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The long journey

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

During a brief service before mass at St John Vianney church on Palm Sunday, Bob Frei holds his palm fronds and prays.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

An alter server holds a colorful crucifix and a palm frond during a brief service held immediately beore mass at St. John Vianney on Palm Sunday.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

A crucifix with a bit of palm leaf attached hangs from the mirror of a car in the parking lot of St. John Vianney church on Palm Sunday.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Palm fronds displayed on a table for the parishoners of St. John Vianney church to take with them on Palm Sunday.

It’s a long journey from Palm Sunday to Easter.

And local pastors want their congregations to make the trip.

Unfortunately, church attendance on the sacred days of Easter—Holy Thursday and Good Friday—is significantly lower than on Easter Sunday. It doesn’t take a statistician to figure that out. People just aren’t there.

But without honoring the days of Holy Week, Christians are missing something crucial. “Palm Sunday to Easter doesn’t make sense unless you make the full journey,” said the Rev. Bruce Jones of First Presbyterian Church, Janesville.

Holy or Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper. Services sometimes include a ceremonial washing of the feet. Christ washed the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper.

Good Friday marks Christ’s sentencing and death on the cross.

Holy Saturday ends with the Easter vigil. The vigil, which takes place after dark, is a celebration of the risen Christ, as is Easter Sunday Mass.

In theory, the trip from Holy Thursday to Easter should be one seamless observation, not three separate obligations to go to church.

But how do you get people to go?

A number of local ministers, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, addressed the issue in sermons leading up to Holy Week.

Msgr. Jim Uppena of St. Mary Catholic Church in Milton used the Gospel reading from Romans 8:8 to make his point. In it, Paul tells the Romans, “You are in the spirit if only the spirit of God dwells in you.”

“If we ask ourselves, ‘Do we have the spirit of God dwelling within us,’ and the answer is ‘Yes,’ then we have to be with Jesus through his suffering and death,” Uppena said. “If we are one with Jesus, we have to be with him at the Last Supper; if we are one with Jesus, we have to be with him on road to Calvary and at the foot of the cross; with him as he is taken down from the cross and with him when he is laid in the tomb.”

That’s a lot to ask ordinary Christians, especially when some of Christ’s closest followers bolted before the big event.

Uppena acknowledged the challenge but said it’s crucial for Christians to commemorate those events—“You can’t get to the resurrection except through the cross.”

In other words, there’s no new life without death.

Jones compared Holy Week to a roller coaster.

Palm and Easter Sundays are the high points of the week. The Christian experience—the ride—doesn’t make sense without the ups and downs.

“I think if we can understand how Jesus faced and suffered difficulties, dangers and disappointments, if we can observe those, then we have a place to draw upon during our times of need,” Jones said. “It also helps us know that God understands our struggles.”

Attending Holy Week services connects Christians with the reality of Christ’s life, Jones said.

“Until Christians can grasp the depth of God’s love in Good Friday, we can’t fully grasp the grace that Jesus came into the world to bring,” Jones said. “Until we can accept that grace, it will be very hard for us to accept forgiveness.”

Holy or Maundy Thursday

10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 612 N. Randall Ave., Janesville.

2 p.m. “The Passion” presentation, St. Paul Lutheran Church, 210 S. Ringold St., Janesville, and at 7 p.m., St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2921 Mt. Zion Ave., Janesville.

4 p.m., St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2921 Mt. Zion Ave., Janesville.

5:15 p.m., St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 315 Cherry St., Janesville.

5:15 p.m. dinner, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 207 E High St., Edgerton.

6:30 p.m., Faith Lutheran Church, 2116 Mineral Point Ave., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. Mary’s (Nativity of Mary) Catholic Church, 313 East Wall St., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1245 Clark St., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. Mary Catholic Church, 837 Parkview Drive, Milton.

7 p.m., St. William’s Catholic Church, 456 Arch St., Janesville.

7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 17 N. Jackson St., Janesville.

7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 700 N. Wright Road, Janesville.

7 p.m., Lakeland Community Church, N3181 Highway 67, Lake Geneva.

7 p.m., Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1550 S. Osborne Ave., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1422 Center Ave., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. John Lutheran Church, 302 N. Parker Drive, Janesville.

7 p.m., First Congregational Church, 741 E High St., Milton.

