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Holy Week A Booklet for Trinity Families | 2021 “If we have grown weary in this season. If we have become overwhelmed. If we are living with fear or anxiety or worry about what lies ahead. If the swirl of has become intense. If time is moving strangely. If grief has been a traveling companion. If the ground beneath us has given way. If resurrection seems less than certain. It’s Saturday. Table of Contents Holy Week Greeting ...... 4 Making a Home Altar ...... 6 Holy Week Services ...... 8 , Tuesday & Wednesday / Vigil Easter Sunday Agape Meal Ritual ...... 12 Coloring Easter Eggs ...... 15 Making an Easter / ...... 17

This is the day that calls us to breathe. This is the day that invites us to make a space within the weariness, the fear, the ache. This is the day that beckons us to turn toward one another, and to remember we do not breathe alone. It’s Saturday.” - Jan Richardson Holy Week Greeting One year ago Trinity staff, , and lay leaders found ourselves scrambling. How, as the world shut down in a matter of days, would we be able to engage our parish community in a meaningful, relational Holy Week and Easter? Isn’t Holy Week about walking the story of ’ last days together, as a community? How could we possibly bear the story alone, without each other? We persevered, offering both at-home observance as well as on-line gatherings. Somehow as a parish community we found the strength to let go, to walk the story however we could, and to allow the experience to wash over us, trusting that observing Holy Week in a new way, out of necessity rather than choice, might have the hidden benefit of cracking the story open in new ways, revealing details we had never before noticed. This year we’ve come full circle. With vaccines and phased protocols, with the relaxing of pandemic restrictions, we are beginning to emerge from the “long winter.” We will, no doubt, emerge as people having weathered the storm, having allowed it, hopefully, to change us. Liminal space has much to teach us, and we have spent the last year as a church community creating open and honest spaces to explore what a year apart, what a year spent in liminal space between the now and the not-yet, can impart. We’ll likely be well into early fall before we see large, indoor gatherings for worship. So this Holy Week and Easter will again be a bit of a “new thing” – but this time around we’re a year wiser, a year wearier, a year deeper into our relationship with the holy. You will notice a mix of old traditions entwined with new, emerging traditions. We’ll offer in-person, out-door worship for Palm Sunday and a re-imagined on Holy Saturday. We’ll gather for prayer on-line to end our work and school days. We’ll visit parishioner homes, on-line, for the Maundy Thursday observance and on Good Friday for . Our Holy Week is being brought to us by clergy/lay planning teams – who have created a true mix of on-line, in-person, at home, and in community observance of our holiest days of the church year. 4 | To get our “heads right” about Holy Week, we make this simple suggestion: be the donkey. In her poem from her book “Thirst”, Mary Oliver explains, “The Poet Thinks About the Donkey”:

On the outskirts of the donkey waited. Not especially brave, or filled with understanding, he stood and waited.

How horses, turned out into the meadow, leap with delight! How doves, released from their cages, clatter away, splashed with sunlight.

But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited. Then he let himself be led away. Then he let the stranger mount.

Never had he seen such crowds! And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen. Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.

I hope, finally, he felt brave. I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him, as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.

