The heart of the Christian faith is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the events we commemorate during Holy Week are the central pieces of our faith. This page gives an overview to the particular way we tell the story of Holy Week at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Our usual Holy Week service schedule is modified this year due to the continuing COVID-19 Pandemic.
Sunday, March 28: The Passion of our Lord: Palm Sunday
The day’s full name indicates its dual focus. The reading of the Passion Narrative (the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion) is preceded by the commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Liturgy of the Palms is the entrance rite but the Passion Gospel is the central focus. The euphoria and triumph of Jesus’ entry is short-lived and the tone of the day changes dramatically. We, who moments earlier shouted “Hosanna,” now cry “Crucify him! Crucify him!” The stage is set for the rest of the week.
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9:30 AM Service Video
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11:15 AM Sermon Video
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1:00 PM Sermon Video
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Thursday, April 1: Maundy Thursday
This service takes its name from the Latin word Mandatum, meaning “commandment.” At the Last Supper, Jesus gives the new commandment, “love one another as I have loved you.” This day also commemorates the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper as Jesus tells his followers to “do this in remembrance of me.” At the end of the service, after the lights are dimmed in the church. The Stripping of the Altar, the removing all ornaments, linens, and paraments, is an ancient custom that is symbolic of the humiliation of Jesus at the hands of the soldiers. It is also customary to wash the altar with water, to render it in some manner worthy of the Lamb without stain. As the altar is stripped bare, we are reminded that Christ’s crucifixion leaves a void in our church and in the world. The Maundy Thursday service concludes in darkness and silence.
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Service Video
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Friday, April 2: Good Friday
This day is a day of both mourning and triumph. It is a day of mourning because it is our sin that has crucified Christ; simultaneously it is a day of triumph because our Lord transforms the cross into the instrument of our salvation. The opening rite is primitive in its starkness. The church, stripped of its furnishings and adornments on Maundy Thursday, reflects the somber mood of a people whose Savior has been crucified. The clergy enter and all kneel for silent prayer before the opening acclamation and collect. By ancient tradition, The Passion according to St. John is read on Good Friday. The Solemn Collects, an extended form of intercession, take the place of the Prayers of the People. A large wooden cross is brought before the people and draped in black. The church is left in silence, bleak and bare as the tomb.
The devotion known as the Way of the Cross, or Via Crucis in Spanish, is an adaptation to local usage of a custom widely observed by pilgrims to Jerusalem: the offering of prayer at a series of places in that city traditionally associated with our Lord’s passion and death. The number of stations, which at first varied widely, finally became fixed at fourteen. Of these, eight are based directly on events recorded in the Gospels. The remaining six numbers (3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 13) are based on inferences from the Gospel account or from pious legend.
The Women’s Way of the Cross will be offered to the congregation by the Daughters of the King on Good Friday at 10:30am. Click the button to join The Way via Zoom.
The devotion known as the Way of the Cross, or Via Crucis in Spanish, is an adaptation to local usage of a custom widely observed by pilgrims to Jerusalem: the offering of prayer at a series of places in that city traditionally associated with our Lord’s passion and death. The number of stations, which at first varied widely, finally became fixed at fourteen. Of these, eight are based directly on events recorded in the Gospels. The remaining six numbers (3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 13) are based on inferences from the Gospel account or from pious legend.
The Women’s Way of the Cross will be offered to the congregation by the Daughters of the King on Good Friday at 10:30am. Click the button to join The Way via Zoom.
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Service Video
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Sermon Video
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Via Crucis Video
Saturday, April 3: Holy Saturday
We will celebrate the liturgy for Holy Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 3. This will be an in-person service which takes less than 30 minutes and gives those who are setting up the church for our glorious Easter celebration an opportunity to break for worship. Mother Minerva has extended the invitation to this service to the congregation. Come to St. John's on Saturday at 11:00 AM, we will gather outside the Church building.
We are unable to celebrate the Easter Vigil at St. John’s this year. We invite you to participate in the online Easter Vigil at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston on Saturday, April 3, at 8:00pm. www.christchurchcathedral.org/easter Another option that you may want to consider is the Easter Vigil at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City on Saturday, April 3 at 7:30pm. https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/worship/holy-week-easter
The Washington National Cathedral is not holding an Easter Vigil service this year.
We are unable to celebrate the Easter Vigil at St. John’s this year. We invite you to participate in the online Easter Vigil at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston on Saturday, April 3, at 8:00pm. www.christchurchcathedral.org/easter Another option that you may want to consider is the Easter Vigil at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City on Saturday, April 3 at 7:30pm. https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/worship/holy-week-easter
The Washington National Cathedral is not holding an Easter Vigil service this year.
Sunday, April 4: Easter Day
This day needs little comment. After the walk through Holy Week and its complicated rites, the Easter Eucharist is straightforward; distinctive only in the intensity of joy and hope in the readings, music, and worship experience. Please remember to bring fresh flowers to the 11:15 AM and 1:00 PM services for the “flowering of the cross."
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9:30 AM Service Video
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11:15 AM English Sermon Video
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1:00 PM Spanish Sermon Video
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Online worship services are conducted using the Zoom online meeting system and are recorded for replay on Facebook, on our web site, and on our YouTube channel.
