Holy Week - Trinity Excelsior

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
Holy Week 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
      Palm Sunday
      Holy Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
      Maundy Thursday
      Good Friday
      Holy Saturday / Easter Vigil
      Easter Sunday
 Agape Meal Ritual ............................................................. 12
 Coloring Easter Eggs ......................................................... 15
 Making an Easter Bonnet / Hat .......................................... 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, clergy, 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 Jesus’ 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 Easter Vigil 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 Stations of the Cross. 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.
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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 Jerusalem
   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 Lent, 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 Bible and Book of Common

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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: office@trinityexcelsior.org. 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 office@trinityexcelsior.org 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 procession 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 resurrection of Jesus 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
Easter bonnet 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 hats 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
Irving Berlin’s 1948 film “Easter Parade” 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 easter parade.
   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
United States. 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 clothing with outfits full of pastel
colors and spring flowers, to again signal a renewal of life. In the
                               1870s, the first Easter Parade in New
                               York City 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
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