Our Holy Week & Easter celebrations this year will be in a hybrid format, both in-person and on zoom. We invite you join us in celebrating this holy time in whichever medium suits you best. To access the liturgies, visit https://www.mmacc.org/liturgy/livestream-online-liturgy
The times for each liturgy are as follows: (all times Pacific Daylight Time):
- Palm Sunday – 5:00pm
- Holy Thursday – 7:00pm
- Good Friday – 7:00pm
- Easter Vigil – 7:00pm
Zoom info will be the same as for Sundays.
There will be no mass on Easter Sunday, April 17.
Since these are the holiest days of the liturgical year, we invite you prepare a sacred space in your home for these liturgies. You may wish to include items that are unique or special to you such as a candle, an icon or religious art, something in the liturgical color. We’ve included some suggestions below for special items for each day.
Palm Sunday - March 28 at 5pm
Items:
- bread & wine (or similar) for communion
- candle to help set sacred space
- palms (can be picked up from MMACC on Sat, March 27) - you can also use palms from previous years, green branches, flowers, etc.;
- bells/noisemakers to ring during the Hosanna
Palm Sunday is a day of celebration when we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the hope and joy of those who greeted him. During the opening Hosanna, we invite you ring bells or noisemakers and to wave palms, greenery, or flowers at the screen on zoom. At MMACC, we focus on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and do not read the story of the passion (death) of Jesus on this day.
Holy Thursday - April 1 at 7pm
Items:
- bread & wine (or similar) for communion;
- candle to help set sacred space;
- bowl with water & a towel for the washing of the hands;
- bells/noisemakers to ring during the Gloria
The liturgical color for the day is white. Tonight we will celebrate the last supper and the washing of the feet - though we have adapted that to be the washing of the hands. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples to show that we must all be servants to one another and to remind us that no job is beneath us. We wash our hands as a simple of love and care for one another - to protect the least of us and to remind us that even such a simple act can be an act of love. During this time, we’ll invite you to wash your own hands or the hands of one another.
We ring bells during the gloria to remember the tradition of church bells ringing during the gloria on Holy Thursday before being silenced until Easter Vigil.
Good Friday - April 2 at 7pm
Items:
- candle to help set sacred space;
- Icon or picture of a cross/crucifix or a rosary
Traditionally, no mass is celebrated on Good Friday. We will not be celebrating mass or sharing communion on this day. The liturgical color for the day is red. If you are decorating your prayer space, you may want to keep it simple on this day. During the liturgy, we will meditate on the passion of Jesus through word and song. There will be time for meditation and prayer on the crucifixion - the time when we would normally invite people to venerate the cross. You may do this in any way you like - by praying silently, by rubbing your fingers over a rosary, crucifix, or icon, or by kissing an icon.
The solemnity of this day invites us to depart in silence so there will be no social time after liturgy.
Easter Vigil - April 3 at 7pm
Items:
- candle,
- bowl of water,
- bread & wine (or similar),
- bells/noisemakers
The liturgical color is white or gold. We invite you to have a white cloth in your space and to have a candle (unlit) and a bowl of water. Together we will bless the fire and the water. After the blessing of the fire and the lighting of the paschal candle, we will invite you to light your candles. If possible, you may want to have most of the lights turned off in your space as we begin and turn the lights on during the singing of the Gloria. When the water is blessed, you are invited to bless yourself with the water.
After our Easter Vigil concludes, we’ll have some social time on zoom to celebrate the resurrection together.