Observing Holy Week 2010 at East Church, UCC
Please join us for each of our Holy Week services and celebrations.
Palm Sunday is March 28th this year. Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem for the traditional Passover holiday. It is a bittersweet remembrance for us as Christians, because while we sing about his triumphal entry into the city, we also know that those same people lauding his ministry, in a few short days will be calling for his death. Here at East Church we will remember this day at our regular 10:00 Sunday service by handing out palms and singing as the children enter the sanctuary waving palms.
After services, the Christian Education program will re-enact Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem by offering donkey rides outside the church for children and palm fronds for everyone to wave. Shouting “Hosanna” will be encouraged!
Our second service of Holy Week is Maundy Thursday. At 6:00 on Thursday, April 1st we will share our annual Soup Supper followed by the Maundy Thursday Communion and Tenebrae Service. The Tenebrae service is the remembrance of Jesus’ betrayal by his disciples and his death on the cross. It is a somber time to mourn and grieve this loss, a loss which is new for us each and every time we experience it. It is also a time to remember the places in our own lives where we have betrayed the teachings and spirit of Jesus, and to mourn these failings.
Our Community Ecumenical Good Friday Service will be on Friday, April 2nd at 12:00. Please join us at Church of Our Saviour, 453 Adams Street in Milton (at the corner of Adams & Babcock Streets – near the East Milton Post Office) where we will remember Jesus’ journey to the Cross, his suffering, and our grief at his death.
Saturday, April 3rd is our Easter Vigil. At 5:00 we will gather in the Narthex of the church to light candles, together reversing the darkness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday with our individual beacons of light. In this service we recognize the moment when Jesus’ female disciples went to the tomb and found it empty, and we honor once again that sacred meal Jesus shared with his disciples through a First Communion ceremony for the church school students in our midst. This is a time to lift up our awe and wonder at the miracle of life out of the darkness of death.
And Sunday, April 4th is Easter! At our 10:00 service we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus into the Christ, the Messiah for whom we have waited, lifting our hearts and voices in music, prayer and joy for the tremendous Easter miracle. All are welcome as we sing our glory, laud and honor to the risen Christ!
We hope it might be a week filled with meaning, remembrance and inspiration for you all.