Good Friday

Noon and 7 p.m., St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2921 Mt. Zion Ave., Janesville.

12:10 and 7 p.m., St. John Lutheran Church, 302 N. Parker Drive, Janesville.

12:15 p.m. Tenebrae service, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 700 N. Wright Road, Janesville.

12:30 p.m., St. Patrick Catholic Church, 315 Cherry St., Janesville.

1 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 612 N. Randall Ave., Janesville.

1 p.m., St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 313 East Wall St., Janesville.

1 p.m., St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1245 Clark St., Janesville.

1 p.m., St. Mary Catholic Church, 837 Parkview Drive, Milton.

1 p.m., St. William Catholic Church, 456 Arch St., Janesville.

1 and 6:30 p.m., St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 709 Milton Ave., Janesville.

1 and 7 p.m., First Christian Church, 1901 Highland Ave., Janesville.

6 p.m., Roxbury Church of Christ, 2103 Roxbury Road, Janesville.

6:30 p.m., Faith Lutheran Church, 2116 Mineral Point Ave., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1422 Center Ave., Janesville.

7 p.m., Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1550 S. Osborne Ave., Janesville.

7 p.m., Rock Valley Chapel, 2780 Shopiere Road, Beloit.

7 p.m. Tenebrae service, First Congregational Church, 741 E High St., Milton.

Saturday Easter vigils

5 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 612 N. Randall Ave., Janesville.

5:30 p.m. Holy Communion service, St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2921 Mt. Zion Ave., Janesville.

5:30 p.m., Lakeland Community Church, N3181 Highway 67, Lake Geneva.

7 p.m. St. William Catholic Church, 456 Arch St., Janesville.

7 p.m., St. Mary Catholic Church, 837 Parkview Drive, Milton.

7 p.m., St. Patrick Catholic Church, 315 Cherry St., Janesville.

8 p.m., St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 313 East Wall St., Janesville.

8 p.m., St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1245 Clark St., Janesville

8 p.m., St. John Lutheran Church, 302 N. Parker Drive, Janesville.

Easter Sunday services

6:30 a.m. sunrise service, 8:15 and 10:15 a.m. services, First Lutheran Church, 612 N. Randall Ave., Janesville.

6:30 a.m. sunrise service, 8 and 10:30 a.m. festival worship, Faith Lutheran Church, 2116 Mineral Point Ave., Janesville.

6:30, 8 and 10:30 a.m., St. John Lutheran Church, 302 N. Parker Drive, Janesville.

6:30 a.m. sunrise song service and 9 a.m. festival worship, Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1550 S. Osborne Ave., Janesville.

7 a.m. sunrise worship and 10 a.m. worship, Asbury United Methodist Church, 1810 Kellogg Ave., Janesville.

7 a.m. sunrise service and 9:30 a.m. festival service, both with Holy Communion, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 700 N. Wright Road, Janesville.

7 and 9 a.m. services with Holy Communion, St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2921 Mount Zion Ave., Janesville.

7 and 10 a.m. services, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1422 Center Ave., Janesville.

7 a.m. sunrise service and 10:30 a.m. worship, First Congregational Church, 741 E High St., Milton.

7:30 a.m., Plymouth United Methodist Church, corner of highway H and Plymouth Church Road, Orfordville.

7:30 and 10 a.m., St. Patrick Catholic Church, 315 Cherry St., Janesville.

8, 9:30 and 11 a.m., St. Mary Catholic Church, 837 Parkview Drive, Milton.

8, 9:30 and 11 a.m., St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 313 East Wall St., Janesville.

8 and 10:30 a.m., St. William Catholic Church, 456 Arch St., Janesville.

8 and 10:30 a.m., St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 709 Milton Ave., Janesville

8:15 and 9:45 a.m., St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1245 Clark St., Janesville.

8:30 and 10:30 a.m., Roxbury Church of Christ, 2103 Roxbury Road, Janesville.

8:30 and 10:30 a.m., Lakeland Community Church, N3181 Highway 67, Lake Geneva.

8:45 and 10:30 a.m. Passion drama, Rock Valley Chapel, 2780 Shopiere Road, Beloit.

9:30 a.m. worship and Cantata, First Christian Church, 1909 Highland Ave., Janesville.

10 a.m. service, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, 2130 Mt. Zion Ave., Janesville.