Invitation to Holy Week 2025 for Children and Families

I want to invite you and your children to our Holy Week offerings and give you a view of what is coming this spring and summer. Many of you will have received the weekly email from communications, but I wanted you to have a clearer perspective of how your kids fit into our worship schedule.

Holy Week at St. David’s

April 13: PALM SUNDAY 

• Holy Eucharists at 8, 9, and 11:15 a.m. (livestreamed)
• On Palm Sunday, we will celebrate Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. At both the 9 and 11:15 a.m. liturgies, we will process into Historic Church from Sumners Hall, waving our palms (or palm-colored ribbons for the kids). This service is a celebration, but it also strikes a chord of deep sadness as we walk through the Passion Narrative in our scripture readings. Most importantly, it is the start to Holy Week, wherein we will tell the story of Christ’s Passion and Crucifixion. Be aware that it will strike an odd chord when you come back for the happiness of Easter if you haven’t experienced any other part of Holy Week, without hearing what transpires in the middle. That is absolutely OK, but I wanted to make you aware.
• There will be no children's classes from 10-11 a.m., but we will gather in Sumners Hall for palm cross folding and to eat Palmiers (French palm-shaped pastries). I will have instructions and palms ready! 

THE TRIDUUM

The Triduum is a three-day service. It begins at the processional of the Maundy Thursday Holy Eucharist and concludes at the recessional during the Great Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday night. These three days have the richest liturgies and are the source of the most important themes of our faith life as Episcopalians. 

April 17: MAUNDY THURSDAY 

• Holy Eucharist at 7 p.m. (livestreamed)
• This service is quiet and solemn. We will tell the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and then wash one another’s feet. It is a deeply loving and humble act. It does require some bravery for us to be that vulnerable, but the kids are the best example of this simple kind of love.
• At the end of the service, we will strip the altar bare and leave the tabernacle open as a sign that Jesus is no longer with us. We will leave the sanctuary as dark as a tomb.

April 18: GOOD FRIDAY

• Holy Eucharists at Noon (livestreamed) and 7 p.m.
• Stations of the Cross for Children (1:30 p.m., Meet on 1st Floor)
  • This service can be hard for little ones to be present to. For this reason, we will explore the Stations of the Cross in a way our children can grasp. We will be honest and simple in the way we approach this solemn walk.
• Stations of the City Good Friday Walking Tour (1:30 p.m., Meet in Lobby)
  • This year, we chose to offer our children's Stations of the Cross alongside our Stations of the City downtown Austin walking tour so parents and caregivers can practice their own formation. Adults are also welcome to stay with us as we walk a smaller path through the building.

April 19: HOLY SATURDAY, THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER

• Holy Eucharist: 7:30 p.m. (livestreamed)
• This service allows us to transition from sadness into joy. We have walked through the death of Jesus and waited to see what would happen next. This waiting is painful and is marked in the stories we will read throughout the Triduum. This is the moment we go from darkness to light, from death into the hope of new life. We will baptize new friends, and bask in the warmth of the news of Christ’s return. And, of course, we will gather at the end for the Feast of Milk & Honey to enjoy treats we may have given up for Lent.

April 20: EASTER SUNDAY

Surely, this Sunday needs little explanation. Christ is risen! 

• Holy Eucharists: 7:30, 9, and 11:15 a.m. (livestreamed)
• Flowering the Easter Cross: Come celebrate with us as we flower the cross outside Historic Church, showing how God turned something so painful into something incredibly beautiful.
  • Bring flowers from home, and if you forget, we will have some on hand.
• Easter Cookie Reception (10 a.m., Sumners Hall):  Contact  if you would like to donate some of your favorite cookies! I’ll have some paper bags on hand if you want to bring cookies to the Labyrinth.
• Ladybug and Butterfly Release (10:30 a.m., Labyrinth): At 10:30 sharp, we will release our beautiful ladybugs and Swallowtail butterflies together on the Labyrinth. The butterflies come delicately wrapped in individual envelopes to keep their wings safe. Each child will get one to release, and we will also have Easter eggs full of ladybugs. If being outside doesn’t feel like a good option, you can watch from the 1st or 2nd-floor windows. I have plenty of bug tattoos and fun stickers to commemorate the occasion.
• Silent Auction Benefiting Youth Mission Trip (10-11:15 a.m., Sumners Hall) Support our youth on their trip to North Carolina to do service work for communities recovering from Hurricane Hellene.
• Easter Potluck (12:15 p.m., Bethell Hall) Contact Chef Ray,  , to bring a side dish, salad, or dessert for our annual parish potluck.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out. If there is anything I can do to support your family in and around your church life, please let me know.