A letter from our Rector - Holy Week 2024
Dear Redeemer Family,
Next week, the Church enters into the final week of Lent as we prepare for our Easter celebration. We Christians call it Holy Week, and I invite you to observe and participate with us this year.
Many of you have been with us for years, even decades. Others are in the midst of getting to know our community, and still others are just now learning the Episcopal tradition and your part in it. This note is meant as an introduction to some of our Holy Week and Easter practices for those of you who are newer, as well as a notice of some small changes for those of you who have been around a while.
First let me say that Church of the Redeemer loves Holy Week. A strange thing to say, I suppose, about a week that is focused on Christ’s passion and death. But in our community it is a time of devotion and reflection that allows us to enter into a deeper contemplation and understanding of God’s love for us. We do this through daily worship that allows us to walk alongside Jesus as he makes his way to the cross.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. On this day we observe and celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the climax of his earthly ministry. Like those people who lined the path into the city as Jesus arrived, we wave palm leaves and sing and say, “Hosanna!” which literally means “God save us!” This serves as a reminder that just a few short days before Jesus was crucified, he was hailed by many as the Messiah, and we hold the joy and the sorrow of this in tension.
Traditionally during this service there has been a dramatic reading of an account of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and public execution. This is commonly called the Passion Narrative. This year we will be trying something a little different: We will not be reading the Passion during the services. Instead we will hold a reading of the Passion during the 10 o’clock hour in the chapel, followed by prayer, and then a spoken introduction to Holy Week. Our service times on Palm Sunday are the same as usual.
From Monday through Wednesday, we will have three Eucharistic services each day – at 7am, noon, and 7pm. The daytime services will be in the chapel and will be spoken. The evening services will be in the sanctuary, livestreamed, and with music. Monday evening’s Eucharist will be in our Celtic tradition, Tuesday in our Banquet tradition, and Wednesday will be our traditional Rite II service. If you have not joined us before during the early part of Holy Week, you might consider making daily worship a discipline for yourself for this last week in Lent. If you come or watch online in the evenings, it is an opportunity to experience the diverse worship offerings at Church of the Redeemer.
Thursday in Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment. That’s because this evening – the night before Jesus died – he gathered his closest friends for a dinner and told them, “I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” In the past we have had 7am and noon services, but this year we will have only one Maundy Thursday service. We will begin at 6pm with a shared meal we call an Agape Feast – a potluck meal held in the Great Hall. You are encouraged to bring a dish to share! At 7pm we will move together into the sanctuary to observe the Last Supper (the first Eucharist), the Washing of Feet (as Jesus washed his disciples’ feet), and the ceremonial Stripping of the Altar.
Maundy Thursday is in many ways a service that must be experienced rather than explained. The fullness, rawness, and vulnerability of God’s love is on display and your participation will be transformative. On the evening of Jesus’ arrest, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed deep into the night. It was there he begged some of his disciples to stay up, keep watch, and pray with him as he was overcome with grief at what was before him. We participate in this Keeping Watch as people sign up and pray at the church for hourlong shifts throughout Thursday night. There are still times available if you would like to share in this meaningful ritual.
There is nothing quite like Good Friday. The most solemn day on the Christian calendar, the day we observe Jesus’ death. There is no communion, no celebration, no light at the end of this particular tunnel. And yet, many people consistently say the services on Good Friday are their favorite of the whole year. Good Friday is so named because we remember the profound goodness of the God who loves us and is willing even to die for us even when we are at our worst. A profound exploration of the depths of God’s love and mercy.
Good Friday is observed with two services. First comes the Liturgy of the Hours from 12-3pm. Yes, a three-hour service! These are the hours that Jesus hung on the cross. This is a service of scripture readings followed by meditations – spoken and musical – and extended periods of silence. Each year the readings and mediations center on a specific theme. This year we will be focusing on Jesus’ relationship with his mother Mary. Many people come and go throughout the service – some staying for 30 minutes or an hour, others staying the whole time, some showing up right at noon, others joining later. There is no wrong way to show up for this service.
The traditional Good Friday liturgy is held at 7pm. This stark, powerful service includes another reading of the Passion Narrative, a ceremony of hammering nails into a cross, and an extended period of prayer.
The end of Lent and celebration of the Resurrection is inaugurated at sundown on Holy Saturday with The Great Vigil of Easter. The principle feast of the Christian calendar, the Easter Vigil, begins at 8pm Saturday evening with the lighting of the Paschal fire, and a candlelit procession that shines in the darkness of the unlit sanctuary. The first half of the service is lit only by our candles and is composed of readings and musical selections detailing the mighty history of God’s saving work. Then the first cries of “Alleluia” are shouted repeatedly as the lights come up and we share together in the first Eucharist of the Easter season. While an ancient tradition, the Vigil is a relatively recent custom at Church of the Redeemer. If you have not come before, this might be your year: A magnificent liturgy filled with drama, glory, and wondrous music, all followed by a reception with a chocolate fountain, champagne, and other refreshments!
On Easter Sunday this year we will have two services: at 9 and 11am. The 9am service is our traditional Rite II Eucharist with choir and brass – a benchmark of Episcopal worship. At 11am we will have our Banquet Eucharist, which is our alternative liturgy with contemporary music and modern language. In between services – at 10:30am – we will have our Annual Easter Egg Hunt!
If you are thinking this is a full week, you are right! And you do not have to go to every single thing. But I encourage you to try something new this Holy Week, not to shy away from Christ’s passion, not to skip over the painful parts of the story and go straight from Palm Sunday to Easter. This is a time in the church where your commitment will be rewarded with deep spiritual enrichment. Come and see why Holy Week has become so central to Church of the Redeemer’s shared life. May God bless you with a fuller understanding of your belovedness in Christ Jesus, and a Happy Easter to you!
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Philip DeVaul, Rector
