April 17th | 7pm | Maundy Thursday (remembering Jesus’s last meal with his disciples – Communion), The English word “Maundy” for this service is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum (also the origin of the English word “mandate”), the first word of the phrase “Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos” or “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” On Maundy Thursday, we commemorate Jesus’ last meal with his disciples before his crucifixion: remembering how he taught his disciples to be servants to one another through the washing of hands and remembering Jesus’ command to the disciples to love one another.

April 18th | 7pm | Good Friday / Tenebrae (a “Service of Darkness” that remembers the death of Jesus on the cross by reading the narrative of the Passion), The Tenebrae, meaning “darkness” or “shadows,” dates from medieval times. In our observance, scripture, song, and silence lead us in a prolonged meditation on the events of salvation following the Last Supper through the entombment of Christ. With each progressive step of the Passion, the candles are extinguished until only the one Christ candle remains. When it, too, is removed from sight, we ponder the apparent victory of the forces of evil at the moment of Christ’s death. The Christ candle returns with its ray of promise for the third day.

April 20th | 10:30am | Easter Sunday (remembering Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, conquering death and offering salvation to the world).