Holy Week Preparations
Posted on Mar 27, 2026 by Pastor Jealaine Marple
I once had a member of a previous congregation tell me “I don’t come to the services during Holy Week … it’s just too hard.” It wasn’t hard from a transportation or time aspect. It was hard from an emotional standpoint. This person didn’t want to witness (again) the trial, torture, and state sanctioned execution of Jesus. They chose to be at Palm Sunday and skip to Easter. And in some ways, I completely understand. Hearing the sacrifice of our Lord can be traumatic. Willingly exposing ourselves to death is hard. If this is you, I promise I don’t share the following to guilt you into coming to worship. I pray you all will do what you need to do to protect yourselves.
However, if you are on the fence, I’d love to give you a personal invitation to worship during Holy Week. In partnership with our friends and colleagues at OPLC, we have planned, thought, and prayed about purposeful and meaningful worship. Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday (March 29) with shouts of “Hosanna!” and palm branches waving. Palm Sunday was the first protest. Jesus, a credible threat to the empire, might have thought to have entered with an army, on the back of a camel or dressed in regal robes. Instead, he entered on a donkey — humble and willing. Join us to hear the Palm Sunday story read by our youth as only they can.
We will then gather on Maundy Thursday (March 26) at 7:00 p.m. Maundy is Latin for the word mandate — the mandate we hear from Jesus to love one another. We will witness this love in a few ways. We will once again wash one another’s hands. We will help four young people celebrate their first communion. Interspersed through all of this will be the amazing music you’ve come to expect, beautiful readings, and space to feel the Holy Spirit. We will conclude with a small celebration for our new “dining” companions.
Good Friday is the hardest for me, personally. It’s humbling and hard to come face to face with my sins and the consequences of such. It’s hard to wrestle with what makes this day so “good.” But, going through Good Friday makes Easter much more powerful. Join us for the reading of scripture and hymns of reflection.
Of course, Easter is the culmination of all this planning, all of this hoping, dreaming, and believing that the tomb will be empty — just as Jesus said. Join us at 8:15 and 10:00 a.m. with a potluck breakfast and egg hunt between services. A lot of time, effort, and intentionality has gone into making this Holy Week experience the best we can. I pray you’re able to make it for all the services either in person or online. Wherever you find yourself as we enter Holy Week, may the hope of the resurrection surround you in a time where death threatens to have the final word (and never does!)
In Christ,
Pastor Jealaine