Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. Red is the liturgical color for the day. The observance of Palm Sunday in Jerusalem was witnessed by the pilgrim Egeria in about 381-384. During this observance there was a procession of people down the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem. The people waved branches of palms or olive trees as they walked. They sang psalms, including Ps 118, and shouted the antiphon, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The Palm Sunday observance was generally accepted throughout the church by the twelfth century.

The liturgy of the palms is the entrance rite for the service. The congregation may gather at a place apart from the church and process to the church after the blessing of the branches of palm or other trees (BCP, p. 270). The liturgy of the palms includes a reading of one of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. The branches may be distributed to the people before the service or after the prayer of blessing. All the people hold branches in their hands during the procession. Appropriate hymns, psalms, or anthems are sung. The Prayer Book notes that the hymn “All glory, laud, and honor” (Hymns 154-155) and Ps 118:19-29 may be used (BCP, p. 271).

The service changes focus abruptly from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the solemnity of the Passion. In the 1979 BCP, the Passion gospel is drawn from one of the three synoptic accounts of the Passion, one of which is appointed for each of the three years in the eucharistic lectionary. The Passion gospel may be read or chanted by lay persons. Specific roles may be assigned to different persons, with the congregation taking the part of the crowd (BCP, p. 273). It is customary to observe a brief time of silence when the moment of Jesus’ death is described by the narrator.

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At Grace we strive to be a community that values tradition and celebrates diversity. Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are very welcome in this place. Worship in the Episcopal Church centers around a sacred meal known as Eucharist, Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper. When we break bread and share the cup, the Eucharist becomes a sign of God’s reign and power among us as we give thanks for God’s love in creation, remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and invite the Holy Spirit to renew our lives. Through communion, we are drawn together in fellowship and unity with the family of God in every time and place. Indeed, we believe it is God’s table and not ours alone; at Grace, all are welcome to receive. 

In the early church the Paschal Mystery was celebrated in the course of three days culminating in the Great Vigil of Easter. Today we follow that tradition, where each of the three days has a distinctive liturgy and emphasis, moving from the Last Supper through the Passion and Crucifixion to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Maundy Thursday is the first day of these three great days, or Triduum. On this day we celebrate the Last Supper of Jesus with his friends on the night before he died. The word Maundy is derived from the Latin word for law or command, mandatum. It refers to the giving of the law of love symbolized by the other action of this day, the washing of feet. Please feel free to participate as you are moved.  There are three ancient features of worship on this day:

• The celebration of the Holy Eucharist by participating in the final meal of Jesus with his disciples;

• The washing of feet of those who have gathered, as Christ washed the feet of all of those who gathered at the Last Supper;

• The procession of the reserved sacrament to the Altar of Repose and the stripping of the altar, actions that move us from this holy meal to Jesus’ prayer of agony in the garden.  All are invited to linger for prayer and meditation during the stripping of the altar.

In hymns and sacred texts and prayers the story is told of divine love given willingly and betrayed, seeking to serve regardless of the cost. On this night, Jesus defines the meaning of love: Love is an action made visible in service.

The Way of the Cross imitates the practice of visiting the places of Jesus' Passion in the Holy Land by early Christian pilgrims. We will journey together around the Grace Church campus and pause to reflect on scenes from the day of Jesus' crucifixion.

In the early Church the Paschal mystery was celebrated in the course of three days culminating in the Great Vigil of Easter. Each day had, and retains today, a distinctive liturgy and emphasis moving from the Last Supper through the Passion and Crucifixion to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Characteristic of all three days is the way the Church keeps vigil by praying, fasting and waiting.

Good Friday is the second of these three great days, or Triduum. On this day, we come face to face with the passion and death of Jesus Christ. We are not greeted or dismissed, underscoring that we are gathering for an ongoing solemnity. Today, we return to the following ancient practices: 

• The praying of the Solemn Collects, the ancient prayers in which the Church prays for the world that Christ died to save;

• The Devotions Before the Cross, the sign of our salvation, to which we go in pilgrimage and prayer;

• The Eucharistic feast is not celebrated on Good Friday, but commences with the first Eucharist of Easter at the vigil on Saturday night.

In the silence that suffuses this service, space and time are given to consider the struggle between God and the sin and evil that are part of this world. In hymns, sacred texts and prayers the story is told again and again of grace and mercy won, of divine love outpoured, of sin and death overcome by arms stretched out between heaven and earth to offer us this transforming gift of Jesus’ own life.

“In paradise of old the wood stripped me bare…
Now the wood of the cross that clothes us
With the garment of life 
Has been set up in the midst of the earth,
And the whole world is filled with boundless joy.”
~Exaltation of the Cross, Orthodox Liturgy

“This is the night,” sings the cantor during the Exsultet, “when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.” The third of the great days, or Triduum, is the holiest night of the year.  We hear the ancient stories of God’s redeeming work, from creation through the exodus and return from exile, all culminating in the great alleluias and proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Tonight we live anew the drama of our salvation and redemption. There are five ancient features of worship on this night:

• The lighting of the Paschal Candle, the visible sign of the light of Christ that has come into  the world, accompanied by the singing of the Exsultet, one of the earliest Christian hymns; 

• The reading of lessons from Hebrew Scripture that recount God’s mighty acts to save and redeem the people of God; 

• Holy Baptism and the renewal of baptismal vows; it was on this night in the early church that candidates for baptism were baptized and admitted into the holy communion for the first time; 

• The restoration of  “Alleluia” to our joyful acclamation of Christ’s resurrection; 

• The first Holy Communion of Easter and the conclusion of our Lenten fast.

We kindle the new fire in the dark, moving toward resurrection light. Our worship expands from solemn chant to joyful song as we celebrate the glory of the New Creation and our release from all that keeps us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.