Worship resources for Holy Week and Easter
These resources were gathered for use by congregations and individuals during the 2020 coronavirus shutdown. They are archived here for reference.
Liturgical Resources for Holy Week and Easter 2020
From the Bishop’s Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Los Angeles
Holy Week at Home/ Semana Santa en Casa
Adaptations of the Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Day rituals for family and household prayer.
Adaptaciones del Domingo de Ramos, Jueves Santo, Viernes Santo, Vigilia Pascual y Rituales del Domingo de Pascua para oración familiar
Offered by Liturgical Press and created for a Roman Catholic audience, this has some helpful ideas particularly for Palm Sunday at home.
In English here: in Spanish here.
Reflections on Stations of the Cross / Reflexiones sobre el Vía Crucis
From Episcopal Migration Ministries
The audio compilation features the liturgy of the Way of the Cross from the Book of Occasional Services, alongside meditations on each station.
English:
Booklet (5.5″ x 8.5″)
Booklet (8.5″ x 11″)
Audio: Podcast on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and Stitcher.
Spanish:
Folleto 8.5” x 11”
Podcast: Este podcast está disponible en SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify y Stitcher.
The Electronic Campfire: New Storytelling from Scripture
Five Old Testament stories from the Easter Vigil are retold with “wit and wonder” by the Rev. Jim Friedrich (writer/director) and Angela Lloyd. The Creation, Flood, the Red Sea, the Binding of Isaac, and The Valley of Dry Bones offer fresh perspectives on the Bible and its meanings. Friedrich is a priest of the Diocese of Los Angeles, now resident in Bainbridge Island, Washington. View video here (YouTube)
Ecumenical coalition offers invitation and resources for Holy Week and Easter during pandemic
[April 7, 2020] Christian Churches Together, Churches Uniting in Christ, and The National Council of Churches have joined together to offer ideas and resources for Christians who are observing Holy Week and Easter in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their suggestions include:
- Share in a home foot-washing with those with whom you are sheltering in place on Holy Thursday to replicate Jesus asking his disciples to serve each other.
- Share in prayers at home on Good Friday and blow out a candle to symbolize the crucifixion.
- Hang white Christmas lights (or other lights, or electric candles) on Holy Saturday and turn them on Easter morning in time for what might have been your Easter Sunrise service.
- Hang the attached template of a cross and dove (maybe colored by your children) in your front window or on your front door.
- Write in chalk on your driveway or sidewalk the words, “Christ is risen!”
- Ring your church bells at noon on Easter Day.
- Step outside with the persons with whom you are sheltering in place and offer a prayer of thanksgiving.
- View an additional online service of a church of another racial or ethnic background and offer prayers for that community.
Maundy Thursday: A liturgy for washing hands (in lieu of washing feet) in a time of pandemic
From the Rev. Neil Tadken, rector of St. Luke’s Church, Monrovia
The Washing
The Celebrant says to the People:
Fellow servants of our Savior Jesus Christ: On the night before his death, Jesus set an example for his disciples by washing their feet, an act of humble service. He taught that strength and growth in the kingdom of God come not by power, authority, or even miracle, but by such lowly service, and he commanded the disciples to follow his example by washing one another’s feet.
This year we cannot gather in person for this holy remembrance, but we can gather online and do a washing that is of far more importance and symbolic power in this age of the COVID-19 pandemic, that of washing our hands. This act of washing represents our commitment to humble service to and care for the most vulnerable around us. So let this be a holy act for you, not only this evening, but throughout the weeks and months to come.
Therefore I invite all of you who share in the royal priesthood of Christ to now follow the healing spirit of our Master, who said, “I give you a new commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
People: Peace is my last gift to you, my own peace I now leave with you; peace which the world cannot give, I give to you
Celebrant: By this shall the world know that you are my disciples: That you have love for one another.”
People: Peace is my last gift to you, my own peace I now leave with you; peace which the world cannot give, I give to you
Members of the online community are invited to wash their hands with soap and water.
The Prayers of the People
The Peace
Celebrant: The peace of Christ be always with you.
People: And also with you
Then the People and Ministers may greet one another in the name of the Lord.