Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday

Sunday, March 29th at 10am. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. During this service, we will gather outside and process with Palm Leaves in commemoration of Jesus entry into Jerusalem. At St. Andrew’s, our tradition is to process around the blocks surrounding our church, led by a bag-piper. After the procession, we enter into the church sanctuary for the remainder of the service.

Stations of the Cross

Tuesday, March 31st at 6:30pm. This service is an extended contemplation of the actions of Holy week, and an overview of the events that take place in each separate service, as illustrated in our beautiful bronze stations embedded in the walls of the church. A procession goes from station to station. Congregants are invited to join the general course of the procession by turning and moving around the church. The choir sings from the front of the church.

Tenebrae

Wednesday, April 1st at 6:30pm. The name Tenebrae (Latin for “darkness” or “shadows”) refers to the monastic night and early morning offices of the last three days of Holy Week, which in medieval times came to be celebrated on the preceding evenings. Current liturgical practice places an abbreviated version of the three services on Wednesday evening. By drawing upon material from each of the three offices, this service provides a meditation upon, and a prelude to, the suffering and death of our Lord.

  • Apart from the chanting of the Lamentations (in which each verse is introduced by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet), the most conspicuous feature of the service is the gradual extinguishing of candles and other lights in the church, symbolizing the scattering of the disciples and other followers of Jesus during his Passion, until only a single candle, considered a symbol of our Lord, remains. Toward the end of the service this candle is hidden, portraying the apparent victory of the forces of evil, and the church is completely dark. At the very end, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the earthquake at the moment of Christ’s death on the cross (Matt. 27:51), the hidden candle is restored to its place, and by its light all depart in silence.

Maundy Thursday

Thursday, April 2nd at 6:30pm. Maundy Thursday is one of the most unique services of our liturgical year, and it marks the start of the Triduum, - the 3 days leading to Easter. This service commemorates Jesus’ final supper with his disciples, in which he instituted Holy Communion, washed his disciples’ feet, and gave a new commandment, “to love one another” (John 13:34). In the Episcopal Church (and in many churches), we commemorate this by washing one another’s feet. Though it may sound unorthodox to newcomers, it is a deeply tender, moving service.

Good Friday

Friday, April 3rd at noon. Good Friday marks the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. According to scripture, before his death, a 3-hour darkness fell. The 3 hours between noon and 3pm recall this darkness. During this most solemn service, we come together to mourn his suffering and, perhaps more importantly, to offer our solidarity and our gratitude for the life-giving sacrifice He took upon his shoulders in service of all-inclusive, life-giving Love.

Friday, April 3rd at 6:30pm - “Downward to Darkness”. During the darkest moment in the Church Year -- that time between the Good Friday service and the Easter Vigil, as the body of Jesus lies lifeless in the tomb -- we gather to contemplate the sorrow of this period with somber poetry and sad song. Six readings are followed by a minute of silence, then lamentation fills the space as the choir, the congregation, and a single mournful viola provide appropriately solemn music for the occasion. Subdued lighting, silence, and music invite us to enter into the pain and sorrow of this profound moment.

Great Vigil of Easter

Saturday, April 4th at 7:30pm (reception to follow). During the Easter Vigil, we come together to celebrate a profound mystery. Christ has died, and his body lay in a tomb. And yet we know death is not the end of this story. And so we come together in anticipation, to sit in the silence and (during the first part of the service) the darkness of the night that will soon give way to morning and resurrection. As the service progresses, we light the new Paschal Candle, the Christ Candle that will light each service for the coming year. And then all those gathered light candles from the one light, until the entire sanctuary is awash in the glow of the Light of Christ, the Light of unsurpassable love and compassion.

  • After this, we read the sacred stories of our faith, beginning with the creation of Light in Genesis and through the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible. We recall the journey that has brought us here; a journey of thousands of years following the call of God - sometimes successfully, and sometimes not. As we read through this history, we are called to profound gratitude. We recall that these are the stories Jesus knew. These are the sources of Jesus’ teachings. These are Jewish roots without which our faith could not exist.

    After the readings, new members are baptized into the faith. This tradition goes back to the very beginnings of the church, connecting us with disciples throughout history. During this part of the service, all those present reaffirm our Baptismal vows, recommitting ourselves to loving our neighbors as ourselves, turning away from evil, and embodying the life-giving Love Christ has given us.

    Finally, with triumphant bells ringing from the pews, the lights come on. The whole congregation sings, and we celebrate the resurrection in what is surely the most joyous moment of our church year! We have come through the darkness, and we receive the risen Christ.

Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 5th at 9:00am and 11:00am. At long last, we come to Easter Sunday. Having passed through the journey of Holy Week, we celebrate the risen Christ. Easter Sunday is the annual feast of the resurrection, a day for renewal, hope, and deliverance. At St. Andrew’s, we offer two services with an easter egg hunt between the first and second service. Those with young children are encouraged to attend our 9:00am service. This service is slightly shorter than our 11:00am service, and the easter egg hunt takes place immediately following. All are welcome to join us, and we’ll have extra baskets on hand for children who want to participate. Coffee hour and reception follow each of the services.