Holy Week at St. Mark's

Holy Week is the most sacred time in the Christian year. We invite you to walk with Jesus through the final days of his earthly life: his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, his suffering and death on the cross on Good Friday, and finally the joy of his resurrection on Easter. Each service tells a part of the story, and we do not merely remember these events but enter into them spiritually through scripture, prayer, music, silence, and sacred symbols and actions. Each liturgy invites us to experience the mystery of Christ’s love in a deeper way as we move from celebration to sorrow and finally to joy, experiencing the rich fullness of Holy Week and the very heart of the Gospel.

Below is our full schedule of services and special events.

Service Times
8 a.m. – Palm Procession (from Memorial Garden) and Eucharist
9 a.m. – Palm Procession (from Baker Green) and Eucharist
11 a.m. – Palm Procession (from Baker Green) and Eucharist
5 p.m. – The River Palm Sunday Service

Palm Sunday Family Fun
Between the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services, stop by to enjoy a Petting Zoo and spend time with family and friends as we celebrate the start of Holy Week together.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday as we remember Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem shortly before his crucifixion. The crowds greeted him with palm branches and cries of “Hosanna!”, welcoming him as the long-awaited Messiah, and so we, too, begin with a procession of palms outside the church, echoing the joyful welcome Jesus received as he entered the city. But the service turns toward the solemn events that follow, as we hear the story of Jesus’s arrest, trial, and crucifixion during the dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel. As we commemorate these two things together: celebration and sorrow, we are reminded that the same crowd that cried “Hosanna!” would soon shout “Crucify him!”, and we begin the sacred journey of Holy Week, acknowledging both the glory of Christ and the cost of our redemption.

Self-led: Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Clergy-led: Friday 7:00 a.m. and 1 p.m.

If you want to walk with Christ through Holy Week, this is a literal walk, based on a custom observed by pilgrims to Jerusalem called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows in which prayers are offered at a specific places throughout the city associated with our Lord’s passion and death, for example: the three places he fell or where the cross was placed on Simon of Cyrene. Some stations are based on events in the Gospels, others on inferences from the Gospel account. The station can be walked alone or in groups using the provided prayer booklets or as a clergy-led devotional. Our stations are hand-painted tiles, replicas of those in St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem, where groups from St. Mark’s have previously gone on pilgrimage.

7 p.m. – Footwashing, Eucharist, and Stripping of the Altar

On Maundy Thursday, we commemorate the final evening Jesus shared with his disciples before his arrest. The name “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning “commandment,” and refers to the words Jesus speaks at the Last Supper in John 13:34, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.” In demonstration of this love, we include the footwashing, recalling the moment when Jesus knelt to wash his disciples’ feet and reminding us that true greatness in God’s kingdom is expressed through service. The washing of feet is special but optional, and for us is simply ceremonial. There is no soap and no scrubbing involved. We also remember the rich symbolism of the sacrificial Paschal Lamb of the Passover in Exodus along Jesus’s institution of the Eucharist as the Lamb of God gives his body and blood for this new sacrifice. At the conclusion of the service the altar is stripped of its ornaments and the sanctuary is left bare. Candles are extinguished, and the church falls into silence. This powerful moment symbolizes the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and prepares the Church for the solemn remembrance of Good Friday.

8 p.m. April 2 - Noon April 3

After the Last Supper, Jesus led the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he was soon to be arrested. He went off by himself to struggle in prayer about the coming ordeal, coming back to find sleeping, so he gently chided them: “Could you not stay awake with me one hour? Keep awake and pray…” On Maundy Thursday, we re-enact this scene by holding a Prayer Vigil in the chapel “Garden of Repose” following the 7:00 p.m. service until noon on Good Friday. Come pray for an hour, meditate in silence, or read from the Bible, Book of Common Prayer, or other devotional writings. This vigil represents the Church’s desire to remain faithful to Christ in the hour of his suffering, and in a world that often moves quickly past sorrow, it invites us to linger in prayer and to keep watch with the Lord. Sign up here.

12 p.m. – Traditional Good Friday Liturgy*
7 p.m. – Contemporary Good Friday Tenebrae Service*

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the Christian year, when we remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It confronts us with the depth of God’s love, as the cross reveals both the seriousness of human sin and the immeasurable mercy of God. The cross was not the end of Jesus’s story – instead it was the turning point of the world’s story.

Noon – Good Friday Liturgy
This beautiful liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer is simple and austere. The Passion Gospel is read, recounting the events that led to Jesus’ death. The Church then offers the Solemn Collects, ancient prayers that intercede for the whole world, followed by the Veneration of the Cross as worshipers are invited to come forward in prayer before the cross, remembering that Jesus “made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life.”

7 p.m. – The River Tenebrae Service
Join us for something new this year as the band and other worship leaders from The River lead a Tenebrae Service. Tenebrae means “darkness” or “shadows”, and this ancient form of worship uses Scripture readings, music, and the gradual extinguishing of candles to symbolize the growing darkness surrounding Jesus as he approaches his death. As the light in the sanctuary slowly fades, the effect is deeply moving, inviting us to reflect on the suffering of Christ and the weight of the world’s brokenness as we enter emotionally and spiritually into the mystery of the Passion.

6:30 a.m. – Sunrise Service (contemporary music)
9 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II (traditional festival music)*
11 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II (traditional festival music)*
5 p.m. – The River Easter Sunday Service (contemporary music)*

Between the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services, families are invited to join us for our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Be sure to stop by the Bunny Buffet for Easter-themed treats and fellowship.

The solemn Holy Week journey culminates in the joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead on Easter, as the tomb is found empty and we proclaim the good news that “He is risen!”, the heart of the Christian faith and the promise that God’s love is stronger than sin, suffering, and death.

*Nursery available during these services.

Whether you are a long-time member, new to the area, or simply looking for a place to celebrate Easter, we would love to welcome you this Holy Week. Come experience worship, reflection, and the joy of Easter with our St. Mark’s family.