Come. Join us for worship at Church of the Redeemer in Kenmore, Washington, during Holy Week and Easter in 2023. All are welcome at Redeemer
- All races
- All religions
- All countries of origin
- All sexual orientations
- All genders
The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
The services for Holy Week and Easter Day at Redeemer
From early times Christians observed the week before Easter with special devotion. By the late fourth century, we know Jerusalem contained sites for devotion and liturgy. Many pilgrims followed the path of Jesus in the days leading up to the Crucifixion. They formed processions, worshipped where Christ suffered and died, and venerated relics.
From this start, we observe specific devotions on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Day. The services at Redeemer provide an experience of the days leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
The services at Redeemer this Holy Week and Easter:
- The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
- Maundy Thursday
- Good Friday
- The Great Vigil of Easter
- Easter Sunrise service
- Easter Day service
The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, April 2
On the Sunday before Easter, we recall Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and Jesus’ Passion on the Cross. It is known as Palm Sunday or the Sunday of the Passion. This is the first day of Holy Week. Worship services are at 8:00 am and 10:30 on Sunday, April 2.
The pilgrim Egeria witnessed the observance of Palm Sunday in Jerusalem in about 381-384. There was a procession of people down the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem waving branches of palms or olive trees. They sang psalms, including Psalm 118, and shouted the antiphon, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” We will re-enact this procession as we start our worship.
After the Liturgy of the Palms, the service changes abruptly from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the solemnity of the Passion.
Maundy Thursday, April 6
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday in Holy Week. It is the first part of the Triduum, or three holy days before Easter. Worship services are at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 6.
The name “Maundy” comes from the Latin phrase mandatum novum, “new commandment,” from John 13:34. The ceremony of washing feet was also referred to as “the Maundy.” This also commemorates the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus “on the night he was betrayed.”
The 7:00 pm service will include the washing of feet (optional for everyone) and the stripping of the altar to prepare for Good Friday. This is followed by a Gethsemane Vigil for about an hour: Can you watch with me for one hour?
Read more about Maundy Thursday.
Good Friday, April 7
The Friday before Easter Day is Good Friday, the day the church commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus. It is a day of fasting and special acts of discipline and self-denial. Worship services are at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm on Friday, April 7.
In the early church candidates for baptism, joined by others, fasted for a day or two before the Paschal feast. In the western church, the first of those days eventually acquired the character of historical reenactment of the passion and death of Christ.
Good Friday Offering
Read about how the Good Friday Offering supports the Church in the Holy Land.
The Great Vigil of Easter, April 8
The Easter Vigil is the first and, arguably, the primary celebration of Easter. It is also known as the Great Vigil. This important worship starts at 9:00 pm on Saturday, April 8, running 2-3 hours.
The service begins in darkness. It consists of four parts:
- The Service of Light. This starts the service with the kindling of new fire and the lighting the Paschal candle.
- The Service of Lessons. This has readings from the Hebrew Scriptures interspersed with psalms, canticles, and prayers.
- Christian Initiation. This is the sacrament of Holy Baptism and/or the Renewal of Baptismal Vows by all present.
- The Eucharist. This celebrates the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, and is the principal act of Christian worship. The word Eucharist is from the Greek word for “thanksgiving.” Christ’s body and blood are really present in the sacrament of the Eucharist and received by faith. Christ’s presence is also known in the gathered eucharistic community.
This liturgy recovers an ancient practice of keeping the Easter feast. Believers gathered in the hours of darkness ending at dawn on Easter to hear scripture and offer prayer. This night-long service of prayerful watching anticipated the baptisms that would come at first light and the following Easter Eucharist.
Read more about the Easter Vigil.
Easter Sunrise Service, April 9 at 7:00 am
Easter is the feast of Christ’s resurrection. The first service is at 7:00 am on April 9 in the Memorial Garden, weather permitting. If the weather isn’t permitting, the service moves to our chapel. This will be a smaller, more intimate service, to encounter Our Lord in the garden.
Easter Morning Service, April 9 at 10:30 am
Easter is the feast of Christ’s resurrection. The regular morning service is at 10:30 am on April 9 in the main church building.
Easter Day is the annual feast of the resurrection, the Pascha or Christian Passover. Faith in Jesus’ resurrection on the Sunday, or third day following his crucifixion, is at the heart of Christian belief.
This day starts the Easter Season, the Great 50 Days. It lasts until the Feast of Pentecost, celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Worship at Redeemer
If you have never been to an Episcopal Church before, you may have some questions our worship. While this page is geared towards worship on Sunday, it will give you a good idea on what to expect during Holy Week and Easter at Redeemer.
The important thing to remember is that you come to worship. That is first and foremost. The rest is just details. No one will judge you. It is OK to ask questions.
Church of the Redeemer
Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
