportunity for personal prayer, as we take turns to watch and pray with Christ overnight, signing up for one-hour slots.
• Good Friday (12PM) is the most solemn service of the year, featuring the reading of the passion, and reflections by the Vestry on Jesus' seven statements from the cross.
• Easter Sunrise (6:30AM) features a fire, lit in the darkness, heralding the new light of our resurrected Lord.
• Easter Service (10AM) celebrates the triumph of Easter, complete with the flowering of the cross, joyful music, and after the service an easter egg hunt!

Finally, this Saturday we will have a Work Day to prepare the grounds for Holy Week, from 8 to noon. The forecast is for a beautiful morning. See you there!

In Christ -
Peter