holy week Archives

Just passing by …

Posted March 16th, 2020

Has anyone ever come into your life to help you, just when you surely needed help and had nowhere to turn? Have you ever been that urgent helper for someone else?

Ancient Easter Vigil liturgy deepens faith and builds community

Posted February 20th, 2020

Some Presbyterian congregations are embracing the hauntingly beautiful Easter Vigil service that is full of meaning and rich with symbolism.

Holistic practices guide pastors through Holy Week

Posted April 17th, 2019

The first year that Rev. Stephanie Ryder served as a pastor, the church’s administrative assistant quit, with her last day being the Wednesday of Holy Week. Serving as a solo pastor, it put the church’s administrative tasks on Ryder, on top of writing additional sermons and creating plans for three services. “I was really caught off guard,” she says. “I know now not to schedule anything during Holy Week that isn’t truly necessary.”

The holiness of mud season

Posted April 11th, 2019

I thought I was prepared for my first mud season in Vermont. I wasn’t. The pastor nominating committee tried explaining that New England’s unofficial fifth season wasn’t for the weak. (Or for a former Manhattanite, is what I think they were really getting at.) Was I ready for melting snow that turned dirt roads into Slip ‘n Slide? I was. Did I have good tires on my car? I did. What about boots? Did I own a sturdy pair? I didn’t.

Palm Sunday: All roads lead to the Paschal mystery of Christ dying and rising

Posted April 10th, 2019

For some growing up, Palm Sunday was a celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem as a triumphant king. But now, more and more congregations are choosing to celebrate Palm Sunday by including the passion narrative to emphasize that this triumphant moment takes his disciples, then and now, to the cross.

Domingo de Ramos: Todos los caminos conducen al misterio pascual de Cristo muerto y resucitado

Posted April 10th, 2019

El pastorado dialoga sobre el por qué es importante el Domingo de Ramos para el mundo, que conecta los tiempos de Jesús en nuestra era Por Paul Seebeck | Servicio… Read more »

Creating a kid-friendly Holy Week

Posted March 6th, 2019

Imagine the week before Easter, if you will, through the eyes of a 6-year-old. The sanctuary on Palm Sunday looks different, to say the least. Big green branches are being waved, shouts of “Hosanna!” are called out from the usually orderly people in the pews, and the pastor talks of a parade with a king entering the city, surrounded by adoring citizens.

The weight of Holy Week

Posted March 29th, 2018

Barry Ensign-George remembers how the square nails sounded at a Good Friday service at a country church in eastern Iowa many years ago.

Celebrating Triduum — the Great Three Days of Holy Week

Posted March 20th, 2017

Reviving the church’s ancient celebration of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Great Sabbath and the Great Vigil of Easter.