Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus' last supper with his disciples before his arrest, where he established the ritual of communion and washed his disciples' feet. Good Friday encompasses Jesus' prayer in the garden, arrest, abuse, crucifixion and burial. Easter Sunday celebrates Christ's resurrection with worship services including communion, the return of "alleluia" to the liturgy, an Easter egg hunt and breakfast, with the egg symbolizing new life from the tomb as Christ rose from death.

1. Easter Week started out last with Palm Sunday and continues with
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, through to Easter Sunday.
Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday
It was in the evening of Maundy Thursday that Jesus ate his last meal before his arrest. It was a Passover
meal with his disciples. This service commemorates that meal. The very name “Maundy” comes from John’s
Gospel. The word is from Latin and means “command.” In John 13:34 Jesus gives us a new “command,” to
love one another.
During the evening Jesus also washed the feet of the disciples (again recorded only in John’s Gospel), so churches
often include a foot washing ceremony in a Maundy Thursday service. At the conclusion of many Maundy Thursday
services the altar is “stripped.” This means that all the chancel appointments are removed. This ancient custom
reminds us of the humiliation of Jesus at the hands of the soldiers, who stripped and beat him.
Good Friday
Good Friday encompasses everything after Jesus left the upper room where he celebrated
the Passover through his burial. That includes his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, his
arrest, the falling away of his disciples and the explicate denial of Peter, the abuse of
Jesus, the mock trial and conviction of our Lord, the death of Judas, the crucifixion, our
Lord’s last words from the cross, his death and burial in a borrowed tomb.
Easter Sunday
This is the day the entire Church Year is centered on. Christ’s victory is
made manifest. We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The word “alleluia,”
that has been absent from our worship services during Lent, returns. We
also have an Easter Egg hunt for the children and breakfast. The Easter
Egg is a symbol of the resurrection. As a new life comes from the “tomb”
of the egg, so Christ came to life and left his tomb. We too will rise from
our tombs on the Last Day, and we will join him in Glory for eternity!
HAPPY EASTER!