As we approach the holy days, let us enter the story together, fully and without reserve. Let us listen, notice, be faithful. It’s not about us. The Holy Week story is about Jesus, and about God. True, the Passion is a hard story, painful. It’s full of the worst of humanity: betrayal, greed, fear, blood thirst, jealousy, the worst kind of insecurity. But we walk the Passion not to make us feel bad, or guilty, or complicit. It’s there to draw us in and remind us. It’s there to prepare us for the real impact of Easter. This year, be the donkey. Imagine yourself waiting for Jesus. Imagine yourself watching the crowds, processing the unfolding drama, marveling at the intricacy of the story. Put one dusty hoof in front of the other, move forward. No particular amount of courage or understanding is necessary: just heart, just intent, awareness, perhaps, and a dash of compassion. May God’s Peace be yours this Holy Week and always, Trinity Staff: Devon Anderson, Eric Bigalke, Amy McGrew, Sarah Kimmelman, Anne Miner-Pearson, Gary Veazie, Chip Whitacre | 5 Making a Home Altar Trinity invites you to create a sacred space in your home called a “home altar.” This space can remind you throughout the day God is with you, as well as being the focal point for online Holy Week services. 1. Invite all who live in your household to participate in its creation. If you live alone, say a quiet prayer before you begin. 2. Building an altar is quite simple and can be done with what you have at home. Choose a surface in a low traffic area such as a windowsill, small table, portable tray table, or bookshelf. 3. As you gather the items below, keep in mind home altars don’t need much stuff on them. To avoid being cluttered, sparse is often best. Cloth or Base: a placemat, tablecloth, piece of fabric, wooden tray, charger plate, etc. You might want to match the color of the church season (purple for , red for Palm Sunday and white for Easter). Candle: real or battery operated to symbolize Jesus as the Light of the World as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit with us to help quiet our minds and center our thoughts. Cross or Icon: any shape, type, or media. If you don’t have a cross, make one. For example, on Palm Sunday you can fashion a cross out of your palm; there are many simple tutorials on You Tube. Icons are a holy image of a saint or biblical figure. You could also include any of these optional additions: Objects from nature: a stone, flower, shell, acorn, etc. These remind us of God’s creation that surrounds us always. Trinity has flowers on or near the altars as a reminder of God’s creation and abundance. Your altar could change throughout the week, for example: start with a green plant, and change to flowers on Easter. Prayers: Some people like to have a and Book of Common

6 | Prayer nearby for Compline or any of the Daily Offices. Others like a small card with a prayer on it. If there is a phrase or prayer you like, write it on paper. Others put out a bowl with paper and pen to write names of people, or what they are grateful for, on the paper and put it in the bowl as part of their prayer practice. This serves as a reminder to pray and becomes a household “collection of prayers.” Other meaningful objects: If there are multiple people in the household, each person could place one thing on the altar that is symbolic or special to them. 4. Once you set-up your sacred space, take a picture and email it to Trinity: [email protected]. We want to post photos on our Facebook page to share our home altars with each other.

| 7 Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday March 28 at 10:15 a.m. | Outdoor Service

Holy Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday March 29, 30, 31 at 8:00 p.m. | Zoom Evening Prayer

Maundy Thursday April 1 at 7:00 p.m. | Agape Meal + Zoom Service

Good Friday April 2 at 7:00 p.m. | Zoom Way of The Cross

Holy Saturday April 3 at 4:00 p.m. | Outdoor Easter Vigil + Eucharist

Easter Sunday April 4 at 9:30 a.m. | Intergenerational Celebration 10:15 a.m. | Zoom Worship Service

Ensure you receive Trinity's emails containing Zoom links by 8 | emailing [email protected] or calling 952-474-5263. Palm Sunday March 28 at 10:15 a.m. | Outdoor Service We’ll gather together outside church for the Liturgy of the Palms, followed by a around Excelsior observing Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem, and ending with a reading of the Passion back at the church. This outdoor, masked, in-person service will be in place of our regular Sunday Zoom on-line worship service.

Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday March 29, 30, 31 at 8:00 p.m. | Daily Evening Prayer The church has a long tradition of gathering for prayer and worship during each day in Holy Week, including the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday following Palm Sunday, and preceding Maundy Thursday. It is an excellent opportunity to deepen devotion, gather in fellowship, and hear the scripture appointed for these days. This year, since we can all meet on Zoom in our pajama bottoms, Trinity will be hosting special services on these days; March 29-31. The services will be based on the Evening Prayer liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer, and occur at 8:00 p.m., in lieu of the Compline services originally scheduled on these days. We invite you to join us online for these special worship services! Links will be posted in the March 25th Thursday Update, and sent out by email before each day’s service.

