Holy Week 2008 at Trinity

Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter, and this year it falls on the week of March 16 (also Spring Break). During Holy Week, Christians remember Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, his Last Supper with his disciples, his betrayal by Judas, and his crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

Trinity Episcopal Church invites you to walk alongside Jesus and experience all that Holy Week has to offer. Trinity will hold services every night during Holy Week. (Click here for a map to Trinity, located at the intersection of Country Club Rd. & the Bypass.)

Palm Sunday, March 16
8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
We begin Holy Week with cheers of Hosanna, recreating the scene with the crowd welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem as their promised Messiah. Our palm branches wave in the winds of change, though, as the tone suddenly darkens, and the events of Good Friday are foreshadowed. We hear the various voices of the drama as the Passion Gospel reading unfolds.

Monday, March 17: Evening Prayer
7:00 p.m.
We mark the beginning of our week-long vigil with the simple service of Evening Prayer ... a time to be quiet, to be present in God’s holy silence, and to listen. The many lessons we will hear this week will weave back and forth in showing the depths and the heights to which God is willing to go for us.

Tuesday, March 18: Stations of the Cross
7:00 p.m.
Step by step, we follow Jesus’ journey from judgment in Pilate’s court, through the streets of Jerusalem, to the cross and finally the cold, dark tomb. This service is an adaptation of the ancient custom of pilgrimage. Pictures of artistic masterpieces representing each of the stations will accompany the service.

Wednesday, March 19: Tenebrae
7:00 p.m.
"Tenebrae" (pronounced TEN-uh-bray) comes from the Latin for “darkness” or “shadow,” and it is indicative of the character and message of this service. During the liturgy, candles are gradually extinguished until only a single candle remains, representing the Light of Christ in the midst of our darkness. This candle is then hidden, symbolizing the apparent victory of the forces of evil of this world. However, at the very end, a loud noise is made, signifying the earthquake at the time of the resurrection (Matthew 28:2), the hidden candle is restored to its place, and by its light all depart in silence.

Maundy Thursday, March 20: Agape Meal & Service
6:15 p.m.
"Maundy" is from the Latin mandatum, meaning "commandment. " It refers to Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me,” which is the institution of the Holy Eucharist. On this very special night, we begin at 6:15 p.m. with a shared meal, much like Jesus’ disciples would have experienced. Then we move into the church for a service honoring Jesus’ commandment and in the imitation of Christ by washing one another’s feet. All are invited to participate in both having their feet washed and in washing someone else’s. Wear shoes and socks or sandals that are easily removed. It is powerful to wash someone else’s feet; it is perhaps even more powerful to allow someone else to wash ours.

Following the service, as the congregation chants a psalm, we remove all of the accoutrements that decorate the sanctuary. It symbolizes the stripping of Jesus’ robes from his body as well as the emptiness of the tomb to which he is soon headed. A vigil, like Jesus’ in the Garden at Gethsemane, will be kept through the night in the presence of the reserved sacrament of bread and wine.

Good Friday, March 21
12:00 noon & 7:00 p.m.
On this day which is both horrible because of what happens in the crucifixion of Jesus, and unimaginably good because of what it means about God going to any length to redeem us, we remember Jesus’ total offering of himself. We do not celebrate the Eucharist, but we distribute communion in silence from the reserved sacrament from Thursday evening. A large wooden cross is displayed as a focus for our meditation. The plate offering this day goes, as it does every year, to the Diocese of Jerusalem, which has provided a Christian witness in the Holy Land for more than 150 years. It is a diocese seeking to provide healing and peace in the midst of a perennially war-torn region. You can learn more about their tireless efforts at http://www.j-diocese.com.

The Great Vigil of Easter, March 22
7:00 p.m.
Reckoning by Hebrew standards, as darkness falls on Holy Saturday, that long, lonely day is finally over and it is the eve of the new day, the eve of what we will discover is the Resurrection. We gather in darkness to light the new fire. This fire will illumine our Paschal Candle, whose light leads us into the darkened church, reminiscent of the darkened tomb. Here, we gather to remind ourselves of why we should have hope, despite all that has happened. And then we discover the unbelievably good news that Christ is indeed risen. The darkness and sadness, the tears and the sting of death are forever banished as we celebrate the first Eucharist of the Resurrection.

