Alleluia! Jesus is risen! Trumpets resounding in glorious light!
Splendor, the Lamb, heaven forever! Oh, what a miracle God has in sight!
Jesus is risen and we shall arise. Give God the glory! Alleluia!
Walking the way, Christ in the center telling the story to open our eyes;
Breaking our bread, giving us glory; Jesus our blessing, our constant surprise.
Jesus is risen and we shall arise. Give God the glory! Alleluia!
Weeping, be gone; sorrow, be silent; death put asunder, and Easter is bright.
Cherubim sing: O grave, be open! Clothe us with wonder, adorn us in light.
Jesus is risen and we shall arise. Give God the glory! Alleluia!
Text: Herbert Brokering, 1926-2009, Evangelical Lutheran Worship No. 377

Dear People of St. Paul’s,

Welcome to the holiest of weeks in the life of the church, which begins on Palm Sunday, March 28. As we observe these holy days at St Paul’s this year, we do so with an amazingly gracious addition to our sanctuary which will be relished for generations to come: the newly-installed stained glass depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus, given by the estate of Gertrude F. “Gertie” Miles.

With the addition of this set of three windows in the balcony, our sanctuary will now be complete with the two major redemptive scenes from the life of Jesus – his saving death and resurrection — serving as “book-ends” to the east and west, behind and before us. Flanking those depictions on our right and left are other scenes from the life of Jesus: his nativity, teaching in the temple, blessing the children, healing the sick and blind, feeding the multitude, walking on water, knocking on the door, carrying the lambs, praying in the garden, and ascending into the clouds. But chiefly in these days to come, we are remembering the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus for us and for our salvation. Blessings to you as you come to worship and go to serve Christ crucified and risen!

Palm / Passion Sunday, March 28: We gather outside the front doors of the church to begin our great procession into Holy Week, remembering Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem which ushered in the last week of his life on earth. Everyone receives a palm branch as we shout our “Hosannas in the highest” and read the story of the passion of our Lord according to St. Luke in a congregational “reader’s theater.”

And then, as we arrive at the crucifixion portion of the story, our attention will turn to the new windows in the balcony which for the very first time will illustrate our communal hearing of the crucifixion narrative. We will celebrate the installation of the windows with a solemn rite of dedication, and following the Palm Sunday service, we will gather for a festive catered luncheon in the Parish Hall, with our special guests David Judson of Judson Studios and Tim Carey, the artist who designed the windows. If you plan to attend the luncheon, please indicate your intention by calling the parish office or making a note on the back of an attendance card so we might have an accurate count. There is no charge for the luncheon.

Maundy Thursday, April 1: We gather at 7:30 p.m. to remember the night Jesus had a last meal together with his friends, the same evening on which he also took a towel and a basin of water and washed the feet of his followers, the night he gave a mandatum (a new “mandate” and thus the word maundy): to love one another. On this night, the night of his betrayal and arrest, we remember and do likewise as we wash one another’s feet and gather around the Lord’s table in a more intimate way. The liturgy concludes with the stripping of the altar, a reminder of our Lord’s humiliation at the hands of his enemies.

Good Friday, April 2: At 12 noon, we gather for a simple liturgy of the “stations of the cross” in the sanctuary, as we walk the via dolorosa — the way of suffering — with Jesus at the hour of his crucifixion. This service is intentionally short (approximately 30 minutes in length) to accommodate lunchtime schedules. Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, the sanctuary will be open for prayer and reflection as we keep our Good Friday vigil beneath the cross of Jesus. At 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m., a brief interlude of scripture, prayer, and song will punctuate our silent vigil-keeping at the cross. We will gather in the balcony for those brief, five-minute interludes. At 7:30 p.m., a service of tenebrae (shadows) and adoration of the crucified one will be held in the sanctuary, with scripture, hymns, and growing darkness as we commemorate the saving death of Jesus. It was a very good Friday indeed, “for God so loved the world.”

Holy Saturday, April 3: We prepare the sanctuary for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, beginning with a continental breakfast in the parish hall at 9:00 a.m. The decorating and fellowship continues through the morning, with lunch on-the-go for all worker-bees around noon.

Easter Sunday, April 4: Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia! our triumphant, holy day, Alleluia! who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia! A warm and welcoming Easter brunch is served in the parish hall beginning at 8:30 a.m. and continues until 9:30. A children’s Easter egg hunt is planned for the morning as well. Festival Holy Communion is celebrated in the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. Our parking lot is always particularly crowded on Easter. If you are able to arrive early and find neighborhood street parking so that our many visitors may be accommodated, this would be most helpful and welcoming.

A variety of opportunities for service abound in these upcoming days. Passion story readers will be recruited “on-the-spot” on Palm Sunday morning; those willing to wash feet and have their feet washed in the rite of footwashing on Thursday night are invited to do so; Good Friday prayer vigilers are invited to stay and pray in the sanctuary that afternoon; many hands are needed on Holy Saturday (Apr. 3) to decorate and prepare the sanctuary for Easter; a wide variety of foods are needed for the Easter brunch: egg dishes, coffee cakes, muffins, fresh fruit. Help will be needed with set-up, serving, and clean-up on Easter morning. Parking lot greeters/attendants are needed on Easter morning to assist worshippers to maximize our parking lot space. If you are able to help in any of these ways, please complete a salmon-colored Holy Week/Easter participation insert in this Sunday’s bulletin, or call the parish office (310) 451-1346. Thank you!

Easter morning flowers may be purchased directly through our florist ($12 per plant), or you may provide your own plant and deliver it yourself to the church between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 3. The deadline to sponsor a plant through the church’s florist is Palm Sunday.

A special Easter offering envelope is provided for an Easter gift to support the ongoing mission and ministry of St. Paul’s. Thank you for your generous spirit in this season of newness and renewal.

May Christ crucified and risen continue to walk the way with us and remain the center of our life together as a community of his followers.

Give God the glory! Alleluia!

Pastor James Boline