Observing the Culmination of Lent and Celebrating Easter
At EHS, because of the Good Friday and Easter Monday holidays as well as our weekday schedule, we miss some of the most moving liturgical observations of Holy Week and Easter. You and your families don’t have to miss them, however!
The following material is information we hope will enrich your observance of the Paschal Triduum (“three days” from the evening of Maundy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday).
• Maundy Thursday and how it’s observed - p. 1
• Good Friday and how it’s observed - p. 2
• Holy Saturday and how it’s observed - p. 2
• Easter Sunday andhow it’s observed - p. 3
• Worship service times observing the Paschal Triduum at a few Episcopal churchesin town - p. 3-4
Maundy Thursday: On Wednesday, April 5, we will observe Maundy Thursday a day early, so we can celebrate the Eucharist.
Maundy Thursday is the day when we remember Jesus’ Last Supper. Three of the Gospels tell the story, describing how Jesus told his disciples to remember him whenever they ate bread and drank wine, explaining that the bread was his body, broken for them, and the wine was his blood, shed for the sins of the world. The Gospel of John, however, tells instead of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and giving them a new commandment (mandatum in Latin, which is where the strange word “Maundy” comes from). I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)
After his Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus went outside to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and to offer God his submission and obedience to the death that was to come. The Temple guards came to arrest him; Judas betrayed him with a kiss; and Jesus was taken to his trial before the Sanhedrin Court, accused and found guilty of blasphemy, claiming to be God.
At church on Maundy Thursday, you will typically have a celebration of the Eucharist and/or a commemorative foot-washing. At the end of the service, the altar is stripped, symbolizing our bereavement. There will be no more celebration of the Eucharist until Easter.
Good Friday: On Thursday, April 6, we will observe Good Friday a day early since we won’t be here on Friday.
Good Friday is the day when Jesus was crucified. We call it “good” because of the complete selflessness of his act and the unthinkable gift his death served in redeeming God’s broken people. The day began with Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, accused and found guilty of treason, claiming a kingdom. Jesus was scourged, his skin brutally flayed, and he was sentenced to crucifixion. Forced to carry his own cross to Golgotha, he was then nailed to the cross, a horrendous mode of execution. There are several wonderful stories about the things that happened that day and the people whose lives Jesus touched, even as he died. After his death, his body was taken down from the cross and laid to rest in a tomb hastily before the Sabbath began at sunset.
At church, the Good Friday service is solemn. There are readings and prayers.
Holy Saturday & the Easter Vigil: On Holy Saturday, we wait, we pray, and we grieve. Jesus is in the tomb.
The Gospels are silent about what took place for the disciples that day. We imagine them hiding in fear that they might be arrested too.
At night, churches will typically offer an Easter Vigil service, which is one of the most dramatic liturgies in the church year. Go to an Easter Vigil service if you can! The church begins in complete darkness, until the Paschal Candle (the Christ light) is kindled in the back and carried in, often lighting the hand-held candles of the people in the congregation as it processes up the aisle. The light spreads, and we listen to several scripture readings telling the story of God’s acts to save and redeem his people. Traditionally, there are baptisms, and at “dawn” the candles on the altar are lit, we hear the first proclamation of Easter, “Alleluia! Christ is Risen.” “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!”, and we celebrate the resurrection with Holy Eucharist.
Easter Sunday: Easter, of course, is the day when most people celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
The women went to the tomb at dawn with the intention of finishing the proper burial ministrations but discovered that the tomb had been opened and the body was gone. Although initially perceived as a sign of desecration, the empty tomb gradually became celebrated as a sign of the resurrection, particularly as the resurrected Christ made appearances to his followers.
Easter is a great celebration in the church today, a “Principal Feast,” when we proclaim the good news of Christ’s resurrection and prepare to continue that celebration for 50 days. Death itself has been vanquished, and the way to eternal life has been paved for us through the death and resurrection of Christ. We hope you will celebrate Easter with your family in a place of worship.
Please continue reading for information about Holy Week and Easter services at a few Episcopal churches in town. You are welcome at any Episcopal Church!
May this Holy Week and Easter be a blessed time for you all!
In His love, Rev. Holden, Rev. Callaham, and Rev. Gould Episcopal High School Chaplaincy
Services for Holy Week and Easter:
Christ Church Cathedral: 1117 Texas Avenue (downtown), with parking in the garage on San Jacinto between Texas Avenue and Prairie
Maundy Thursday: April 6 at 7 p.m., Holy Eucharist, Stripping of the Altar, Bilingual, in-person or online
Good Friday: April 7 at 12:05 p.m., Good Friday Liturgy, in-person or online
The Great Vigil of Easter: April 8 at 8 p.m., Vigil, Eucharist, in-person or online
Easter Sunday: April 9 at 7 a.m. (in person), 9 a.m. (in person), 11 a.m. (in person or online), Holy Eucharist; 1 p.m. Eucharist in Spanish (in person or online)
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church: 3816 Bellaire Boulevard
Maundy Thursday: April 6 at 7 p.m., Holy Eucharist with Stripping of the Altar
Good Friday: April 7 at noon, Good Friday Liturgy
Holy Saturday: April 8 at 10:00 a.m., Morning Prayer
The Great Vigil of Easter: April 8 at 7 p.m., Vigil, Eucharist
Easter Sunday: April 9 at 7:45 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., Holy Eucharist
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church: 2450 River Oaks Boulevard
Maundy Thursday: April 6,
Family Foot Washing at 6:30 p.m. in the Julia Garden
Maundy Thursday Worship Service at 7 p.m. in the church
Maundy Thursday Prayer Vigil: beginning April 6 at 8 p.m. and continuing through April 7 at 7 a.m.
Good Friday: April 7
Stations of the Cross led by clergy in the chapel at 7 a.m., 1 p.m., and 6 p.m.
Good Friday Liturgy in the church at noon and 7 p.m.
Sunrise Easter Vigil: April 8 at 6 a.m. on the lawn
Easter Sunday: April 9
Traditional services at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Holy Eucharist
Contemporary Easter Worship at 11:15 a.m. in the Hall Life Center
Easter Evening Worship at 5 p.m. in the chapel
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church: 717 Sage Road
Maundy Thursday: April 6 at 7 p.m. in the church, Eucharist and Stripping of the Altar
Good Friday: April 7 at noon and 6 p.m. in the church, Good Friday Liturgy; 6:30 p.m. in the Parish Life Center, Good Friday Liturgy, sermon, and contemporary music
Easter Sunday: April 9
Traditional Services at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 6 p.m. in the church, Holy Eucharist
“Family Table” at 8 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. in the Parish Life Center, family-friendly Holy Eucharist
“Riverway” at 11:15 a.m. in the Parish Life Center, contemporary worship with Holy Eucharist
