Holy Week and Easter Services
Holy Week
April 14 – 21, 2019
Palm Sunday
Regular services at 5:30 pm Saturday and 8:00 am Sunday, procession at 10:30 am Sunday
We start the morning with a festive procession, waving palms and shouting Hosanna, remembering Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, His lampoon of the Imperial processions that Roman governors conducted. Then the laughter of the day subsides as the entirety of St. Luke’s passion is proclaimed and we begin our journey towards Good Friday.
Maundy Thursday
Agape Feast 6:30 pm, Mass with Footwashing and Stripping of the Altar 7:15 pm
Maundy Thursday is our remembrance of The Last Supper. The word comes from the Latin “to mandate” or “to command” from St. John’s telling of the foot washing story. At Resurrection we gather for a simple Mediterranean meal as Jesus and His friends may have; please bring your own table service (bowl, cup, flatware) to help us have an eco-friendly meal while we are without a dishwasher. After the meal, we will move to the sanctuary for Mass with the ritual foot washing and the stripping of that altar in preparation for the bleak austerity of Good Friday. Children are encouraged to join us! Bring some Mediterranean (hummus, olives, feta, dolmas, etc.) or other similar foods to share during the Agape Feast.
Nightwatch
All-night vigil after the footwashing
We will hold an all night vigil before the Altar of Repose. Spend the whole night if you can; a sleepless night makes Good Friday look and feel a lot different.
Good Friday
Stations of the Cross will be observed at 9:00 am & 6:00 pm; Good Friday Liturgy at 7:00 pm
Child care will be provided at the 7 pm Good Friday service
Good Friday is the day we remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. At 9:00 am, the hour of Christ’s death, we remember the Passion (suffering) of Christ as we meditate on the haunting Stations of the Cross hung on the sanctuary walls. At 6:00 pm, we gather again, this time in the labyrinth and meditate on the Stations of the Cross in an outside setting, then at 7:00 pm process inside for the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday.
Holy Saturday
Contemplative Retreat 9:00 am to 1:00 pm; Holy Saturday Liturgy 1:00 pm
Gather in the Green Room on Holy Saturday for a Contemplative Retreat. We gather with others in repose as we await the promise of the Resurrection. The Retreat will include teachings and practices on contemplation, silence and solitude, Centering Prayer, and the fruits of the practice of contemplation. We begin with Morning Prayer Rite II and end with a soup and bread silent meal. The Holy Saturday Liturgy will follow at 1:00 pm.
The Great Vigil of Easter
Children’s Vigil at 5:30 pm; Sundown Vigil begins at about 8:33pm
Child care will be provided at the Sundown Vigil
If you come to church one time this year, come to the Vigil! Holy Saturday is the darkest day of the Christian year. It is when we remember the extinguishing of the life of Jesus Christ and His descent to the dead before His rising in glory. But mimicking nature, it is darkest before the dawn, for the great fast of Lent is broken at sundown (8:33) with the Great Vigil of Easter. The mystery of the light of Christ is rekindled in a fire outside the sanctuary, and is carried back into the church. We have a new offering this year, a Children’s Vigil. It will emphasize the tactile experience of Easter while preserving the solemnity and mystery of the Vigil.
The Sunday of the Resurrection
Easter Masses at 8:00 am & 10:30 am
The Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior is celebrated with great pomp and circumstance on Easter Morning. 8:00 is our regular Rite I Mass. It is peaceful and quietly joyful. At 10:30, all the stops come out. The music will be fantastic and hats and gloves are welcome as we join together in remembering that our Savior entered into death and rose again that we may all be saved from the oblivion of the pit.
Easter Feast
Around 12:00 pm, following the 10:30 am Mass