Palm Sunday | St. Peter's Keys

From the Rector......

THE WEEK WE CALL HOLY

On this coming Sunday - Palm Sunday - we inaugurate those worship services which recall the last week of Jesus'earthly life and ministry. In the earliest times of the Church, Jesus was remembered particularly as a healer and a story-teller, and those themes are central to these services.

On Palm Sunday itself, we recall Jesus' entry into Jerusalem amidst the cheers of the ordinary country folks and the account of how those in authority used their power unjustly to bring about his brutal death. It is not an easy story to hear, yet it is the foundation upon which we are able to comprehend the full glory of the Resurrection.

Please note that the Church School has a special program for all students on Palm Sunday this year, beginning at 10:00 AM in the parish hall. Young people will be joining the service at the end of the Announcements so that they receive the communion with their parents.

Services of Holy Communion are offered at 8:00 AM on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the Chapel.

Maundy Thursday includes both an "agape" (love feast") supper and a church service of Holy Communion on the "birthday of the Eucharist." Both aspects of the evening tell the story of Jesus' last meal with his friends and the betrayal and arrest under cover of darkness.

Good Friday recalls the most difficult realities of spiritual emptiness which can infect our being and the ways in which our choices so often fail to honor God's ways. In addition to the service at 12:00 Noon, an evening service with the ancient name "Tenebrae" is offered at 8:00 PM. It is a half-hour of psalms and brief scripture readings in a church lit just by a few candles, and provides a wonderful opportunity for meditative worship.

Easter Eve offers the single most ancient liturgy of the Church, the "Great Vigil," beginning at 8:00 PM. The service lasts a little over an hour, and includes the lighting
of the Paschal (Easter) candle and the first celebration of the arrival of Easter. If you've never tried this service out, I hope you will consider coming to see what it is like.

Easter Day service times are 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. Nursery Care is available; a children's message is offered at the 9:00 AM service (in addition to the adult Easter Messsage), and the festival music is the same at both services.

I hope you will join in recalling the remarkable story which in the end is life-giving to all.

-- Stephen