The start of April and the start of Holy Week coincide this year, with Palm Sunday falling on April 1. Thanks to the earlier onset of Daylight Savings Time, we will not have to contend with the grogginess that often accompanied such conjunctions in the past - circumstances that could make us as weary as the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane!

Instead, we should be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the procession of Palms that greets the start of that morning. At the 9:00 am service (weather permitting), this begins outside in front of the Parish House. There, we observe the “Liturgy of the Palms,” culminating in the triumphant procession into the Church.

As we know all too well, the joy of that opening soon gives way to the sorrow of the Passion, which we will commemorate with our dramatic reading of the Passion Narrative from Luke’s Gospel. This all serves as an overture to the remainder of Holy Week, where we observe the great events that marked the final days of Jesus’ earthly life.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you cannot experience the full joy of Easter without participating in the commemorations of Holy Week. The two are inextricably intertwined, since Easter embodies God’s snatching of victory from the jaws of defeat.

To use a crass football analogy: it would be as if you came in for the final, winning play, but missed the game that led up to it. Sure, that last snap would be exciting to see, but not as joyous an experience had you been there for the ups-and-downs of the entire contest.

Missing the commemorations of Holy Week is like that: being content to see the highlight reel instead of cheering (and groaning) through the whole game. Unthinkable for a true fan!

If it’s that way for a sporting contest, how much more should it be for matters of our faith?

And so, I invite all of you to participate in the entire Easter experience during Holy Week:

• Maundy Thursday (7:30 pm, April 5) recalls several events of that night: Christ’s humility in washing his disciples’ feet; the institution of the Lord’s Supper; Jesus’ Great Commandment to love one another as he loved them; and his arrest and imprisonment.

• The Vigil that extends from the end of that service until 9:00 am the next morning (Good Friday) runs hour by hour through the night in the Vestry House, where the Reserve Sacrament will be kept, along with devotional materials. Sign-up for one of the hours (which can also be done by anyone at home) on the board in the Common Room.

• Good Friday commemorations run from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm that day (April 6), marking the period that Jesus hung on the cross. Liturgically, we spend that time reading and reflecting upon Scripture - including meditative homilies a dramatic reading of the Passion from John’s Gospel - walking the fourteen Stations of the Cross, and partaking in the adoration of the cross in the Good Friday liturgy. Prayers and hymns are interspersed throughout. Come and join in as much as your work-schedule will allow!

• Holy Saturday (April 7) is when we welcome new members into the body of Christ through baptism, which we administer at a service at 4:00 pm.

• The Great Vigil of Easter is liturgically continuous with Holy Saturday, as it symbolizes the dawning of the new light of resurrection at the break of Easter Day. At Pohick, we observe ancient custom by receiving the Paschal flame from the National Cathedral on Holy Saturday. Members then meet up with the flame at 4:30 am at the Tully Gate off of US 1 north of the Church. An entourage processes the flame through Ft. Belvoir under military escort. They arrive at Pohick at 5:30 am (where others have gathered) for the lighting of the Paschal Candle, its procession into the Church, and a brief service of the Great Vigil. Members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew prepare scones and hot cross buns for this first celebration feast of Easter day. Come and join in any or all of this wonderful commemoration!

Our Easter services themselves are, of course, the culmination of all these observances. In keeping with the joy of this day, there is music at all three services (7:45, 9:15 and 11:15 am), including brass at the later two. Frances Sessums and the Sunday school oversee an Easter Egg hunt for the children at about 10:30 am outside (weather permitting)

Get there early for a good seat! And do so not only for Easter, but also for the other services of Holy Week!

It is with regret that I announce that Jennifer Crump-Strawderman will need to resign from her position as Youth Minister at the end of July. For the past two years, Jennifer has again done an outstanding job ministering with our young people, and we will miss her in that role. Thankfully, she intends to continue as a volunteer Youth Advisor while she enters a full-time position in the public school system.

I will shortly be forming a Search Committee to assist me in the process of seeking a successor for this half-time position ($19,000/year). If you know of any appropriate candidate who might be interested in applying, please have that person contact me and/or send a cover letter and résumé to me as soon as possible. For the fuller position announcement, go to:

www.thediocese.net/deployment/churchesinsearch.shtml.