Holy Week & Easter
Sign up for all in-person Holy Week services & pilgrimages:
Holy Week Urban Pilgrimage
Launches Wednesday, March 24
This Holy Week, Trinity Cathedral offers an audio pilgrimage to eight extraordinary places in Portland – sites within walking distance of the Cathedral where God’s presence has been witnessed despite political agitation and violence, pandemic and social isolation, desperate poverty and grief. In the midst of all that trouble, Trinitarians have been finding renewal, inspiration, and healing.
Audio pilgrims will be guided through a prayerful experience with these places of transformation:
Pioneer Square, the Federal Building, Burnside Bridge, Transitions Project, Legacy/Good Samaritan Hospital, Trinity Cathedral, William Temple House, and Forest Park.
Listening on your phone as you visit each of these sites, hear Trinity members reflect on their own profound experiences of awakening, prayer and healing. Grounding meditative music, commissioned from Portland composer Damien Geter, will help you connect more deeply to each place.
Palm Sunday
Sunday, March 28
From the proud shouts of “Hosanna in the highest!” to the shameful cries of “Crucify him!” and the dumbstruck silence of the tomb, Palm Sunday takes us through the heights and depths of the human condition as lived in the shadow of fear, death, and political ambition.
Through it all, we watch Jesus, unwavering. We see precisely how God’s love works in the face of human failing. Come with us, and discover the most powerful story ever told.
Items you might want to have on hand if you're watching at home:
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Service Leaflet (posted a few days before the service)
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Palm, branch, or greenery (any kind is fine!)
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Cross, crucifix, or icon of Christ's passion or death
Additional resources:
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 1
Join us, wherever you are, as we participate in the ancient rituals of Maundy Thursday, which can include an Agape Meal, the ritual Foot Washing, the Last Supper, and the Stripping of the Altar.
The touchstones of the Triduum (the "three days" before Easter - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday) open us to a deep and prayerful engagement with the drama of Holy Week. We encourage you to find ways to engage in them from your homes and in person, as well as joining us online.
Before the service, you might consider having an Agape meal with your family, or setting one up with Trinity friends or neighbors over Zoom or outdoors.
Items you might want to have on hand if you're watching at home:
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For Foot Washing:
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Large basin to receive your feet
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Clean towel for each participant
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Pitcher or water bottle containing warm water
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Your favorite soap, if desired
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For Stripping your Home Altar:
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Storage box or bin
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Dark cloth
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Cleaning supplies
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Additional resources:
Good Friday
Friday, April 2
“’Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch.”
What do we do with our grief? How do we bear it? Good Friday takes us into the heart of the matter, where we encounter once again the wisdom of the ancients borne through centuries of love divine and bitter loss: first, we find our people, then we bear witness to our love. We sing, we pray, we hold vigil, we breathe.
You are not alone: join us.
Items you might want to have on hand if you're watching at home:
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A cross, crucifix, or icon featuring the cross
Trinity Cathedral’s Lamentation Icon, written by Sherry Lynch and the Iconography Institute at Trinity Cathedral in response to the events of 9/11. The image is modeled after “The Lamentation” by Emmanuel Lambardos, the Younger, (Crete, about 1640 C.E.).
Christ is here laid down before His Cross. Joseph of Arimathea has just taken Him down, and is beginning to wrap His legs with a clean linen cloth while Nicodemos, leaning against a ladder, looks on. Mary cradles her Son tenderly in her arms and laments with John the Beloved Disciple leaning over and the Myrrh-Bearing Women wailing and weeping behind them. Mary Magdalene is standing with arms raised on the left.
Additional resources:
Holy Saturday/Easter Eve
Saturday, April 3