Local church draws local community during Holy Week
- Kyla Ann Faircloth
- 19 minutes ago
- 3 min read
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— From April 13 to April 20, 2025, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown West Palm Beach participated in Holy Week with a series of church services honoring the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Attendance rose throughout the week.
On Maundy Thursday, there were an estimated 75 to 90 attendees, and on Good Friday, there were about 200 people across three services. Attendance on Palm Sunday rose by about 50%, and on Easter Sunday, it at least doubled.
Holy Week began with Palm Sunday, when Holy Trinity had three holy Eucharist services: a traditional language communion service, which included prayers, readings, and hymns that have been used for centuries, and two modern language communion services, which included the same prayers, readings, and hymns in a contemporary way to connect with modern worshippers.
The procession began outside, where the attendees waved palm branches as they walked into the church. The goal was to recreate a Bible scene from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in which Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey while the people wave palm branches.
Palm Beach Atlantic University professor of New Testament and associate director of their accelerated ministry program, Dr. Grenz, who has been at Holy Trinity for two and a half years, looks forward to celebrating Easter through Ascension Day and into Pentecost every year.
“My favorite part would have to be either the Maundy Thursday service or the Stations of the Cross. In general, Holy Week is so important because it helps us understand the significance of Easter Sunday,” said Grenz.
Two of the services included a choir, bells, and a brass orchestra, as well as a solemn reading of Luke’s Passion, which told the story of Jesus’ final days on Earth.
Holy Trinity’s choir practices on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings in preparation for Sunday services. However, for holidays such as Easter, their rehearsals are often scheduled on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Associate Rector Rev. D.J. Griffin, who has been working at Holy Trinity for four years, described the hymns, the smell of the many lilies in the church, and the Exsultet, the chanted proclamation of Christ’s resurrection at the Sunrise Vigil Service, as his favorite parts of Holy Week.
“My favorite parts of Holy Week are the hymns, particularly ‘When I survey the wondrous cross’ on Palm Sunday, ‘Abide with me’ on Maundy Thursday, and ‘Were you there’ on Good Friday,” Griffin said.
Maundy Thursday was the day before Jesus’ death. It was observed at Holy Trinity through an evening modern language communion service that involved the stripping of the altar, which represented Jesus’ humiliation, bareness, and suffering on the cross.
Holy Trinity had three services in honor of Good Friday, when Jesus died on the cross. These consisted of a Good Friday liturgy service with a reading of St. John’s Passion and two Stations of the Cross services, during which the attendees moved through a series of images depicting Jesus’ last day on Earth.
On Sunday, Holy Trinity celebrated Easter with four services: a sunrise service, a traditional language communion service, and two modern language communion services.
“I would probably make a distinction between Holy Week and Easter, strictly speaking, but Easter is kind of a part of Holy Week. It’s the culmination of Holy Week, but also the beginning of a 50-day season of celebrating the Resurrection,” Griffin said.
By Kyla Ann Faircloth