We pray for another blessed Holy Week and Easter at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, as our Lenten journey through the wilderness once again leads us onto the path of Christ’s passion and crucifixion, and from the cross to the joy of the Resurrection.

Holy Week begins on March 25, Palm Sunday. Early Church at 9:30 am will feature a procession with palms and a special summary of Holy Week traditions for children. For our later service, the traditional Liturgy of the Palms and Procession starts at 11:15 am outside the church entrance on Clinton Street (corner of Montague Street) and proceeds around one square block, led by the cross and choir.

On Holy Wednesday, March 28, we will introduce a new service of Tenebrae at 6:00 pm. The word tenebrae comes from the Latin meaning “darkness” or “shadow.” Tenebrae is an ancient Holy Week service that makes use of gradually diminishing light through the extinguishing of candles to symbolize the events of that week from the triumphant Palm Sunday entry through Jesus’ burial.

On Maundy Thursday, March 29, our service at 7:00 pm commemorates Jesus’s Last Supper with his disciples and the institution of the Eucharist and features the traditional foot washing. The service ends with the chanting Psalm 22 as the altar is stripped. The congregation leaves in silence and darkness.

Good Friday at St. Ann’s, on March 30, offers two opportunities to commemorate Christ’s death for the sake of humanity. At 12 noon, we pray the Stations of the Cross that highlight Jesus’ steps along the Via Dolorosa. The church then remains open until 3:00 pm for prayer and reflection. The Good Friday Liturgy at 7:00 pm again features solemn anthems by the choir, the chanting of the Passion according to John, the veneration of the cross and communion from the reserved sacrament.

On Easter Day, April 1, we celebrate Christ’s victory over death and the promise of new life first at Early Church at 9:30 am, which is followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for children, and again at a Festival Eucharist at 11:15 am, with choir and brass. Members of the congregation are encouraged to bring bells to ring to accompany our prayers and song for the renewal and reconciliation of our lives and our world that we celebrate on this sacred feast!