Holy Week & a Media Meditation

This is an important week for Christians throughout the world. Holy Week is a chance to remember the final days of Jesus ministry on earth before the surprise of the Resurrection that marks Easter. Many churches in the area will be marking Holy Week with a variety of services and styles. We will have links for local worship opportunities here to encourage you to participate in this powerful spiritual journey.

You may wish to use this media meditiation Bitter Journey: The Way of the Cross this week to experience some of this powerful time: http://www.beliefnet.com/religion/christianity/holyweek/easter/cross_lite2.html.

Maundy Thursday: Marks the events of the "Last Supper". Often congregations may choose to have a modified Seder meal, celebrate communion, and/or include a foot washing ceremony. Some churches will remove all the special cloths and decorative symbols in the area surrouding the altar as well, often a deeply emotional time for some. Each of these can be a little strange if you are new to this, but just know that sometimes it is just as uncomfortable for regular church folk. Participate as you see appropriate to where you are in your spiritual journey.

Good Friday (sometimes referred to as Tenebrae Services): This is one of the most powerful services of the year often filled with a great deal of emotion and drama. It marks the last day of Christ's life on earth on the cross. Worship can be filled with candlelight in fairly darkened worship spaces, and the service consists of readings that follow the events of the Crucifixion. The worship space may also be draped in black cloth.

Easter Vigil: Held on Saturday night, this is kind of a parallel to Christmas Eve in that this anticipates the coming of Jesus, or the promise of his Resurrection in the way we come to Christmas expecting the birth of the savior. The Vigil is another of the ancient churches movign services that can be a series of many readings that put in context the early days of the Israelites, the promise of the prophets, and the final realization of this history in the life and resurrection Jesus. Often the service is held later in the evening so that it essentially ends at midnight with a sort of party atmosphere where the sanctuary symbols are brought back in, lilies are often brought in, and communion is celebrated.

http://www.beliefnet.com/religion/christianity/holyweek/easter/cross_lite2.html