Holy Week Guide

Help to Enter Holy Week

It’s intense and only once a year. What is going on?

For Christians, the most important week of the year is Holy Week—the name we give the final and ultimate week of Jesus’ earthly life.

We don’t so much study that as enter it. Holy Week began in the 4th century, as Christians in Jerusalem wanted to worship Christ in the exact places where he had been, to retrace his steps during those momentous events. Therefore, our worship during Holy Week is even more tactile, often primal—waving palm fronds, touching a wooden cross, lighting a candle, washing feet, dancing, ringing bells. (This is also why it’s a great week for kids. They often enter this worship better than we do.) Even Covid can’t take all of this away.

My final word of overview is that Holy Week works as one unified week, one giant wave rising and cresting and carrying us toward the shore. We aren’t used to thinking this way. Most folks I know grew up viewing Maundy Thursday as wholly optional, Good Friday as like going to a funeral service, and Easter Vigil as that weird thing Anglicans do. Actually, those 3 services are 1 joint service. We don’t “end” the service after Maundy Thursday or Good Friday; there is no closing hymn, no recessional, no dismissal; we simply allow you a break to go home and sleep, then come back to continue in worship.

And now a few pastoral and practical words for each service:

Palm Saturday

Saturday, April 12

5pm, Pleasant Hill Community Church (PHCC)

26W401 Geneva Rd, Wheaton, IL 60187

This service features two parts, in jarring juxtaposition: (1) An outdoor palm procession. We are the crowd along the road into Jerusalem, waving palm branches and singing to welcome Jesus as he enters Jerusalem as King. (2) The Passion reading—the account of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. Now we are the crowd that turns against Jesus, shouting “Crucify him!” (Join in loudly at this part of the reading.)

Stations of the Cross

Tuesday, April 15 through Friday, April 18

Various times, PHCC

In this self-guided, interactive journey for all ages, move through the final 14 key moments of Jesus’s life, from his betrayal to his burial. This year’s time slots are:

• Tuesday, April 15, 6-9pm

• Wednesday, April 16, 8:30-10pm

• Thursday, April 17, 7:30-9:30pm, and

• Friday, April 18, 12-3:00pm with nursery available.

Maundy Thursday (Eve)

Wednesday, April 16

7pm, PHCC

The word “maundy” relates to “mandate,” because on the Thursday night before he died, Jesus gave his followers a mandate: “Love each other just as much as I love you” (John 13:34). In this service, we are the disciples, and we see how much Jesus loves us: (1) Footwashing: He washes our feet (optional; wear socks and shoes easy for you to remove); (2) Communion: He gives us his life in the Last Supper; (3) Prayer Watch: He prays in agony in Gethsemane until he can take on the suffering for our sake. (You’re invited to remain in prayer following the service, as the disciples were invited by Jesus to pray with him.)

Please note: this year’s service will be on Wednesday at 7pm.

Good Friday

Friday, April 18

4pm, PHCC

Christians call this disastrous day in Jesus’ life—an event of government-sponsored torture and public execution—“good.” In what possible way could “Good Friday” be good? Because a greater plan was at work. Several times Jesus predicted that he would be betrayed, tortured, and killed (Luke 9:22; 9:44; and 18:31-33)—and, incredibly, this was part of God’s plan (Luke 22:22) and the reason Jesus came (John 12:27-28). Therefore, our worship is subdued and grateful but not like a funeral. As Ellen Richard Vosburg has written, “This is not a somber recapitulation of Jesus' death, but rather a thankful and reverently joyful recollection of his death that gave us life.” In the Good Friday service, we are eyewitnesses of Jesus’ suffering and death. We hear and participate again in the Passion narrative. And we take time to pray at the cross.

The Great Vigil of Easter

Saturday, April 19

5pm, PHCC

In the early church, new believers could not receive the sacred mystery of Communion until they had been taught and trained. The final night of their training was the night before Easter. They would stay awake all night. At dawn, as the Easter sunrise began to light the sky, they would be baptized and put on white robes. That’s how the Easter Vigil began.

Like those early believers, we spend a long time in worship (so bring water and maybe a power bar). The service comes in 4 parts:

1.     Service of Light: a new fire is kindled, and from it the Paschal Candle (Easter Candle) is lit, symbolizing Christ, the light of the world. We share in that light by lighting our own candles

2.     Service of Lessons: we hear how God saved his people in ages past and respond with songs and prayers. That culminates in the Acclamation that “Jesus is risen!,” which is shouted and celebrated. (Bring a bell to ring!)

3.     Baptism: we baptize new believers and renew our own baptismal vows.

4.     Communion: we celebrate the victory of Life over Death in this holy feast.

Easter Sunday Celebration & Brunch

Sunday, April 20

10:30am, Tyndale House Publishers

351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188

Our joy continues! We will hear the Gospel account of the 1st Easter, sing favorite Easter songs, and set up the flowering cross. Following the service, enjoy brunch, get to know people, and thank God for all he has done among us during Holy Week.

In Honor of St Patrick

In 2024, Fr. Kevin Miller preached about St. Patrick in our First Person Sermon Series.

Listen again to Kidnapped: The True Story of My Life.

Jan Bruesch: How I Met Jesus, and How I Live with Pain

How DID YOU MEET JESUS?

Jan Bruesch is a long time Savior Member.

There have been 2 guiding factors in my life that Jesus has used to draw me in closer to him. The first is ALPHA. I have worked with ALPHA for decades. Those years were times that I was most in touch with my faith. I have worked with ALPHA Chicago, and ALPHA National. I attended conferences, talks, and conventions which even led me to see the Pope! Over those decades God grew me in my faith through the powerful witness of ALPHA. 

