Churches and community organizations are planning a variety of activities for Holy Week, which starts on Palm Sunday (April 1) and ends with Easter (April 8). Here are some of the Altadena area activities, after the jump:
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1014 E. Altadena Drive
Palm Sunday
7:45 AM Holy Eucharist
9 AM: Family Service, Liturgy of the Word
10:30 AM, Choral Holy Eucharist
Maundy Thursday
6 PM: Holy Eucharist in the Community Hall
6:30 PM: Agape dinner
7:30 PM: Stripping of the Altar
Good Friday
11 AM: Family Stations of the Cross
12:30 PM Good Friday Liturgy (TImothy Rutt, preaching)
7 PM: Prayer Vigil
Holy Saturday
7:30 PM The Great Vigil of Easter with choir
Festive Reception following the service in the Community Hall
Easter Sunday
9 AM: Children’s Service with Choristers, Choir, and Brass
Easter Egg Hunt immediately following the 9 AM service
11:15 AM: Festive Eucharist with choir and brass
Altadena Community Church, 943 E. Altadena Drive
Holy Week begins April 1 at Altadena Community Church, 943 E. Altadena Drive, with Palm Sunday worship at 10 a.m., followed by an 11:30 a.m. discussion class with Ken and Betty Frank. The Franks are retiring to Claremont after 30 years of service as a math teacher and a librarian in Izmir and Istanbul, Turkey. They have worked most recently with refugees in Istanbul and with the Turkish foundation that now manages schools and a hospital that were originally founded by American missionaries. More information about the Franks can be found at www.globalministries.org.
April 1 will also be the last opportunity to make a cash donation toward extra Easter boxes to be given out April 7 by the Food Pantry, a ministry of several Altadena congregations that is housed at ACC.
A Holy Thursday service will be held on April 5 at 7:30 p.m. This evening communion service commemorates Jesus' Passover meal with his disciples. Altadena Community Church practices an open table; everyone who wishes to is welcome to take communion.
On Good Friday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. there will be a service of contemplative music and prayer based on the Passion story from Mark's gospel. This service will end in silence, as participants depart into the most profound interval of the Christian year.
Easter Sunday worship begins early, a little before 10 a.m. Bring a flower or choose from the flowers on hand to join in "flowering the cross." A light brunch follows this joyful service.
Altadena Community Church is a member of the United Church of Christ. More information about the denomination can be found atwww.ucc.org. The church office is staffed weekday mornings, (626) 798-1185.
First United Methodist Church, 500 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena
The Drama and Arts Committees of First United Methodist Church of Pasadena invites the community to "The Laramie Project: Ten Years After" by Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project performed by permission of Dramatists' Play Service I
When: March 30, Friday at 7:30 PM
(light dinner before at 6:30 PM./first come, first served)
March 31, Saturday at 12:30 PM
(light lunch before at 12 noon/first come, first served)
Where: FUMC Fellowship Hall. For more information: 626-796-0157
For parking, enter through Green Street.
Admission is free.
Palm Sunday 10th Annual Peace Parade, “Parade of Fools”
Every Palm Sunday for the last nine years, members of Pasadena area churches and other community organizations have taken to the streets to march for peace and justice in the Palm Sunday Peace Parade. Begun in 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq, the march has become a call for economic justice as well as international peace.
This year Palm Sunday falls on April 1, April Fools' Day, so the theme of the parade is "Parade of Fools." The parade's flyer explains the theme: "In these days of endless war, we march as fools who believe that another world is possible." Parade organizers formed the theme around the biblical idea articulated by Paul in I Corinthians 1:27, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise."
Kimberly Medendorp, principal of The Peace and Justice Academy, one of the participating organizations, put it this way, "The leaders of the nations say that war is necessary, and the leaders of large corporations insist on great disparities of wealth that drive widespread poverty. I guess the leaders are just too smart for our own good. We common people are simple. We are foolish enough to believe that a world of peace and equity is both possible and attainable."
The parade has spread to four other cities in the U.S.: Elkhart, IN, Harrisonburg, VA and Toledo, OH.
The Palm Sunday Peace Parade is sponsored by Pasadena Mennonite Church, Church for Others, Good Shepherd Church of Pasadena, The Peace and Justice Academy, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries, and The Urban Village of Pasadena.
The parade will begin at 3:30 at Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 N. Madison Ave., and end on the public sidewalk in front of the Paseo Colorado mall at Garfield and Colorado.
Lake Avenue Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena
Lake Avenue Church will host Easter-week events on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Day. They are:
- Palm Sunday, March 31/April 1. Services will be held Saturday at 5 p.m. in FL 300 (Warehouse), and in the Worship Center on Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m., with teaching by Senior Pastor Greg Waybright. Also at 11 a.m. on Sunday will be the Spanish-language Comunidad de las Américas service, with Pastor Jorge Sanchez.
-On Thursday, April 5, from noon to 12:45 p.m., will be the GoldLine Concert, with inspirational and reflective music reminding of Christ's love and sacrifice. Featuring Karen Johnson, soprano; Gary Kuo, violin; Jonathan Thomson, cello; Duane Funderburk, piano. Donations accepted. Lunch available for purchase following the concert. For questions, contact Dorothy Wurtemberg at dorothyw@lakeave.org or(626) 817-4832.
- On Good Friday, April 6, the Lake Avenue Church Chapel will be open from noon to 2 p.m. For self-led reflection, meditation and prayer. Then, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. there will be a contemplative Tenebrae Service in the Worship Center, commemorating the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Childcare will be available for children from infancy to kindergarten age on the first floor of the Family Life Center beginning at 7 p.m. Also at 7:30 p.m., the Comunidad de las Américas Latino Community will host Servicio de Viernes Santo in the Chapel, with guest pastor Boris Alfaro, from Salem, Oregon.
- On Easter Sunday, April 8, there will be services at 9 and 11 a.m., with Senior Pastor Greg Waybright finishing his series on "Turning Points" as he recounts the stories of Mary and Thomas and their encounters with the resurrected Christ. Our Spanish-language celebration service, with guest pastor Boris Alfaro, will be held at 11 a.m. in the Chapel.
There will be childcare on Easter for infants through five-years-old during the 9 and 11 a.m. services, and a quick Easter egg hunt for children up to eight years old following each service. For childcare information write to earlychildhood@lakeave.org or call (626) 844-4753. Additional parking will be available at Gateway Plaza, at the southeast corner of Lake Avenue and the 210 Freeway (enter off of Mentor St.).
For more information about any Holy Week event, visit www.lakeave.org, email worship@lakeave.org or call the church at (626) 844-4721.
Community Easter Sunrise Service, Farnsworth Park, 6 AM
Congregations throughout Altadena and Pasadena will be gathering for this interdenominational celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Bishop Donnie Williams will be preaching and a mass choir under the direction of Ms. Pettra Mapp will sing for those gathered in praise and worship. Farnsworth Park is located at 568 East Mount Curve Avenue.
