Click on the services below to explore how to prepare at home for each special celebration in Holy Week!
If you have never gone through Holy Week, you may be wondering: “Why is this week different from all other weeks?” During Holy Week, the church journeys with Jesus through the final moments of his life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection of from the grave. We witness the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). By his blood God has delivered us from the slavery of sin and death and has brought us into the fullness of his promise that we, too, might share in his resurrection (Phil. 3:10-11).
Holy Week invites each one of us to go on pilgrimage: to journey with Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem, to eat with him and hear his commandment to love one another, to stay and watch with him in the garden, to accompany him on the way to Calvary, to be present at his death, and to dance for joy at his resurrection.
Holy Week comprises five major services that have been celebrated since the early days of the church. To journey with Jesus, to be present with him here this Holy Week, is a pilgrimage that will change us.
On Palm Sunday we join the crowds waving palm branches and singing “hosanna” to Jesus as an earthly king, perceiving his glory in worldly terms based on our own human experiences and expectations.
By the time Maundy Thursday arrives we begin, with the disciples, to see Jesus with different eyes. He is the Christ revealed to us in humility as the embodiment of God’s love.
To be present at the cross on Good Friday, even as Mary and John were, is to finally see Jesus’ glory in God’s terms. He has won for us the victory over sin and death. His sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins has made the saving power of his blood eternally present to us.
During the Easter Vigil, we gather in the late evening to recount the ancient stories of how God has saved his people in ages past, with the assurance that Christ has not abandoned us to sin and death, but is coming to save us.
On Easter Sunday we participate in the glory of God’s victory over sin and death as we “hasten to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself.” Christ is risen—and we are raised with him into the newness of eternal life.
Let this Holy Week be your invitation to set your countenance on Jerusalem and, like Jesus, to journey to the Passover feast. Let us experience the remembrance of God’s saving deeds and encounter firsthand the power of the crucified and risen Christ to save and heal us.
Click the plus sign to learn all about this ancient week of services leading up to Easter.
join with believers across our diocese to celebrate the resurrection of jesus with one minute of joy!
This Easter we remember the hope of Jesus’ resurrection and victory over death in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As churches are unable to gather in person, let’s raise a hallelujah on our front porches to bring the hope of Jesus to our neighborhoods.
At noon on Easter Sunday, April 12, gather with everyone in your household outside your home and shout “Alleluia! Christ is Risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!” Ring bells, make a joyful noise, and celebrate for 60 seconds! Post a picture or video of your celebration with #RaiseAHallelujah and #RaiseAHallelujahRez
Here is everything you will need to follow along within your home
throughout the week!
In this guide, we have adapted the traditional Holy Week liturgies for worship at home so you can follow along with the livestream. Certain liturgical actions—such as foot washing, candle lighting, prayer at the cross, and more—will be prompted from the livestream, but take place within your group.
Download the entire packet here, or pick it up from the east vestibule of the church (9am–5pm, 4/3–4/11). If you choose to pick it up, please wait your turn in your car and then follow the posted safety instructions.
While we are sheltering at home, we want to take every opportunity to pray for our communities and spend time in God’s creation. Father Matt wrote this simple guide to taking a Prayer Walk in your neighborhood every day in Holy Week. The guide includes a Stations of the Cross prayer walk on Good Friday.
Print this guide to use with your family or friendship group during each of the days in Holy Week.
We are providing coloring sheets and story summaries for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
Download them all to print out here, or follow along on each of the service pages.
If you have a cross in your home that is meaningful to you, use that. Use a cross that is simple (not too ornamental or decorative), as large as possible, and that helps you connect to the actual cross of Jesus.
If you don’t have one, this is a great time to get one or make one to have in your living room throughout Holy Week. You could make one out of wood with instructions like this, or a simpler one like this one, cut one out of paper or cardboard and attach to your wall, or gather branches from your yard to tie together into a cross.
On Maundy Thursday cover it with dark fabric, on Good Friday lay it on the ground, and on Easter Sunday put some flowers on it!
Light a large candle at the beginning of each service
Draw the Passion story in chalk on your sidewalk
Use our Prayer Walk Guide throughout your neighborhood, praying for the light of Jesus to shine.
During the day on Holy Saturday, tell your baptism stories as we get ready to remember and renew our baptisms on Easter Sunday.
Wear dark clothes on Good Friday and wear something special on Easter
Read through the Vigil stories throughout the week, or dress up and act out one of the Vigil stories
Fast on Good Friday from food or from something else to spend time in prayer and silence (Check out these fasting resources from Father Aaron Damiani)
Wake up before sunrise on Easter morning and find somewhere to watch the sunrise, remembering that the light of Christ has dawned upon us (Isaiah 60).
Get flowers that you can bring out on Easter morning
Have a special meal on Easter Sunday
Take a family photo to post on your social media with an Easter note to your friends and neighbors
Make a video or write your testimony and baptism story and send it to others or post on social media.
Use #rezholyweekathome to show us how you’re celebrating!
Tag us on Instagram or Facebook so we can re-post
Check out our community board to see how everyone is celebrating