Holy Week 2021

Dear Trinity Church and friends,

 

As the weather warms and spring begins, we find ourselves once again at the cusp of Holy Week, that week whose events center and ground the Christian life.  Each moment in Jesus’ life between Palm Sunday and Good Friday proclaims that God’s way is always one of deep compassion. If we will walk this way with Jesus, we – and the whole world – can find once again that through God’s gracious and powerful love, there is hope and new life in the face of all of life’s trials, even suffering and death. Has there ever been a year in recent memory when we needed such hope and new life more than we need it this year? Walking the way of the Cross with Jesus during this holiest of weeks leads us all not just to Calvary, but also to Resurrection.

We invite you to peruse the notes immediately below where you will find details about the rich set of offerings in store for all of us this Holy Week. You will find also a link to the leaflets for all of the Holy Week services from Palm Sunday through Good Friday. Join us! Your soul, and our life together as a community, will be strengthened as we share all that God gives us through Christ’s courageous, compassionate love in this week.

 

Palm Sunday, March 28

Morning Prayer with Palm Procession

9:45 am

More than any other gospel lessons, those of Holy Week - beginning Palm Sunday morning - compel us to travel in heart and mind to specific sites of deep compassion and profound suffering. The cityscape of Jerusalem itself is a character in Jesus' story, inviting us in all seasons and in any place to follow the way of the cross. Travel this journey and perhaps recognize something new within your own walls. Join the service on Facebook Live or on our website.

Click here for the worship bulletin that includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, & Good Friday services.

Pin Your Prayers to the Cross 

12-3 pm at Trinity Church

There are two ways to pin your prayers to the Cross. You may email your brief prayer (up to 25 words) to palmsundayprayers@trinitychurchboston.org by 5 pm on Friday, March 26. Or you may come to the West Porch on Palm Sunday afternoon between 12 and 3 pm to write out your prayer, pin it to the Cross, and pick up a palm to take home.

Monday – Wednesday in Holy Week, March 29-31

Compline

8:30 pm on Zoom

On Wednesdays in Lent, our usual Monday-Friday compline service has expanded slightly to include deeper silence, selected scripture, poetry and art. Our “Zoom room” opens at 8:15 pm for those who’d like to visit with others before we begin worship. Compline will continue through 3/31 and then take a short break, returning on 4/8. Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/206654379.

 

Maundy Thursday, April 1

Setting of Table and "Supper Together" Meal Preparation  

5:30-6:30 pm on Zoom

We are excited to have Joscelyn Chapman, freshly relocated to Arizona, making a guest appearance as chef extraordinaire to help us prepare a simple supper prior to our Maundy Thursday worship service. We will make a delicious soup and salad together that can be adjusted for any dietary needs. In addition, Morgan will share with us the art of setting a beautiful table. Ingredient list is coming! Please click here to join on Zoom. We will have a chance to enjoy our lovely set table and delicious meal during the service that follows.

Agape Meal with Table Prayers  

7 pm on Zoom

Join in a shared meal in remembrance of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. Our service will be live on Zoom with readings, prayers, a shared meal in small groups, and a final stripping of our tables before the service concludes and the Gethsemane Watch begins. Please click here to join the service.

Gethsemane Watch

9 pm – 11 am Good Friday, April 2 on Zoom

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to them … ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want, but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial’ (Matthew 26:36-56).

As our Maundy Thursday worship concludes, the Zoom service link will stay open until 9 pm for prayer and meditation, at which time we will officially begin the “Gethsemane Watch” through the hours of the night. Recalling Jesus’ gathering with his disciples in the garden just before his arrest, we honor Jesus’ charge to “Stay awake and pray.” Beginning at 9 pm and in one-hour segments, we will pray through the night via Zoom. The Watch will run until 11 am the next morning, prior to our Good Friday worship at noon. To sign up for times in the Watch, please use this link. Prayer resources for the Watch are available here.

 

Good Friday, April 2

Good Friday Prayers and Choral Meditation

12 pm

Join Facebook Live or the website at noon on Good Friday for prayer and to experience Christ's passion as recounted through John Stainer's choral meditation, The Crucifixion. Drawing inspiration from Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion, this enduring Victorian work sets the poetry of Rev. J. Sparrow Simpson for soloists, choir, and organ, with congregational hymnody interspersed.  Stainer's work will be framed by traditional prayers from the Good Friday liturgy.

Good Friday Children's Gathering  

12 pm on Zoom

Children and families are invited to gather at noon on Good Friday to mark this day. We will hear the story of the Resurrection Eggs. Families should have received the Zoom link. If you have not received the link, please email Cathy at cportlock@trinitychurchboston.org.

Good Friday Gathering for High Schoolers 

5:30 pm on Zoom

High schoolers are invited to a short Zoom gathering on Good Friday with their adult mentors for some quiet reflection, music, and space to pray together. Please email Sarah at sneumann@trinitychurchboston.org for the Zoom link.

 

A blessed Holy Week to us all. Let us walk the way of the Cross with Jesus, knowing his love and compassion will surely bring us to new life on Easter Day! We will send an email on March 30 with Trinity’s Easter Day offerings.