April 2, 2020   

While Holy Trinity has suspended worship services due to the coronavirus pandemic, pray with us this Holy Week in these services from the National Cathedral at www.cathedral.org 

Bulletin (opens in a new window)

Holy Week: Ritual Ideas

Palm Sunday, bcp270
Gather – Read Matthew 21:1-11 – Bless Palms – Process around house/block – Sing – Drop Palms – Pray

Holy Monday
Gather – Read Mark 14:3-9 – With lotion or essential oil, mark the back of each other’s hands with a cross, ‘in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit’

Holy Tuesday
Gather – Read Mark 11:15-19 – Reflect on your checkbook, looking for priorities & practices that drown out the voice of God

Holy Wednesday
Prepare sacred space w/ sufficient candles – gather in darkness – Pray through a simple Tenebrae service

Maundy Thursday, bcp274
Prepare sacred space for holy dinner – gather for dinner –Pray through a simple Meal liturgy (J.Bellaimey)

Good Friday, bcp276
Identify 14 ‘stations’ in home/neighborhood – print GF liturgy (front/back) – walk the stations (F.Logue)

Holy Saturday: Waiting (daytime), bcp283
Create space to hold quiet vigil @ ‘the tomb’ – Read John 19:38-42 – Practice 10-15 min. centering prayer

Holy Saturday: Great Vigil (evening), bcp284
Build, light, & bless a small fire using Prayer Book, beginning p.285 – safely light a votive candle from the New Fire – walk the votive through your home/neighborhood, stopping three times to say: ‘The Light of Christ; Thanks be to God’ – Near front door or living room, pray the Exsultet (p.286-287), together or in parts – Gather in the living room for sacred story time, selecting some or all of the nine stories/collects, one of which must be Exodus 14:10-15:1 – reflect together: What do we notice about how God shows up?
What can we expect of God? What might God expect of us? – Conclude with ‘the Renewal of Baptismal Vows’ (p.292-294)

Easter
Gather with coffee & a blanket – link to Easter livestream @ Washington National Cathedral (11:15am EST)

Nota bene

To hear ‘the Jews’ disparaged in Christian scripture is hurtful and offensive – and, when taken out of context, incredibly dangerous. It’s vitally important that modern ears recognize this as the discourse of a nation and religion divided within itself – the ‘Jesus Movement’ or ‘People of The Way’ being one renewal movement among many – each seeking the most faithful means by which to defend and assert the integrity of the Jewish people in the midst of a perennially oppressive Roman Empire. As one Episcopal scholar notes: “The language of the passion stories in the gospels has contributed to the long tragic history of anti-Semitism in Christian cultures. All attribute major (and increasing) responsibility for the death of Jesus to the Jewish leaders and Jewish people. This reaches a peak in John’s gospel: John misleadingly portrays ‘the Jews’ as the enemies of Jesus and as responsible for his death. Yet this is not historically accurate. Historically speaking, in the judgment of most Jewish and Christian historians, responsibility for Jesus’ execution rests with Roman authority and a very small inner circle of the native Jewish aristocracy. These ‘ruling elites,’ rather than representing the Jewish people as a whole, were in fact the oppressors of the vast majority of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus. Thus it was not ‘the Jews’ who rejected Jesus, but a narrow circle of Roman and Jewish elites.” (Dr. Marcus Borg, Trinity Canon Theologian, Trinity Cathedral, Portland, OR, March 21, 1996)