Welcome to Holy Week 2024
Art: “Into the Seed” by Jan Richardson
Holy Week is the church’s annual experience of the heart of the Christian faith. There ought to be no immersion into suffering without the gift of the resurrection, and there ought to be no Easter without Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This three-day worship is sometimes called by its Latin name, the Triduum. Whether this is your first or hundredth Holy Week, St. Luke’s warmly welcomes you as we keep these special days together.
Note that Palm Sunday, March 24 — Worship 10:30 a.m. at Humboldt Park UMC (2120 N Mozart). All other Holy Week activities will take place at St. Luke’s, 3325 W Wrightwood Ave, the church with the rainbow doors.
Maundy Thursday, March 28 -- Worship 7:00 p.m.
Good Friday, March 29 -- Worship 7:00 p.m.
Easter Vigil, March 30 -- Worship 7:00 p.m. followed by celebratory reception
Easter Sunday, March 31 -- Worship 11:00 a.m. followed by celebratory reception
More details on all these services can be found below:
Palm Sunday
with the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance
March 24th at 10:30 a.m. at Humboldt Park UMC
12:30 p.m. Rally at the Eagle Monument
On Palm Sunday, March 24, worship will be at 10:30 a.m. at Humboldt Park UMC (2120 N Mozart). Join our partners in the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance for ecumenical bilingual worship celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus in the holy city. Mark your calendars for the Palm Sunday worship time and location! There will be no worship in our normal space and time that morning.
After worship at HPUMC we will march with palm branches to the Eagle Monument for a rally at 12:30 p.m. spotlighting the Bring Chicago Home ordinance. Please join for worship, the rally, or both!
Participating congregations include Grace Church, Humboldt Park UMC, Kimball Avenue Church / Nuestra Señora de las Americas, New Community Covenant Church, St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square, and Urban Village Church.
Maundy Thursday
Holy Communion with footwashing
March 28th at 7:00 p.m.
With nightfall our Lenten observance comes to an end, and we gather with Christians around the world to celebrate the Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection. At the heart of the Maundy Thursday liturgy is Jesus’ commandment to love one another. As Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, we are called to follow Jesus’s example as we humbly care for one another, especially the poor and the unloved. At the Lord’s table we remember Jesus’ sacrifice of life, even as we are called to offer ourselves in love for the life of the world.
Preaching on Maundy Thursday is Pastor Samantha Nichols. Samantha is a graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and an ordained pastor in the ELCA. She is currently serving in the Metro Chicago Synod as a Staff Chaplain at University of Chicago Medicine with unit assignments including the Emergency Department, Trauma, as well as Surgical and Burn Intensive Care Units.
Art: He Qi
Good Friday
Adoration of the Cross
March 29th at 7:00pm
At the heart of this year’s Good Friday liturgy is the passion according to Mark. The ancient title for this day—the triumph of the cross—reminds us that the church gathers not to mourn this day but to celebrate Christ’s life-giving passion and to find strength and hope in the tree of life. In the ancient bidding prayer we offer petitions for all the world for whom Christ died. Today’s liturgy culminates in the Easter Vigil tomorrow evening.
Preaching on Good Friday is Pastor Lindsey Long Joyce, one of the pastors of our space-sharing partner church, Grace Church of Logan Square. Lindsey received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and her Master’s of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. She is trained in community organizing, cross-cultural community building, and justice ministries. Her passion is to work for justice and peace and to build relationships.
Art: “The Rainbow” by John Swanson
Vigil of Easter
Resurrection of Our Lord
Saturday, March 30th at 7:00pm
This is the night of salvation! At the Vigil of Easter, we gather around fire, word, water, bread, and wine, proclaiming through story and song that ours is a God who continuously brings life out of death. On this night we experience again the heart of God’s baptismal promise and the center of our faith: we are claimed and cleansed, renewed in the death and resurrection of Christ. We gather with all the saints of every time and place to celebrate the good news: Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Worship at the Easter Vigil lasts approximately two hours. Following worship, there will be a celebratory reception in the fellowship hall.
Preaching at the Easter Vigil is Pastoral Intern Sharei Green. Sharei is a Womanist theologian currently pursuing her MDiv at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Sitting at the intersection of fat, Black, femme and queer, Sharei has committed herself to creating spaces of community healing and sabbath, especially for Black women/ femmes and all their intersections. She is the co-author of God’s Holy Darkness, a children’s book that deconstructs anti-Blackness in Christian theology by celebrating instances in the story of God’s people when darkness, blackness, and night are beautiful, good, and holy.
Easter Sunday
Resurrection of Our Lord
March 31st at 11:00 a.m.
This is the day the Lord has made! Christ is risen, and through him all creation is made new! Indeed, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34): Christ’s resurrection truly brings life to everyone. We sing hymns of praise, gather around sacred words, and proclaim God’s faithfulness, power, and love in the feast of holy communion. With the women at the tomb, we are astonished, elated, and grateful. We depart with joy to proclaim the good news of God’s endless love.
Preaching on Easter Sunday is Pastor Erin Coleman Branchaud. Erin is a graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where she focused on faith-based community organizing as a transformational methodology for mission and discipleship. Erin brings to St. Luke's a deep sense of call to work with God for transformative economic, racial, and gender justice. She loves to tell stories and sing songs.