Holy Week remembers ‘same redemptive events’ across traditions

St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral will be pitch black at the end of Holy Week, symbolic of an empty tomb.

Believers gather outside the church, then each takes a light from a single candle as they read the resurrection gospel. Soon, the church is brightly lit once again.

For some Christians, Holy Week “is to descend into the depths of darkness, into the reality of death and suffering of Christ and rising with him into new life,” said the Rev. Paul O’Callaghan, dean of the cathedral.

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, April 9 this year, commemorating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.

Despite differing traditions, churches from different backgrounds also have things in common during Holy Week. Many have deeply tangible services, such as acting out portions of the events, from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to his death on the cross.

Many incorporate aspects of darkness and light, reminders of death and resurrection.

There are three parts to the quiet, reflective “Love Feast” at First Church of the Brethren: a ritual foot washing, a meal together and the taking of communion.

The service occurs Thursday during Holy Week, the day commemorating the Last Supper.

“That’s been a key part of how we understand ourselves,” said the Rev. Alan Stucky, pastor of the church that averages around 80 people on a Sunday morning. “The foot washing in particular is a call to humility, to service, to caring for one another and caring for each other in this world.”

‘Live in the story’

Priests will also select up to 12 parishioners to represent the 12 apostles in churches across the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, washing their feet Thursday night.

Afterward, the priest removes the Eucharist — the communion bread — from the church for three days. Priests return and strip the altar, leaving the church completely bare.

“It kind of represents Jesus moving from the Last Supper and into the garden and into his passion,” said the Rev. David Lies, vicar general of the Diocese of Wichita. “For Catholics who are used to coming into a church and experiencing the presence of the Eucharist in the tabernacle or the decorations that are there, it’s a very stark experience these next few days.”

Friday is the one day of the year that Mass is not celebrated in any Catholic church in the world.

When Easter is first celebrated Saturday night, many Catholic parishes will move into a darkened church with candles, bringing up the lights as bells are rung and the Alleluia is proclaimed for the first time since Lent began.

At St. Mark United Methodist Church, the largest black church in Wichita, a dramatic interpretation of the Lord’s Supper is performed Thursday, something the Rev. Ronda Kingwood, pastor for the church’s southeast campus, said has great impact.

“People will not just hear somebody speak the word, but they’ll be able to see it,” Kingwood said. “They’ll be like one of the disciples. They’ll be able to live in the story.”

The ‘subliminal truth’

At Eastminster Presbyterian Church, a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, children reenacted the Lord’s Supper last year with bitter herbs, bread and grape juice. This emphasized “that Jesus suffered, suffered for us, but did so voluntarily and by his death we have life,” said Rev. Stan Van Den Berg, senior pastor.

When Holy Week ends and Easter begins, the service is celebrative, with triumphant music, the sound of brass and an alleluia chorus at Eastminster.

Van Den Berg said he wasn’t surprised that different groups often have commonalities across their traditions.

“We celebrate the same redemptive events,” Van Den Berg said. “We have that in common. It’s the subliminal truth on which all of our traditions hang. It’s the truth on which we stake our lives.”

At St. George, services are no less tangible, particularly when walking through accounts of Christ’s suffering, crucifixion and death.

On “Great and Holy Friday” there is a procession with a winding sheet, symbolizing grave wrappings.

The wrappings are put in a bier, the stand a casket would be put on to be carried to the grave. The bier is carried around the church in a procession, then held up high. Believers walk under it, a reminder of the biblical verse that believers are buried with Christ in baptism, O’Callaghan said.

Welcoming new believers

Many churches see a swell in attendance during and after Holy Week.

Life.Church’s Wichita campus sees enough of an increase that it adds an extra service on Saturday. On an average weekend, the church has about 2,300 people at its Wichita campus.

While Life.Church doesn’t offer other services throughout Holy Week, the church does encourage its members to use reading plans offered through its YouVersion Bible application.

The app offers a variety of Passion Week reading plans. Particularly on Good Friday, many families from Life.Church get together and read through passages associated with that day’s reading, said the Rev. Timothy Doremus, campus pastor.

For some, the week is a time to welcome new believers.

At St. Mark, the church baptizes believers during its 7 a.m. service on Easter Sunday. The church also grows in attendance throughout Holy Week and on Easter Sunday, partly because members go into the city on prayer walks, inviting people to attend prior to the week.

Kingwood, the pastor at St. Mark, said that even though Christians across Wichita have differences, commonalities such as dramatic interpretations, foot washings or reaching out to the community are due to the importance of Holy Week to the Christian faith.

“Even if we’re different denominations, if we’re all understanding who Jesus is, if we’re all understanding the sincerity and importance of what this week means, I think we’re all trying to make sure that people get it, that people that are coming are reminded of what Jesus has done for us,” she said.

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Holy Week remembers ‘same redemptive events’ across traditions."