Well, here we are…approaching the end of the Lenten Season, headed to Easter/Resurrection Sunday and yet a global pandemic has thrown quite the wrench into it all!

As a Christian, Holy Week has always been such an important part of my faith journey. This time of remembering Jesus’ last week on earth and then celebrating, worshipping, shouting “hallelujah,”  hunting for eggs, getting all dressed up, spending time with family and attending worship AT church is just such a sacred time.

However, with a global pandemic and a “shelter in place” order by the county…we can’t do any of that the way that we are accustomed to doing.

As a pastor, I’m grieving the “loss” of Holy Week (and so many other things).  I am challenged, though, to find ways for us to celebrate Holy Week in meaningful ways despite our need to shelter in place. We CAN have a simple Easter, one without crowds and fanfare.  I was reminded by a ministry colleague and friend, Rev. Allison Lanza, that the first Easter wasn’t filled with crowds gathering. There was uncertainty and fear and confusion and grieving. Read more of what she wrote here. It’s pretty powerful.

We worked to put together a “Holy Week To Go” Kit and wanted to share these resources with your church and with any other households who might enjoy them.

Included in the kit:

–Holy Week to Go Kit Guidebook
-Holy Week Lego Challenge Instructions (create the events of holy week out of Lego and share it with our church family.)
–Maundy Thursday Dinner Guide
–Social Distancing Neighborhood Egg Hunt Instructions
–At Home Tenebrae Service
-Sidewalk Chalk
-Palm Branches (We are delivering to porches and will take video of households waving palm branches, then compile it together to show on our livestream as the “palm procession”)
-Candy-filled Easter Eggs
-A “flowered cross” coloring page (you can find many on pinterest)
–Information about our denomination’s virtual holy week “spirit week”

Is it the same as “normal” holy week…um, definitely not!  I hope, though, that these resources will provide opportunities for households to “make the best” of the situation that we’re in and to create some holy moments with your households during this season that we have found ourselves in right now.

Our hope is found in the resurrected Christ and no pandemic can take that away!