I ran the ALPHA course at Calvary Episcopal Church in Lombard, my second church home, and my faith and knowledge of Jesus grew immensely. When I started to participate in ALPHA, I realized that I had never really known Jesus. I had been a church goer all my life, but it was my involvement with ALPHA where I saw other people’s lives transformed, and in turn my life was transformed. I remember vividly, it was the Sunday of the Transfiguration in February, and I went up to the priest and said, “Donald, I am on the mountain top, and I don’t want to come down!” It felt as if I was being Transfigured up on the mountain with Jesus. 

It was during the second ALPHA course that I helped lead at church that a man named John attended and shared that he was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was told that he only had 12 weeks to live, which wouldn’t have even been long enough for him to finish the course. Fr. Donald assured him that “we” would journey with him. I knew in my heart that I was the one that would journey with John since it was my responsibility to lead the lay ministry. John kept coming back week after week, and I got to know him very well. The doctors gave John 12 weeks to live, and God gave him 12 months. He attended 3 more ALPHA courses with us. His presence was important and during his illness he served the group so diligently. He even helped to start a prayer blanket ministry, of which he was the first recipient. On his deathbed, John expressed his life had been changed and he attributed this change to his participation on ALPHA. I personally saw that change happen. I saw Jesus minister through my dying friend. It was one of the strongest times in my life that I encountered Our Lord. I look at John’s photo often when I am struggling, and I remember John’s final months. I think “Lord, you were there. I see you at work.”  It has been 20 years since those first days at ALPHA. Things have changed. I have changed. I know that Jesus is here for me, and I feel His presence. 

How DO YOU LIVE WITH PAIN?

2 years ago, in August 2021 I had an accident. I fell and found myself in a rehabilitation center called Belmont. Just like John I encountered Jesus during my suffering. The most prominent way was in other people ministering to me. Especially my dear friend, Ada. She visited me 2-3 times a week and called every day. She even did my laundry, even though the facility would do it there for me. Many others gathered around me as well and their prayers for me were answered so vividly. I believe that I would still be at Belmont if not for the prayers of the faithful. The first time I was able to return to Church of the Savior, people came up to me that I didn’t even know, and they said they were praying for me. The power of their prayer was very apparent. I could see God’s work in my life…and in their lives!

Now, I am permanently disabled from my accident, and I am learning to cope with the body that God has given me. I am learning to live with the restrictions that I have, although I grieve the loss of the things that I used to be able to do. This leads me to the second influential tool that God has used to draw me into Himself. It is the National Order of Daughters of the King. I have been a Daughter since 1987.They have a motto which states, 

For His Sake…

I am but one, but I am one.

I cannot do everything,

But I can do something.

What I can do, I ought to do.

What I ought to do,

By the grace of God, I will do. 

Lord, what will you have me do?

 I often find that I say this motto now. “What would you have me do? I can’t do everything, but I can do something.” I know that God has something for me to do. The Daughters of the King is not a social club, but a lifetime vow. A vow of prayer, service, and evangelism. I will continue to follow the voice of the Lord diligently in the face of suffering, just as my friend John.

Savior's 20th Anniversary Celebration

We are grateful to God for His faithfulness over the last 20 years.

Confronting Sexism in the Church: Heather Matthews' Story

Church of the Savior member Heather Matthews recently released Confronting Sexism in the Church (InterVarsity Press, 2024). In the opening chapter she tells part of her journey.

I was one of those kids who was at church every time the doors were open, not because my parents forced me to attend but because I loved church. I came to faith in Jesus as a child, and when I was in high school, I sensed a call from God into ministry.

I was excited to follow and serve God, but I had no vision for what this looked like as a young woman. While my church affirmed that men and women could receive a call from God, there appeared to be no opportunities for a woman to follow and develop that call. Since I had never in my life seen a female pastor, I certainly couldn’t imagine myself as a pastor. It seemed obvious that God wanted me to be a missionary. …

Fast-forward a few years. … My fiancé and I were negotiating our future plans after graduation. I didn’t realize at the time how strong the messages were from the competing spheres of my life. As a female student at Northwestern University, I was surrounded by smart and talented women who were ready to take the world by storm. At the same time, I was part of a Christian group on campus [in which] leaders and students talked often about male headship and female submission, and that a woman’s highest calling was to be a wife and a mother.

I felt paralyzed. How could I follow my calling to be a missionary doctor while also supporting my husband in his career? It was clear from family and friends that my fiancé’s career was most important. I ended up giving up my dream of becoming a missionary doctor. I took the route of following my husband as a supportive wife. After college, I enrolled in seminary instead of medical school.

I noticed immediately that other students, mostly men, would not look at me in the eye or speak to me. I felt small and invisible. I could not be my full self, a confident and accomplished student with plans for my future in ministry. I was expected to fit into a traditional “pastor’s wife” role.

After three years of seminary, I graduated summa cum laude with two master’s degrees, but I had trouble finding internships and a ministry job because many churches only hired men. Although my degree required me to have “field education” credits for graduation, my church would not let me teach an adult Sunday school class without my husband coteaching with me. Even the job placement office at the seminary declined to assist me because they didn’t have any employers interested in interviewing women.

Attending seminary broke me like no experience in my life had. I realized something was wrong when I found myself crying on a regular basis, and I am not prone to crying. Christian institutions and Christian individuals were actively restricting the abundant life that I thought was available to me, and doing so in the name of Jesus.

 —From Confronting Sexism in the Church. Reprinted by kind permission of InterVarsity Press