Holy Week 2021
If we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will surely be united with him in a resurrection like his.
(Romans 6:5)
Holy Week: The Heart of the Christian Year
Life and death, suffering and joy: this week is at the heart of everything. In the sacred liturgies of Holy Week we participate with Jesus in his victory over evil and death. We pray for the sorrow and pain of the world, and we look with hope for God's new creation that is dawning. Join us for Holy Week at Incarnation.
Palm Sunday: March 28
The Liturgy of the Palms and the Holy Eucharist (Outdoors and Online), 9:30 a.m.
Participate on Zoom or Facebook
We gather and wave palms in celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Yet quickly we run into the reality of betrayal and sorrow, as the liturgy takes us into a reading of the story of the crucifixion from St. Mark's Gospel. This service in the central quadrangle will mark our first celebration of the Eucharist since Christmas and our first time singing together in person since before the pandemic (following California's new guidelines for outdoor singing for places of worship).
The service will be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook so those at home can participate actively. Conditions permitting, seating will be available in the quadrangle or in Farlander Hall. Later that day, Communion will be available for those not attending the in-person services.
To attend in person, register using the link above. Participants agree to follow all health guidelines, including face coverings and physical distancing. Entrance is from the parking lot at 636 Cherry Street. Please dress for the weather. Attendance is limited to 80; if the 9:30 service fills up, a second service at 11:00 will be added.
To receive Communion at home following the service, pick up a Communion kit from the parking lot entrance at 636 Cherry Street between 11:00 and 12:00 p.m. (no advance reservations required). If you're not able to pick up a Communion kit, please contact the church office at (707) 579-2604 to make arrangements to have one brought to you.
You may also take home a Communion kit for Maundy Thursday and/or Good Friday if you will be participating in these services online. Stop by during the same time period on Palm Sunday, or contact the church office at (707) 579-2604 to pick up a kit between Sunday and Thursday.
The Great Three Days:
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter
Maundy Thursday, April 1: The Holy Eucharist with the Washing of Feet (Outdoors and Online), 7:00 p.m.
Participate on Zoom or Facebook
Thursday evening we enter together into the Triduum, or Great Three Days, the heart of sacred time. After listening to the scriptures, we are invited to participate in the washing of feet. Jesus gave us this image of loving servant ministry. It is what the Church is supposed to look like, feel like, act like. We sing of love and service, and of the gift of Jesus' Body and Blood in the Eucharist. After Communion, the sacred gifts of Christ's Body and Blood are taken to a place of honor in the chapel to be reserved for tomorrow's service. Then the altar and worship space are stripped of all adornments. Tonight's liturgy has no dismissal, for it continues tomorrow on Good Friday.
The service will be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook so those at home can participate actively. Those at home can also receive Communion during this liturgy by picking up a Communion kit beforehand (see above under Palm Sunday).
To attend in person, register using the link above. Participants agree to follow all health guidelines, including face coverings and physical distancing. Conditions permitting, seating will be available in the quadrangle or in Farlander Hall. Entrance is from the parking lot at 636 Cherry Street. Please dress for the weather. Attendance is limited to 80.
Good Friday, April 2: The Liturgy of the Lord's Passion (Outdoors and Online), 7:00 p.m.
Participate on Zoom or Facebook
There is no celebration of the Eucharist on this chief fast day of the year. Instead we gather for a solemn liturgy centered on the story of Christ’s Passion, this time from St. John’s Gospel. We join in Christ’s prayer from the cross, praying at length for all the world's needs using an ancient form of the Prayers of the People. We pray before a wooden cross, an instrument of suffering turned into the sign of our salvation, and one by one we may choose to come forward to do reverence with a kiss or a bow or a genuflection. Finally, we share Communion from the holy Bread and Wine consecrated the previous day. All the while we sing, not only of sorrow but also of the glory of the cross. Once again, there is no dismissal; our liturgy continues at the Great Vigil of Easter.
The service will be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook so those at home can participate actively. Those at home can also receive Communion by picking up a Communion kit between Sunday and Thursday (see above under Palm Sunday).
To attend in person, register using the link above. Participants agree to follow all health guidelines, including face coverings and physical distancing. Conditions permitting, seating will be available in the quadrangle or in Farlander Hall. Entrance is from the parking lot at 636 Cherry Street. Please dress for the weather. Attendance is limited to 80.
Saturday, April 3: The Great Vigil of Easter (Online), 8:00 p.m
Participate on Zoom or Facebook
Hungry now and full
of excitement, the
Church gathers in darkness to light a
new fire and a great
candle that will make
this night bright.
In the words of the great song of praise sung tonight by the deacon, "This is the night when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave!" We listen to some of
the most powerful
scriptures in our Bible:
stories of creation,
Abraham and Isaac,
Moses and Miriam and
the crossing of the sea,
poems of promise and
rejoicing. Then, we renew our
Baptismal promises, renouncing evil and professing our faith in Christ. On this night we share with Christ in his passage through death into risen life, proclaiming the arrival of Easter with lights, bells, and shouts of "Alleluia: Christ is risen!"
This year our Easter Vigil will be a shared celebration on Zoom and Facebook with our siblings from six other congregations in the Russian River Deanery.
Easter Sunday, April 4: The Holy Eucharist (Indoors; no music), 8:00 a.m.
Register to Attend in Person: 8:00 (Indoors)
The celebration from last night spills over into this morning and carries us to the altar for the first Eucharist of Easter--and Incarnation's first indoor service since before the pandemic. Because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, we can't sing together indoors, but the church will be beautiful and we will rejoice to be together for this simple, spoken liturgy.
To attend in person, register using the link above. Participants agree to follow all health guidelines, including face coverings and physical distancing. Entrance is from the front of the church at 550 Mendocino Avenue. Attendance is limited to 40.
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Easter Sunday, April 4: The Holy Eucharist (Outdoors and Online), 9:30 and 11:00 a.m.
Register to Attend in Person: 9:30 (Outdoors)
Participate on Zoom or Facebook (9:30)
Register to Attend in Person: 11:00 (Outdoors)
Our celebration continues! This principal service of Easter morning will include hymns, choral music, and the Holy Eucharist in our outdoor worship space in the central quadrangle, with additional seating in Farlander Hall. Christ is risen and the world is renewed--and we are ready for fifty days of rejoicing.
The 9:30 service will be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook so those at home can participate actively. Later that day, Communion will be available for those not attending the in-person services.
To attend in person, register using the link above. Participants agree to follow all health guidelines, including face coverings and physical distancing. Entrance is from the parking lot at 636 Cherry Street. Please dress for the weather. Attendance is limited to 80 at each in-person service.
To receive Communion at home following the service, pick up a Communion kit from the parking lot entrance at 636 Cherry Street between 11:00 and 12:00 p.m. (no advance reservations required). If you're not able to pick up a Communion kit, please contact the church office at (707) 579-2604 to make arrangements to have one brought to you.
The Fifty Days of Easter
Easter is not just a day: it's a full fifty-day season. For seven weeks our Easter celebration continues as the ongoing mystery of Christ's resurrection unfolds in our lives, culminating at the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday, May 23. Stay tuned for further information about our worship schedule during Eastertide.
Christ, who has been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So too, consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:9-11)
Portions of the above text were adapted from The Three Days to Save ©1991, 2009 Archdiocese of Chicago, www.LTP.org. Original text written by Gabe Huck. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
