A beautiful stained glass window in St. John's Church in Lakeport, which was sonsecrated in 1899 as a memorial for 5-year-old John Pierre Collier, son of Captain William and Mary Blackwood Collier, who perished in a fire at Clear Lake in 1896. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT – On Sunday, March 28, Christians around the world will commence Holy Week with the observance of Palm Sunday, commemorating Christ’s triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem, with rites that trace their origin to the Fourth Century.

At 10 a.m., the congregation of St. John’s Church, 1190 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, will begin this annual commemoration with the blessing of palm branches on the terrace in front of the parish hall and then process into the 110-year-old landmark church to the familiar strains of the hymn, “All Glory, Laud and Honor.”

Once inside the church, the mood of the service will shift from triumphant to somber with the retelling of the Passion of Christ according to St. Luke, in which the congregation will take an active part.

Fr. Leo M. Joseph O.S.F. will then offer a reflection on the Passion as a means to inspire people today to compassion for the continuing suffering of Christ in the persons of those who are enduring hunger, homelessness, torture, sickness and death in our present world. The passion and death of Jesus will then be relived sacramentally with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, often called the Mass.

Maundy Thursday service will begin at 5:30 p.m., April 1, at St. John’s, with a Mass to commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus and his apostles.

The name “maundy” comes from the Latin word “mundatum” which begins the teaching of Jesus at the Last Supper: “A new commandment I give you that you love one another.”

Fr. Leo will then consecrate the bread and wine as the Body and Blood of Christ, following Jesus’ command to “Do this in remembrance of me.”

The service will conclude with the stripping of the altar, with the removal of all the altar cloths and ornaments from the sanctuary to symbolize the arrest of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.

At noon on April 2, St. John’s will host the annual Lake County Ecumenical Good Friday Service, which will be led by clergy from several local congregations. This service will include the reading of the Passion according to St. Mark, interspersed with the singing of familiar Good Friday hymns, prayers and reflections.

That evening at 5:30 p.m., the traditional Good Friday Service according to the Book of Common Prayer will be celebrated at St. John’s, which will begin with the reading of the Passion according to St. John, followed by the Solemn Prayers, the Veneration of the Cross, and the reception of Holy Communion. These beautiful rites are observed very much the same as they have been since Christian antiquity.

Holy Week culminates with the Festal Mass of Easter Sunday at 10 a.m. on April 4, celebrating Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

St. John’s Church, the presence and ministry of the Episcopal Church in Lake County since 1877, is grateful to be able to offer these traditional Holy Week Services to those who are looking for a prayerful and spiritual way to participate these transformative events that make present God’s infinite love.

All baptized Christians, who are at peace with God and their fellow human beings, are invited to receive Holy Communion at our altar, regardless of marital status, gender orientation or church affiliation.

For further information please call Fr. Leo Joseph at 707-349-6563.