Dear St. Lukers,
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. When we realized last year that our Holy Week and Easter Sunday would have to be entirely virtual, we made the decision that our first Sunday back we would have a big Easter celebration. We never imagined then that we would be celebrating another Holy Week and Easter in a pandemic, with the vast majority of our worship still happening virtually.
And yet – with vaccines becoming more and more available, we are starting to see some light at the end of this long tunnel we’ve been in. We start to see that Easter sunrise coming up of resurrection from a year of pandemic. And while we’re not there yet, this Holy Week we are seeking to journey together in some new ways, and with an Easter celebration that does tell the great story of joy in resurrection – in true St. Luke’s style, no less.
So join us as we conclude The Hero’s Journey and walk through Holy Week toward the sunrise of Easter, and the promise of resurrection!
Important Note: If you are planning to join us online, take note that for certain services or experiences, we will have a worship packet for you to pick up at the church office anytime starting March 24 so you will have everything you need to participate at home!
Palm Sunday, March 28
- Morning: Join us for Palm Sunday at 9:15 a.m. for Contemporary worship or 11:00 a.m. (NEW TIME!) for Traditional worship. We’re continuing the tradition of “bring your own palms,” so whether you’re worshiping online or on campus, be sure you’ve got your palm branches ready to wave and celebrate! If you have palms to share, you can drop them off in the church welcome hall during office hours anytime next week. We’ll use those to decorate our worship spaces, and to share with our in person congregation on Palm Sunday.
- Afternoon: The Palm Sunday celebration will continue into the afternoon as well – at 4:00 p.m., we have a special experience for all ages called “Animals of Holy Week.” This is an outdoor, intergenerational worship opportunity where we will explore the meaning of Holy Week with the help of a few LIVE animal friends! You can register to participate in-person here, or watch live on St. Luke’s Facebook page. Bring the whole family!
Holy Thursday, April 1
Our Holy Thursday service will be a new opportunity for a more casual, intimate experience. We’ll be creating our own Upper Room in-person with picnic blankets, or you can join in online at home around your dinner table! Have your evening meal ready to go, as eating together will be a key part of this 7:00 p.m. service. We will join in song, liturgy, conversation, story, and a shared but socially distant meal. If you’re joining us on-campus, click here to register, and make sure to bring your folding chairs, picnic blankets, and food to share. If you will be watching live on Facebook, you can pick up a packet of supplies for this service at the church office anytime starting March 24 during office hours. Be sure you’ve set up your screen to be able to watch worship from your dinner table!
Good Friday, April 2
- Walk-through Experience: We’re offering a new take on Good Friday with a walk-through “Stations of the Cross” experience on campus. You will receive your “hero’s bag” of supplies as you go on Jesus’ journey to the cross throughout St. Luke’s campus. This experience will be open beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, with the hours of 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. geared especially toward families with young children, and will re-open from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Friday evening. Pre-registration is required to accommodate social distancing, so click here to reserve a time slot.
- Virtual Experience: If you are joining us online, there will be a special live stream on St. Luke’s Facebook page beginning at 7:00 p.m. that will take you through the same walk-through experience, along with some additional music and liturgy. Be sure you pick up your “hero’s bag” in the church office starting March 24 so you have all the supplies you will need.
Holy Saturday, April 3
If you’ve gone on the journey through our baptismal vows this Lent, Holy Saturday will be an opportunity to commit, or re-commit yourself to Christ. For this in-person only experience, we will join together at 7:00 p.m. on campus for a vigil service where we walk through our covenant as the early Christians did on the night leading into the Easter celebration. If you have not yet made a partnership (membership) commitment with St. Luke’s but feel it might be time to take that next step in your journey, we’ll be offering that partnership opportunity as part of this service, as well as baptism. If you’ve found yourself needing to re-focus or re-commit yourself as a result of this Lenten journey, we invite you to come remember your baptism, re-commit yourself to Christ our hero, and welcome new partners into our community. Click here to register for this special time of worship.
Easter Sunday, April 4
Resurrection Sunday at St. Luke’s will be one to remember this year! In order to safely gather with as much of our community as possible, both in-person and online, we are taking Easter off-campus! Join us at 9:15 or 11:00 a.m. at Olympia High School Stadium for an outdoor, blended, all-ages service that will be sure to make you “come alive” with the joy of resurrection! Click here to register for in-person worship and select a worship time. Our tech team is hard at work to make this in-person experience also available live via St. Luke’s Facebook page so we can all worship together on Easter Sunday whether in-person or online.
Whether you join us for Holy Week and Easter in-person or online, it’s not St. Luke’s without U! Have a great day, and I will see you on Sunday for worship!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Melissa