We’ve always done it that way!
We don’t say that anymore, do we? I can hardly remember how we used to do things, it’s been so long since anything was normal, and we have become creative with our camera. The problem? Now we face Holy Week.
Last year’s lockdown caught us unprepared, scrambling to do something, anything to observe these great days. With a few volunteers, and the Diocese managing Easter, we created a Plan B Holy Week, knowing that we would be back to normal in 2021. So much for that plan. This year we’re ready, with Livestream, camera and computer–but are we ready for Holy Week? Traditions for this time run deep at Trinity. We’ve always done it that way, going back decades, but…. So what’s the plan?
Holy Week observances have their roots in the activities of pilgrims to Jerusalem from the 4th Century and later. Not everyone could make a pilgrimage, so the pilgrims had to bring the experience back home. Pilgrims participate–you don’t travel all that way in order to sit in your hotel room and watch events on TV–so Holy Week services need a lot of processions and activities, as we know, not meant to be watched on your tablet.
In addition, Holy Week services require group participation. Whether the congregation plays the part of the crowd demanding Jesus’ death, the disciples participating in communion, or the Palm Sunday crowd proclaiming Jesus as king, the congregation is not an audience. How will we recreate Holy Week traditions on a screen with a scrolling chat?
Location, location, location
During our Lenten program, we invited you to create a sacred space in your home, adding a symbol each week to represent that week’s theme. While most of us probably have a religious symbol or two around the house, a dedicated at-home holy space is unusual for many Episcopalians. We don’t need to do that because we have a sacred space we all share–the church! Time for a new plan, and it’s not too late to start.
Like Holy Week itself, which has us setting aside an unusual time for worship services, a sacred space reminds us to set time for God. Yes, we can worship on the golf course and on the beach, but we really don’t because that’s not why we’re in those spaces. A spiritual life requires attention. A dedicated space helps.
Yes, we can worship on the golf course, but we don’t. We need a sacred space.
Our Holy Week services this year will be three: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, all to be experienced from home. (Easter–new week, not part of Holy Week per se–will be in-person and Livestreamed.) All three services will require some preparation, so let’s get started:
Palm Sunday: We have blessed palms available on Saturday and Sunday, outside the church. Since our story focuses on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as king, this would be perfect time to make a sign or other decoration for your sacred space that makes just that statement. Add a palm, and you’re ready to join remotely.
Maundy Thursday: We will use scripture and hymns to tell the story of Jesus’ last night with his disciples–the night of the Last Supper. Dinner should be part of this service (we’ve always done it that way!), so let’s eat, but don’t let dinner overwhelm the worship experience. Our worship service will be on Zoom, so we can see each other and share community. Plan your sacred space and dinner with that purpose in mind. As we end this service, we will do what we always have done–strip our sacred space of all its decorations, leaving the emptiness that represents Good Friday.
Good Friday: Come to the church during the day for private, safe prayer. Our service will be Livestreamed, putting us virtually before the cross that will be the focus of our worship service. Experience the emptiness of your space on this night, then use the weekend to prepare your space for Easter.
This Holy Week isn’t what we’ve always done, but then again, it is. Following Christ’s way, remembering these key experiences–the location has changed, but the story, and our faith, remain the same.