“Holy Week is the most sacred week in the Christian calendar,” said Asa Majors, Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Morristown. “It marks the final period of Lent, and focuses on the last week of Jesus Christ’s life, leading up to His crucifixion and Resurrection.”

“The week consists of several key days, each commemorating a specific Biblical event,” Majors said. “Palm Sunday remembers Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where crowds spread palm branches before Him.”

First United Methodist Church will hold two Palm Sunday services, a traditional service in the FUMC sanctuary at 9 a.m., on Sunday, March 29, followed by Sunday School at 10 a.m., and a modern service in the FUMC gym at 11 a.m., with the worship band.

“The Children’s Choir will help lead our worship in the 9 a.m. service,” Majors said. “We will have a palm procession in both services.”

Majors explained about Maundy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper, where Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, and established the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. A Maundy Thursday service will be held in the FUMC sanctuary at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 2.

“On the night of the Last Supper, we will share Holy Communion,” Majors said. “Then, the Chancel area will be stripped of all paraments (worship cloths on pulpit, lectern, and pastor stoles), as well as other worship vessels to symbolize the dark and barren night of the crucifixion, and Jesus’ three days in the grave. The Revelation Youth Choir and Carillonneurs Bell Choir will provide the music for the service.”

Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning that marks the trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. The church will hold a Good Friday service in the FUMC sanctuary at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 3.

“The Tenebrae Service is one of the oldest Holy Week traditions of the Christian church,” said Ben Stapleton, FUMC Director of Music Ministries. “‘Tenebrae’ is the Latin word meaning ‘shadows,’ and the Tenebrae Service tells in experiential form the story of Jesus’ passion.

“As the service unfolds, symbolic candles are extinguished; the sanctuary is darkened to depict the final hours of Jesus’ life, and to dramatize the impact of His death,” Stapleton said. “When the six candles are extinguished, only the Christ candle will remain lit. Then, it will be carried out of the sanctuary that we might experience the utter darkness which fell upon the earth at the death of God’s Son, and during the three days He was in the tomb. On Easter Sunday, the Paschal candle will be lit to represent the Resurrected Lord and His triumph over death.”

Stapleton said a string orchestra composed of members of the Knoxville Symphony will join the Chancel Choir and organist Bradley Jones.

Visiting soloist Kathryn Paden will sing an aria from Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion.” The text takes the voice of Peter after he denies Jesus three times. In this heart-wrenching aria, “Erbarme Dich (Have Mercy),” the soloist asks that his (Peter’s) tears would bring forgiveness for his faithlessness, and the violin obbligato weeps along with the soloist.

A Brahms motet, “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled,” features choir with strings and a striking contrapuntal style. The compositional complexities come together in a piece of exceptional beauty, most notably in the final “Amen.”

The classic Mozart “Ave Verum Corpus” pairs voices and strings in a meditation on the body of Jesus on the cross.

Rounding out the music for Good Friday is a new setting of the hymn, “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross,” with violin and cello, as well as a setting of a lesser-known hymn, “Jesus, Thou Joy Of Loving Hearts.”

Holy Saturday is a day of quiet reflection and waiting, representing the time Jesus spent in the tomb.

Easter Sunday is the climax of the week, celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection, which Christians believe signifies victory over sin and death.

“The Resurrection celebration reminds us that, through the power of God’s love, the worst thing is never the last thing,” Majors said, quoting Frederick Buechner’s “The Final Beast.”

“The worst isn’t the last thing about the world,” she said. “It’s the next to the last thing. The last thing is the best. It’s the power from on high that comes down into the world, that wells up from the rock-bottom worst of the world like a hidden spring.”

The church will hold two Resurrection celebrations, a traditional service in the FUMC sanctuary at 9 a.m., on Sunday, April 5, with choir, brass, and timpani, followed by Sunday School at 10 a.m., and a modern service in the FUMC gym at 11 a.m., with the worship band.

First United Methodist Church is located at 101 East First North Street in Morristown. To ask questions about the church’s Sunday worship services, call 423-581-2180, or visit www.fumcmorristown.org.