In these days of seeking new ways to gather and worship together, the North Carolina Conference is excited to announce the availability of at-home worship resources for Holy Week and Easter. Worship orders have been developed for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. There will also be two Easter Sunday worship services broadcast online with a sermon from Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, led by a diverse group of worship leaders.
The Rev. Greg Moore, director of New Faith Communities and one of the contributors to the services, said, “In a strange way, that makes this Holy Week like the first Holy Week, when a small group gathered around a dining room table on Thursday, the crowds scattered on Good Friday, people stayed home afraid on Holy Saturday, and the women traveled alone to the tomb on Easter Sunday.”
In keeping with the need for congregations to refrain from public worship gatherings, these services are designed to be experienced at home. Individuals and families may wish to worship via videoconferencing or phone with others. Please consider extending a virtual invitation to someone in your community and share these worship opportunities with them.
Visit the Holy Week resource page to access all the resources. For Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil, there are PDFs available for the services; Spanish language PDFs will be available soon. For some of the services, we will be adding audio resources. You will also find the link for the online Easter services; resources for participation will be made available on the livestream website.
Holy Week and Easter will look different this year, but we are reminded that, for those who experienced it the first time, it was also different than anything they had ever known. Rev. Moore reminds us that “this is anything but a normal Holy Week, except to God, who, since the first Easter, has been rolling away stones and meeting scattered crowds behind closed doors in order to lead them to life.”
We hope that these resources are a blessing to you as we journey together through the days of Holy Week, and we look forward to gathering with you – virtually – and celebrating the resurrection together. We continue to pray for all of those affected by the coronavirus and COVID-19, for those who are providing care and placing themselves in harm’s way each day, and for leaders around the world who are discerning decisions and next steps as they lead.