Easter Sunday, March 23
Services at 8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
Potluck Breakfast at 9:30 a.m.
It’s true – the tomb really is empty! We celebrate with joyous music and sharing the Great News! Bring fresh flowers to decorate the cross at each service. Also bring whatever favorite breakfast/brunch food you’d like to share. After the second service, we’ll have the Great Easter Egg Hunt for our younger members!

Be a July Monk

Worship & Pray; Work & Learn
Spend two weeks (or more) with the monks of St. Gregory's Abbey, a Benedictine monastary of the Episcopal Church at Three Rivers, Michigan.

More Information
For males 18 to 45 who can stay for at least two weeks during July. The only cost is $25 for registration plus your own travel expenses. (ECM may have scholarship assistance available for travel.)

For details and an application form, write:
July Program Director
St. Gregory's Abbey
56500 Abbey Road
Three Rivers, MI 49093-9595

Web: saintgregorysthreerivers.org

I'm Feelin' A Healin'!

At our last ECM meeting, our peer minister, sophomore Annie Reimsnider, offered a dang good reflection based on John 5:1-18. In case you missed it, here it is:

"Do you want to be healed?" It's a strange question that Jesus poses, but perhaps not as strange as the answer he receives from a man born blind.

Instead of a resounding "YES--pretty please with sugar on top--heal me NOW!" comes a quite confusing statement: "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes ahead of me."

"Do you want to be healed?" "Well, I have no one to help me. Someone always jumps in front when I'm almost there." Not exactly the expected response, but perhaps--just perhaps--a meaningful one... one that shows the true feelings of the outcast.

As much as this blind man might want to be healed, he sees little chance and begins to offer excuses on why he can't be and why his life is so overwhelming that he doesn't deserve to be healed.

Everyone has reached a point in their lives when they have felt like they have hit rock bottom, and whether they have or not, it begins to eat away at their confidence. This man has been sick for over 38 years ... 38 years of trying to get into that pool. Had I been in his position, I definitely would have made excuses, too.

In situations today, we don't necessarily fail to get into that pool, but we tend to wallow in our self-pity. We tend to want so badly to stretch that hand out and say, "Help me," but either because we feel we are unworthy or too far gone to be helped, we keep our hands in our pockets and lie in the beds we've made. We forget that our God is lying next to us wanting us to ask and in some situations giving us no choice but to accept his intervention.

So Jesus heals the man in this story (and us as well) and leaves, but comes back later to say, "Hey, if you don't want to be there again, don't sin anymore." Or to us, "Hey, you over there, be good ... stay true ... stay with me, and you won't feel that helplessness anymore.

In this story, Jesus' intervention happens to occur on a Saturday, the Sabbath, a time for rest and reflection. No work--including healing or mat moving--is to be done this day. So when people get mad at Jesus for "working" on the Sabbath, Jesus' answer is simple: "My Father is working today. So must I."

Jesus is more grace centered than law centered. He would rather heal someone and watch them believe than let them suffer just because of a silly law. The Sabbath is to honor his Father. What better way than than to heal and bring one more into the flock of believers?

But Jesus saying that he is the Son of God would cause more of a commotion than the act of healing itself. It is the ammunition, the fuel to the fire of persecution. Even now while doing the work of his Father, he is on a long road to the cross. This is the core of Lent--the persecution and death of Jesus. It's beginning, becoming real; his sacrifice of blood is just around the corner.

Let us join in the walk with him. And let us understand that he is with us all the time and that the cross was just another step to assure us that we are his ... no matter what.

Hangin' with the Bish

Last Tuesday night was particularly special for us because it was our first ever visitation from Bishop Henry Louttit, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. We are very fortunate to have a bishop who is extremely supportive of ministries with college students and young people.

The night was also special because we got to have a preview/tour of our new Episcopal Campus Ministry house on Fair Road, which will be opening in time for the beginning of next semester. The Bishop celebrated Eucharist (communion) for us there the in the garage that will soon be our new chapel. Afterwards, we all went out to El Sombrero, a favorite Statesboro spot for the Bishop since he loves Mexican food.

So what does a bishop do? Good question. Bishops are the overseers of the Church. They ordain new priests and deacons; they help to govern the larger Church; and they serve to remind us that we are all knit together in One Body.

Bishop Louttit lives in Savannah, but he oversees about 70 churches spread across south Georgia. Bishops spend a lot of time traveling and visiting with their congregations, and it's really cool that he took the time to stop by and see us.

Check out Bishop's Louttit's special greeting to GSU students on our website at www.ecmgsu.org/bishop.htm.