The Pathfinder: April 1st, 2026
The Holy Week Special
Turning Again: The Three Great Days
We’ve come again to our most essential story as Christians. As you might have heard the Rev. Ruth Meyers preach on Palm Sunday, the pattern that we are following goes back to at least the 4th century in Jerusalem. Early pilgrims retraced the steps of the Christ so that they could more viscerally and fully enter into this profound Mystery.
What I always find fascinating about Holy Week is that even though each year we try something new––a new piece of music, a revised ritual, new art, another way to gather––much of our worship for these three great days remains the same. Every year we read the story from the Gospel of John, we sing many of the same hymns from the fifth century and the 11th century and the 18th century and the 21st century. And yet, somehow, each year something is different.
Over two decades ago, the great liturgical scholar Louis Weil introduced me to the idea of the spiral of Holy Week. Even though many of the hymns and poems and Scripture and structures are the same, every year we come to this week we are different. We have changed, the world has changed since we engaged the story a year ago, and every year that we make this turn again, we enter more deeply inward as the truth of these days finds a place of greater depth inside of us.
Below you’ll find snapshots of what the services here at All Souls will be like on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, on our way to Easter Sunday. I encourage you to come to a service that you haven’t been a part of before and, if at all possible, to participate in one of the services on each of the three days.
I trust that every moment you are present, every hour of worship and prayer, of silence and song, will offer a new way for you to come close to the great love of God.
See you soon.
– Phil+
Maundy Thursday
This meal is no regular church potluck - it’s a full feast. The eating and fellowship is interspersed with song, chant, and prayer, creating a ritual-like atmosphere. This kid-friendly, family-style dinner grounds us in our remembering the last meal that Jesus shared with his friends, which we commemorate together right afterwards with the Maundy Thursday liturgy.
The festive fellowship that we cultivate around tables and over food will stay with us but will shift tenor as we move into the Nave for the solemn service. There, as we listen to the story of Jesus and his disciples gathered together for the last time before his Passion, we are invited to embody the story ourselves—by doing as Jesus did and gently washing each other’s feet. Then, as we strip the altar bare at the conclusion of the liturgy and process to the Chapel, I am reminded why we begin the evening gathered around tables, sharing a meal together: This night can be hard. What it signifies is difficult. We are asked to stay, to remain with Christ through his agony in the garden, and to hold vigil with him until morning. But we do not do it alone.
The Agape Meal at the start of the evening reminds us that we do this in community, with the support of one another. The food and fellowship that we enjoy as the dusk falls sustain us as we walk together toward all that the night will hold.
It is not too late to sign up to attend the feast. Please RSVP here or contact Richard Lynch (rflynch@sbcglobal.net) directly.
Join us on this holy evening… Enjoy the meal, savor it; linger in the laughter and delight in the company you share it with. May it be the nourishment we need as we journey together through these sacred days and nights.
The Agape Meal is at 6p in the Parish Hall. The Maundy Thursday service (which is also live-streamed) begins at 7:30p in the Nave.
A reminder: Prayer Vigil sign-ups are still open. In the Chapel, we will pray with the body and blood of Christ through the night, just as the disciples were instructed to do when Jesus went into the garden to pray. We will take turns holding vigil in hour-long shifts, from 9:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. (April 2nd-3rd). To sign up for a shift, add your name to this spreadsheet or talk to our Vestry chaplains, Jesse Kadjo, Sarah Bakker Kellogg, or Lia Deihr.
– Annie Hayes
Good Friday
On Good Friday, I always feel something that slightly surprises me: suspense. I know the outcome of the story we’re enacting. I know that in just another day, we’ll celebrate the Resurrection, as we do every year. And yet in spite of this knowledge, I find myself entertaining another possible ending. What if this time, life doesn’t emerge on the other side of death? What if the darkness remains, and the light is not strong enough to emerge anew?
Good Friday invites us into a liminal space of risk and uncertainty. We come face to face with our human capacity for destruction, the fact that we— acting from fear, selfishness, anger, scarcity, love of power— have crucified Christ. And we stay there, longer than it feels comfortable, long enough that we have time to really ponder a world without God.
