Maundy Thursday Service on Apr 14, 2022 at the Episcopal Church of St. Martin in Davis, CA

This is a recording of our contemporary Rite II Maundy Thursday service, hosted through Zoom on April 14, 2022. For more information, including how to join online or in-person services, please visit www.churchofstmartin.org. This service was our service at 7pm. Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday, marks the end of Holy Week and the beginning of the Triduum, the three most solemn days of the liturgical calendar. There are several themes woven into tonight’s service, including the mandate (“mandatum” in Latin) to love one another as Jesus loves us. This is embodied in the foot-washing ritual. We know this can be an uncomfortable moment for some, but hope you will consider participating anyway. The service concludes with the stripping of the altar. We are, essentially, preparing for the death of Jesus through these symbolic actions. On the one hand, stripping away decorations from the sanctuary is supposed to remind us of how Jesus had his clothes taken from him before he was crucified. On the other hand, it reminds us of those faithful few who were unafraid to go to the tomb and prepare his body for burial. We treat the altar, as always, with utmost respect and reverence, as the place where the sacrifice of the Mass is carried out; the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper is another theme in tonight’s liturgy. There will not be another opportunity to bless the sacrament or to receive Communion until the Easter Vigil. When we leave church tonight, we are stepping into Good Friday—thus the silence and darkness. #stmartinsdavis Music with permission from: One License.net A-715551 CCLI 1839803