The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue May 2007

St. Paul's Offers Journey with Jesus through Holy Week

Thanks to the Rev Lyn Briggs, curate. and people of St. Paul's, Salt Lake City, events of Holy Week came alive for parents and their children on Saturday, March 31.

The journey began with the entry into Jerusalem in the church courtyard. As kids yelled "Yeah Jesus" and lifted palm branches, they walked to the Upper Room. There they heard from the woman who rented out some space for Jesus and his friends to have dinner.

The children shared matzo crackers as they heard of the Last Supper from "Peter," and had their feet washed in the hallway on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane.

At each station, the gathering stopped and prayed a prayer printed on a prayer card, picked up a token from the story and moved to another station in the courtyard. Tokens included a bit of Jesus's robe, a portion of toweling, a cotton ball with spiced oil, a silver coin.

They took turns carrying the cross from the place of Jesus' trial, past the rose bushes (with thorns from which Jesus's crown were made) to Golgatha. There they closed their eyes, and the kids breathed in and out slowly, and heard of Jesus's last breath. The church bell tolled. The children removed a stone from the base of the cross and, as they walked through the Memorial Garden, placed it in remembrance of Jesus' death.

Finally, the children and their parents rang brass bells as the church doors opened, and the church bell tolled again. This time, the bell was rung for joy, as they listened to Mary Magdalene's story of finding Jesus alive.

Each child received a story scrapbook in which to keep their tokens, so they could recall and retell the stories they had heard. The cross with the handwritten INRI sign, a remnant of Jesus' purple robe and his crown of thorns was left in its place in the courtyard as a witness to Holy Week worshippers. The children were invited to come back on Easter to ring the bells again in celebration of the resurrection.

The event was so well received by children and parents alike, that plans are already being made to retell the stories of Holy Week with more eyewitness accounts in 2008.

Return to current issue Table of Contents
Return to Dialogue main page »