Maundy Thursday April 1 at 7:00 p.m. | Agape Meal & Zoom Service On Maundy Thursday we will begin the Great Three Days, or Triduum, of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, the journey from the supper table to the cross, from the cross to Easter dawn. It is the night when Jesus gathered his disciples in the upper room. It is the night when Jesus gave us the holy feast, that as we break the bread and drink the cup we may proclaim Jesus’ Good News, and come at last to his table in heaven. It is the night for preparation, watching, community and prayer. The service for this evening will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom with Eucharist streamed from the main sanctuary. You are invited to have an agape meal, including | 9 foot or hand washing as you choose, with your family before the service. A simple ritual for the meal is provided on page 12. In keeping with the tradition of the church, there is no dismissal for any of the services until Easter. The Maundy Thursday service will end with the stripping of the altar and a reading from the Gospel of Matthew after which everyone will depart in silence.

Good Friday April 2 at 7:00 p.m. | Zoom Way of the Cross Join us on Good Friday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m. for our beautiful and powerful Way of the Cross service. The service is live on Zoom with Devon "broadcasting" the opening from the historic chapel. This service is a devotion to the Passion of Christ which recalls a series of events at the end of Jesus' life from his condemnation to his burial. The Way of the Cross imitates the practice of visiting the places of Jesus' Passion in the Holy Land by early Christian pilgrims. The first stations outside Palestine were built in Bologna in the fifth century. This devotion was encouraged by the Franciscans, and it became common in the fifteenth century. There are fourteen stations for prayer and meditation in the Way of the Cross. Each station is represented during our service by a painting a member of Trinity lovingly produced. Trinity members will read a scripture pertaining to each station while their painting is shown. At the end of the service Chip and Anne will close in the candlelit main sanctuary with prayers at the large wooden cross.

Holy Saturday April 3 at 4:00 p.m. | Outdoor Easter Vigil & Eucharist This service re-claims the holiest and oldest gathering of the church year: the Easter Vigil. The earliest historical record of a Christian Easter Vigil comes from the region of Asia Minor, modern Turkey, and dates back to about the middle of the second century. The faithful held these first vigils on the evening of Passover, beginning sometime after dark, lasting past midnight, and finally ending before dawn, when the roosters began to crow. The Vigil’s main “work” is to celebrate the redemption of humanity brought about by the life, 10 | teaching, healing, suffering, death, and Christ through the telling of our sacred stories. Designed for Trinitarians of all-ages, our Easter Vigil will last approximately one-hour. Around five fires, a different story of redemption will be told. Participants will move from fire to fire in small, masked groups, keeping household units together, allowing us to safely socially distance. Historical records indicate second-century faithful fasted during the daylight hours preceding the Easter Vigil service, breaking their fast with the Eucharistic meal of bread and wine that closed the ceremony. At our Easter Vigil, we, too, will break our year-long fast, enjoying the bread and the wine of Eucharist, together, presided over by your clergy.

Easter Sunday April 4 at 9:30 a.m. | Zoom Intergenerational Celebration Easter bags (designed by Megan Emery and Jess Bruggink) will be distributed to Trinity children and youth at the Palm Sunday service. Using the items in the bag, including instructions for making an or hat, we will gather on Zoom at 9:30 a.m. for a Celebration. All of Trinity is invited to participate. April 4 at 10:15 a.m. | Zoom Worship Service Join your Trinity family for a celebratory, joyous Easter observance on Zoom. “Arrive” in your Easter finest! If it pleases you, wear an Easter hat – store bought or homemade (see instructions page 17). During announcements we’ll ask the children to go find their “Alleluia” banners, colored and hidden on the last Sunday before Lent. Our Chapel will be beautifully decorated and our service adorned with special music. After the service, stay for an Easter coffee hour, hosted by your clergy, to show off your Easter and decorated Easter eggs.

| 11 Agapé Meal Ritual for at Home The Agape Meal commemorating Jesus’ greatest commandment to love one another, dates back to the early church. Before church was formalized, before the Eucharist became the ceremony we know today, early Christians would gather around their tables to recall the fellowship Jesus had with his disciples, to read scripture, tell stories, and pray. This Maundy Thursday, you are invited into this tradition. Plan: Multiple households could prepare for this service and coordinate their celebration using a video conferencing platform and alternate reading blessings. Coordinated services could also work for people living alone who would like to observe this service with others. The service is designed for both. Prepare: Choose and prepare together a “special” meal, a meatless meal is traditional. The setting should be simple and the foods sparse and easy to fix. Suggested foods include soup and finger foods such as cheese, olives, dried fruit, crusty bread, and wine. Families could meet together at a special indoor place, hold a picnic with social distancing, gather around a table or sit on pillows. If children are in the household, invite them to help plan the menu, arrange the food on serving dishes, and set the table. Colorful cloths and tapestry, using wood or earthenware dishes, if available, would add authenticity. You may want to have a Bible nearby for the Gospel reading. If there are several people present, choose one to preside.