Amid that wondering, we practice reverence, adorning the cross in gratitude that Jesus suffered for us. We practice temporary absence: a barren and stripped altar, no communion. And in a noon-3p contemplative service, we hear stories our fellow community about betrayal, loss, shame, hope, and transformation as they reflect on the themes of the Passion in their own lives.
The evening ends with a service in the Parish Hall. We say the Solemn Collects, and we don’t take communion. We venerate the icon of the crucifixion, adorning it with scarlet rose petals. We kneel and kiss the wood.
We invite you to enter into this waiting time, and to live into the question of the Resurrection, until together we enter the next phase of our story on Saturday night.
Join us in the Nave on Friday April 3rd from noon-3 for a drop-in contemplative service, and again in the Parish Hall at 7:30p for a solemn liturgy.
– Emily+
Holy Week for Families
The Triduum—the Three Great Days—has for centuries upon centuries been a time for Christians to gather and retrace the last steps of Christ.
From Maundy Thursday to Good Friday to Holy Saturday, we as a community at All Souls engage each year in profound and meaningful liturgies, many of which speak to children, but which are not always accessible to them either because of their timing or length.
We encourage kids to come to our Maundy Thursday agape feast: 6pm on Thursday the 2nd (see above).
And, we especially invite children and families to our Holy Week for Kids service on Good Friday (April 3rd) at 4pm.
Using the framework of Godly Play, this service offers a time to slow down and get ready as we encounter this holy story of the last time Jesus came to Jerusalem. We’ll sing, listen, and wonder aloud together. Then, we’ll take turns at different interactive stations: foot-washing, watercolors, a themed snack, and Stations of the Cross. No need to sign up - just come! This is specially designed for kids pre-K to 5th grade, but all ages are welcome.
Finally, a note: many families choose to participate in all or most of the Triduum services, even with small children. These days can be mesmerizing, moving, and deeply significant for kids, creating memories that last a lifetime (even if they don’t fully understand what’s going on, and even if it’s past bedtime!). My own faith was profoundly shaped by attending Easter Vigils as a child, in ways I didn’t see until years later. So, although the 4-5p Holy Week for Kids service is encouraged, kids are also more than welcome to attend the other services of Holy Week. I am happy to talk to any families about how to make this feel accessible and what each service entails.
– Emily+
Reconciliation
One quiet and powerful way to prepare for the coming of Easter is through the Rite of Reconciliation (sometimes known as Confession). In the Episcopal Church, the Rite of Reconciliation is a sacred practice of naming our sins before God in the presence of a priest, receiving spiritual counsel, and hearing the words of absolution. It is never about shame; it is about release, healing, and reminding ourselves of the vast, unconditional grace and love of God.
One way to think about “sin” is simply a state of separation – separation from your true self, your values, or the people you care about. Reconciliation is a way to restore relationship and closeness, and to examine what gets in the way.
The common motto for Reconciliation is "All may, some should, none must." In our Church, it is’t required, but rather offered as an open invitation for those who feel called. Information shared in Reconciliation is kept in the strictest confidence. Clergy will never share what you’ve shared, or approach you about it later, unless you give direct permission.
Phil+ and Emily+ will both be offering times for Reconciliation on Good Friday in the Chapel:
10:00-11:00 - Emily
3:30-4:30 - Phil
Drop by the Chapel. You can walk in, if the door is open, or sign up for a slot on the sheet outside the door and wait in the hall.
– Emily+
Holy Saturday
In the language of our Godly Play stories, Holy Saturday is the day when all of Creation holds its breath. Our day begins with a simple, spare service with readings and a short reflection in the Chapel of the Nativity at 9:30am. Then the day is spent in preparation, for what will unfold that night with the Easter Vigil and into the next day for Easter Sunday.
My first experience with an Easter Vigil happened over twenty years ago this month. I was in my first year as a priest, serving as an Associate Rector in a church that at the time did not practice the Easter Vigil. So I reached out to a friend and colleague who served at St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco to see if I could be part of their Vigil.
I had never been part of an Easter Vigil––sunrise services and Easter Sundays with brass and flowers, yes, but not a Vigil. Many of those Easter morning services were beautiful and moving. But I think that I understood the resurrection of the Christ in an embodied, fundamentally different way that first Vigil 20 years ago. There is something about telling story after story after story from the arc of salvation, hearing poems and midrash in response, singing to the saints to “Come, rejoice with us!”, entering into the Easter proclamation, and the Resurrection Gospel and Communion anew that is profound and often brings me to tears.
