Holy Week in the Episcopal Tradition
In the Episcopal Church, Holy Week, the week of March 29 – April 5, is our most sacred week-long liturgical period. Holy Week centers around the Paschal Mystery—Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. It is a time for intense reflection, repentance, and active participation in the final days of Jesus’ earthly life. Together we move from Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday through the solemnity of Good Friday and onto the joy of the Resurrection on Easter morning.
Palm Sunday – March 29
8 am Morning Prayer + Communion
10 am Holy Eucharist + Choir + Nursery Care
*Worship starts outside weather permitting.
Marking the beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday focuses on trust in God during times of great sorrow and uncertainty. Our service opens with the Service of the Palms. We start outside with the Blessing of the Palms and then process into the church representing Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. For our adults, worship then continues as normal in our sanctuary. Our children are invited to go with Ms. Jenn into the Godly Play classroom for a special Holy Week lesson. After Communion the tone of our worship shifts. We hear the story of Christ’s Passion and depart in silence.
Maundy Thursday – April 2
Maundy Thursday recalls the Last Supper and Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet, symbols of humility, and serves as an integral part of our journey to the cross.
Join us as we live into the story of Jesus’ final days with his friends. This evening starts at 6 p.m. and is particularly good for introducing children to Holy Week. Over the course of the evening we will share in a Communion meal with bread and wine, while enjoying a simple supper of homemade soup. Throughout the evening we will hear about Jesus’ final days with friends. There will be opportunities for pausing and prayer. Our dinner concludes with a procession to the chapel where the remainder, of our bread will be placed until Good Friday worship. We then process to the high altar and clear it of all its finery, until is it bare. The lights dim and we hear a word from the Gospel. We then depart in silence.
Good Friday – April 3
Good Friday marks Jesus’ crucifixion, a day of prayer and reflection leading to the anticipation of Easter Sunday.
Join us for a special Good Friday evening service in the Sanctuary at 6:30 p.m. with Communion from the reserve.
Our Good Friday service is a continuation of Maundy Thursday. On Thursday we depart in silence and darkness and on Friday we arrive once again into this stillness. Together we pray, and sing, and hear the end of Christ’s passion, and recount his death on the cross. We depart again in silence.
Holy Saturday – April 4
Holy Saturday marks the liminal space, the in-between time, as we mourn Jesus’ death and await His triumph over death once and for all.
Worship and Labyrinth Walk – We will gather together in the Parish Hall at 10 a.m. for a brief 15 minute worship service.
Following the service, everyone is invited to walk the labyrinth in quiet contemplation, and when they are ready, to depart in silence.
Easter Sunday – April 5
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and signifies victory over sin and death, reaffirming hope, renewal, and the promise of eternal life.
We will offer services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning, complete with joyous music from our choir to celebrate the risen Lord.
For Christians in the Episcopal tradition, Easter is a living reality that calls us to participate in the resurrection story always. It is a time to reaffirm faith, embrace new life in Christ, and share the message of hope and redemption. Through Easter, we are reminded of God’s boundless love and the call to witness the transformative power of the resurrection.