The Gathering At the time appointed, all gather around the table, standing as able.

The Blessings After a time of silence, the presider offers the following blessings. Over Wine: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the 12 | universe. You create the fruit of the vine; and you refresh us with the cup of salvation in the Blood of your Son Jesus Christ. May the time come quickly when we can share that cup again, even as you are with us now in our very thirst for you. Glory to you for ever and ever. Amen. Over Bread: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe. You bring forth bread from the earth; and you have fed us on our way with the bread of life in the Body of your Son Jesus Christ. Let us be fed again soon with that bread of life. And as grain scattered upon the earth is gathered into one loaf, so gather your Church in every place into the kingdom of your Son. To you be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Over the Other Foods: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe. You have blessed the earth to bring forth food to satisfy our hunger. Let this food strengthen us in the fast that is before us, that following our Savior in the way of the cross, we may come to the joy of his resurrection. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and for ever. Amen.

The Meal The meal is now eaten. If several are gathered, they first serve one another, then dine.

The Word and the Prayers At the end of the meal, the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John is read. If desired, a simple hymn can be sung. The following from Psalm 63:1-8 is then said. If there is more than one voice, it is said in unison. O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a barren and dry land where there is no water. Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place; that I might behold your power and your glory. For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; my lips shall give you praise. So will I bless you as long as I live and lift up my hands in your Name. My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips. When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the night watches. For you have | 13 been my helper, and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice. My soul clings to you, your right hand holds me fast. Presider: The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. O God of the crucified and risen One, from whom no trial or trouble can separate us: You feed us with your Word and soothe us with your Spirit, closer to us than breath itself. Make us glad this night for the life of your servant Jesus; Make us servants of all for the sake of Jesus; who for our sake gave his life for the salvation of all. In the Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Foot / Hand Washing After the Agape meal and the short service, some families might want to remember Jesus’ last night with his friends by foot washing. Jesus washed the feet of his friends as an act of love, service, and preparation. If you live with other people, and want to do it, take turns washing one another’s feet as an act of love and service. If you live alone, and want to participate in a washing ritual, handwashing is an excellent alternative. Before you begin washing, pray these words: I begin by washing, as I was washed in baptism. I cleanse my hands as I was cleansed in the waters of new birth. I do this not because I am afraid, but because I am commanded to love, and to cleanse my hands, and gather in spirit, is how I love the vulnerable, whom Jesus loved. May I be an instrument of love. May the sacrifices I make be for the good of the human family near and far. Then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Once washed, pray: Blessed be my God, for ever and ever. Amen.

14 | Coloring Easter Eggs An Ancient Tradition Mary Magdalene was the first person Jesus appeared to after his resurrection from the dead. She ran to tell Jesus’ disciples that she had seen Jesus, alive again. The disciples didn’t believe Mary until they ran to the empty tomb themselves. The initial unbelief of the disciples is thought to have launched Mary’s ministry to people who did not believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Legend has it that Mary continued to witness to the life and resurrection of Jesus for the rest of her life. And she did it with an egg – thought to be one reason we color eggs at Eastertime. According to the story, Mary Magdalene – thought to be a wealthy woman – gained an audience with the Emperor Tiberius in Rome after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Denouncing Pontius Pilate and his part in Jesus’ torture and death, Mary told the Emperor about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Holding out an egg to him, she proclaimed, “Christ is Risen!” The Emperor was not impressed. He told Mary Magdalene that there was about as much chance of a human being returning to life from the dead as there was of the egg in her hand turning red. And then the egg promptly turned red! This is why many icons painted in the Byzantine style show Mary

