Last Sunday, my ward watched a recorded broadcast from the area presidency of our local area – North America Southwest. The theme of the broadcast was about Easter and how we need to do more as individuals and as a church to prepare for and celebrate it. I was glad to hear this, because I’ve been saying that for at least 20 years. The area president said that we should have as big a lead-up to Easter as we do to Christmas. After the broadcast, we brainstormed as a ward ways we can do that in our local area.
I’m the ward music chair, so a lot of the liturgical celebration falls to me. We don’t have many Easter hymns in our hymnal, so I’m pleased that the church released another one in the new set of hymns. It’s an old classic – Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise. I’ve always been fond of it, and I’ll likely make it the opening hymn on Easter Sunday.
Easter is in a little less than three months. Theologically, it’s the most significant holiday in Christianity, but it often takes a back seat to Christmas (and in some years, though thankfully not this year, general conference). What are some ways that you prepare for the lead-up to Easter? Do you get ashes on Ash Wednesday? Do you observe Lent, Palm Sunday, or Good Friday? Do you read the gospels in preparation? Do you have any other traditions? Let’s give Easter the attention it deserves this year.
5 Responses
When I was ward music chair, I created my own Easter season in my ward. We sang Christ centered hymns the entire month preceeding Easter. I also had special musical numbers each Sunday focused on Christ like we often do at Christmas. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but it brought me joy.
That’s a great idea! I think I’ll incorporate it into my ward. One thing I always do is select “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” for the opening hymn on Palm Sunday. I don’t know if anyone else notices the connection, but I like it.
I had never noticed the connection between that song and Palm Sunday. I love it. I think I’ll suggest it to my ward music chair.
I have noticed more effort in recent years to make Easter more special. It’s strange that it wasn’t always the case. One time we were visiting family at Easter time and it was high council Sunday and it was the typical HC Sunday with no Easter music or even a mention of Easter.. It was rather disturbing that no one had thought of it?
My personal beliefs and practices have changed a lot but I always enjoy music that focuses on Jesus. I particularly love O Savior, Thou who wearest a crown, but the music often seems challenging or unfamiliar to many congregations. It’s really beautiful and touches me in a way that many pieces written by old masters can, though the words are modern..
I’ve thought this exact same thing for probably the same amount of time but have never seen any effort at all in church settings except for singing a couple of extra hymns in sacrament meeting. That is so great that your Area Presidency made that statement and is encouraging a lot more thought and preparation, and comparing it to Christmas! Finally! Wish Church headquarters would do the same! One year, my stake hosted an interfaith musical fireside on Palm Sunday with so many beautiful performances about the Savior, and I wish they did it every year but it was apparently a one-off.
My husband and I have done a Passover dinner at church a couple of times when we were teaching Primary and Sunday School – we had all the foods of unleavened bread, bitter herbs, hard boiled eggs, charoset, grape juice for wine, etc … and discuss the symbolism of each item. We’ve done it at home on the Thursday of Holy Week, regardless of when Passover actually is that year.
A few years ago, I looked up the Lent/Easter traditions of other faiths and found the three bullet points of prayer, fasting, and alms. I think Ash Wednesday, even though to me it seems kind of an arbitrary date and I don’t understand it, is a good bracket for the remembrance. I do my own version of prayer/scriptures for 40 minutes a day, abstaining from something for the 7 weeks (not the LDS version of no food/water) and I’ll take any excuse to eat fish weekly (ha!), and making extra charitable donations.