If you have yet to experience an Easter Vigil be sure to dress warmly, as the first part of the service is outside in the courtyard. Come rejoice with us, starting at 8p this Saturday, April 19th!
Join us on Saturday in the Chapel at 9:30a, and in the courtyard at 8p.
Note: Dress warm for the outdoor part. Bring bells! And, the Easter Vigil service will include incense.
– Phil+
Easter Sunday
He is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
As one of the most anticipated and exciting celebrations of the entire Church year, Easter fills us and thrills us with the ultimate triumph.
Beyond the excitement of the brass and timpani, loud singing of our favorite Easter hymns, the incredible liturgical decorations, art and vestments, and the joy of a huge assembly, a deeper mystery hides in plain sight. Jesus’ resurrection means we have nothing left to fear: not death, not the crowds who shouted “Barabbas,” not the leaders who betray us, not economic uncertainty (the disciples are back at their fishing nets - too soon?) and not each other. Instead, the overwhelming message the resurrected Jesus brings is “Peace.”
As the church fills with our friends, families, and visitors at two Easter Sunday services, as children run around gleefully at the Parish Easter Egg hunt—amidst the joy of community, the bursting forth of new life, and the miracle of the Resurrection—don’t forget to listen for and luxuriate in God’s Easter peace.
Our two Easter morning services are at 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. in the nave. A children’s Easter egg hunt for kids 5th grade and under will talk place in the courtyard between the services, with a start time around 10:15/10:30.
– Matt Wolka, Associate for Music
Holy Week 2025 Schedule
Here is the full schedule for the week. Live-streamed services are indicated with *.
Maundy Thursday
6p Agape Meal, featuring feasting, prayer and song.
7:30p Eucharist, with the Washing of Feet, Stripping of the Altar, and Procession to the Altar of Repose*
9p-9a Overnight vigil (April 2nd-3rd)
Good Friday
10-11a Drop-In Rite of Reconciliation with Emily+, in the Chapel. Enter through the glass doors next to the Chapel of the Nativity, and wait in the chairs in the hall
12-3 Contemplative Service (with poetry, silence, song, and prayers)
3:30-4:30p Drop-In Rite of Reconciliation with Phil+, in the Chapel. Enter through the glass doors next to the Chapel of the Nativity, and wait in the chairs in the hall
4-5p Holy Week for Kids (interactive service with prayer stations)
7:30p Good Friday Liturgy with reading of the Passion Gospel, and Veneration of the Cross, in the Parish Hall*
Holy Saturday
9:30a Holy Saturday liturgy, Chapel
8p The Great Vigil of Easter, with lighting of the New Fire, and the First Eucharist of Easter* (don’t forget to wear warm clothes and bring your bells!)
Easter Sunday
9:00a Sung Eucharist
10:15a Easter egg hunt for children, 5th grade and younger
11:15a Sung Eucharist*
Note: There will be no 8a Chapel service on Easter Sunday, and no Bible Study.
– The All Souls Staff
Watch this video for a preview of the sounds and sights of Holy Week. We hope to see you here!
– Thanks to Emily Hansen Curran for creating this video!
And finally, a note from our Justice & Peace team…
As our parish prepares to celebrate the Three Great Days, the Justice & Peace Ministry wants to highlight two upcoming actions to show support to our immigrant neighbors and convey the hope of Easter beyond All Souls.
The first is an invitation to help stop a Dublin prison from being converted to a detention center. There’s a hearing on April 7th at 1pm, and we are all invited to attend in person or on Zoom. You can learn more and register here.
The second is an invitation to send origami cranes (tsuru) to our sister church in Tacoma Washington. The cranes will be strung together and displayed outside the DHS detention center in Tacoma, Washington as a sign of support and solidarity. You can mail the cranes to the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia (1551 10th Ave. E, Seattle, WA 98102) to arrive by April 10. Instructions for making an origami crane can be found here.
Thanks,
Jenny Kern on behalf of Justice and Peace