| 15 Magdalene holding a red egg. Even before there were followers of Jesus and the early church, eggs were a symbol of creation, spring, and rebirth. After Jesus’ resurrection, they are thought to take on deeper symbolic meaning. St. Augustine described Christ’s resurrection from the dead as a chick bursting from an egg. Today the Greek Orthodox Church distributes red Easter eggs, in memory of Mary Magdalene and the miracle of the red egg. After dinner, a tray of red colored hard-boiled eggs are brought to the table. Each person takes one egg, and pairs with another person. Taking the eggs and matching either the fat or pointed end-to-end, each pair says “Christos Anesti!” at the same time they tape the ends of the eggs together. Whoever’s egg remains unbroken wins that round. This continues until the last person has at least one end of their egg intact.

Making Red Easter Eggs From https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241849/greek-easter-eggs/ you will need the following ingredients: • 5 cups water • 12 yellow onions, skins removed and reserved • 2 tablespoons white vinegar • 12 eggs • Olive oil Step 1: Combine water, onion skins, and vinegar in a pot; bring to a boil. Set aside onions for another use. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure skins are submerged, for 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat, remove cover, and cool dye to room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Step 2: Remove skins from dye and discard skins. Place eggs in the dye and bring to a boil; cook for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and leave eggs in the dye until a deep red color is reached, about 30 minutes more. Step 3: Transfer eggs to a wire rack to dry, about 15 minutes. Step 4: Rub olive oil onto each egg to make them shiny. Store eggs in the refrigerator.

16 | Making a Bonnet or Hat The Tradition ’s 1948 film “Easter ” featured Judy Garland and Fred Astaire singing the classic tune below, cruising down New York’s Fifth Avenue looking at all the Easter outfits and finery. “In your easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, You'll be the grandest lady in the . I'll be all in clover and when they look you over, I'll be the proudest fellow in the easter parade.” Originating in Europe around the 16th Century, the tradition of wearing of an Easter Bonnet grew out of another tradition of wearing new or fancy clothes on Eater Sunday. New clothes and fancy hats were seen as a symbol of the newness of Spring and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption. The first bonnets were circles of leaves and flowers to show the cycle of the seasons. It was not until after the Civil War that the tradition caught on in the . The first Easter after the war ended was known as the “Sunday of Joy.” Mothers, wives, and daughters came out of mourning and replaced their dark with outfits full of pastel colors and spring flowers, to again signal a renewal of life. In the 1870s, the first Easter Parade in occurred. The Easter bonnet was brought into American pop culture by Irving Berlin’s song “Easter Parade” in 1933, which became even more popular in 1948 when the movie “Easter Parade” was released staring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Today men, women, and children can all wear decorative Easter hats! Whether you make your own or buy something new, there is nothing better than wearing your Easter hat “with all the frills upon it” on Easter morning.

| 17 Making an Easter Bonnet or Hat This year we invite you to create your own Easter finery, and show it off on Easter Sunday! At the Palm Sunday service, children and youth can pick up an Easter bag after which contains materials to make their own Easter hats. For adults and kids alike, there are some do-it-yourself Easter “bonnet: ideas with tons of how-to tips at https:// www.muminthemadhouse.com/easter-bonnet-ideas/ Enjoy creating your own Easter hat and join Trinity at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom to show off your Easter bonnet or hat creation!

18 | "It’s Easter Sunday. It doesn’t look like it. It doesn’t smell like it. It doesn’t really feel like it. But it’s Easter anyway. Churches are empty. There’s no sight or smell of lilies. No children dressed in new clothes for Easter Day. When I was a child I remember that all the women would come to church with hats, white and pink, and flowers and fruit adorning them. None of that today. Oh, we would sing, and we would shout, “Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!” It’s Easter. But it doesn’t look like it. It doesn’t feel like it. It doesn’t even smell like it. But it’s Easter anyway!” - Bishop Michael Curry 322 2nd Street | Excelsior, Minnesota trinityexcelsior.org