We will soon be observing the most holy week of the Christian year.
The week begins with a worship service at 10:00 AM on Palm Sunday, March 28. We will be celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with palm branches and singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” with the crowds. The shouts of “Hosanna!” all too quickly turned to “Crucify him!” so our service will move us into the week and bring us to the cusp of the holiest days of the church year.
On Maundy Thursday, April 1, we will remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples in a communion service at 6:30 PM. We’ll open the Zoom meeting space at 6:00 PM for those who wish to join early for a virtual soup supper.
On Thursday, April 1, we plan to offer our first in-person worship experience in more than a year. Since COVID transmission levels have dropped and some of us have been fully vaccinated, we will be offering our Holy Week Stations in the church building. Holy Week Stations is a devotional experience in which people are invited to walk the path Jesus walked from the Garden of Gethsemane to the tomb. The path is marked with stations for prayer and reflection. The church building will be open from approximately 7:30 PM until 9:00 PM. We will be observing good COVID practices – hand sanitizer at the entrance, disposable masks to invite double-masking, letting people begin the devotional walk at intervals that encourge good physical distancing, and open windows throughout the walk for good air circulation. **Please remember that things are very fluid at this time. ** Please note: the final decision about offering this devotional experience will be made on March 31st and announced in The Weekly Messenger and via email, but mark your calendars to save the time.
We will hold our observance of Good Friday (called “good” because it is God’s Friday) at 8:55 AM. The service will be brief with times of silence to reflect on the solemnity of the day.
Our sorrow turns to join on the morning of the first day of the week when, with the devout and faithful women, we discover that the tomb is empty. We will celebrate Easter at 10:00 AM on Sunday, April 4. Our service will be filled with the good news – with prayers of joy and shouts of “Alleluia!” And we will celebrate our unity with the Risen Lord in the Lord’s Supper.
All of the services will be held in our usual Zoom meeting space, and liturgies will be written so that people may pray them on their own or with others in their household if they won’t be joining on Zoom.
