What’s Happening at St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia during the season of Holy Week and Easter:

Holy Week Schedule

Palm Sunday: 11 AM on St. Peter’s YouTube Channel.  On Palm Sunday, you are invited to collect some sign of life, hope, growth, or renewal from your home or neighborhood—a flower, a tree branch, a leaf—and join us for a worship service on YouTube. These will be what we raise for a blessing, and to celebrate the triumph of life in Christ and our ever-present hope of his return. After the service, place whatever sign of life you used in the Palm processional in your window or on your door – continue to share the blessing and good news of Christ to all who see it.

Evening Prayer Service: 6:30 PM Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday on St. Peter’s YouTube Channel. Journey through the last week of Jesus’ life with an evening service of prayers, Bible readings, reflections from Rev. Claire and Rev. Sarah.

Maundy Thursday Agape Meal: 6:30 PM on Zoom. This service weaves together parts of the Maundy Thursday service, and also includes an Agape Meal we will share from our homes. Plan to have a simple meal, with food like bread, nuts, fruit and some kind of drink, wine, juice, water. You are also invited to set your table, and to clear it away at the end of the service, as a connection to the stripping of the altar.

Good Friday Service: Noon on St. Peter’s YouTube Channel Our Good Friday service is an ancient service focused on the story of Jesus’ death and prayers venerating the Cross.

Way of the Cross: 2 PM on St. Peter’s YouTube Channel.  Join us as we follow the Way of the Cross, using the stations on our website. We will offer prayers at each station. This service will last around 40-45 minutes.

Holy Saturday Service: 10 AM on St. Peter’s YouTube Channel.  On the Saturday of Holy Week, everything was so still you could almost hear the earth breathe. There was nothing that could be done. Holy Saturday is a waiting day. We know all too well about waiting – about being in-between what was and what is to come. Could this day be one where we open ourselves to this stillness and waiting, with intention? Join us for a prayer service on the morning of Holy Saturday.

Easter Service: 11 AM on St. Peter’s YouTube Channel.  Join us for a festive Easter celebration!

Easter for Families with Young Children

Children and families are welcome to participate in all the Holy Week events, but we also have some special events and resources just for you!

• Jesus’ Big Week:  9 AM Sunday, March 28 on Zoom – We hear the story of Holy Week, where Jesus takes a big chance because he loves us.
• Maundy Thursday:  5:30 PM Thursday, April 1 on Zoom – We tell the story of Jesus’ Last Supper, and celebrate this story with foot washing. Bring a bowl of water and towel to the Zoom.
• Easter Sunday:  9 AM Sunday, April 4 on Zoom – Festive and interactive service to celebrate the resurrection, including the story of the empty tomb.
• Virtual Easter Egg Hunt: One of the kids in our St. Peter’s Children’s Service, Eva Cielo, designed a virtual Easter egg hunt that kids can play online! Just click the green flag to start the game and search for four eggs in each scene.
  Click here to play the game.

Other Ways to Observe Holy Week

Stations of the Cross: Pandemic Hope / Located on the brick wall along Pine Street between Third and Fourth Streets. This year we feature a special Stations of the Cross by artist Mary Button, that lift up images and stories of hope, resiliency, and relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. You are invited to pray and meditate as you journey with Jesus at our outdoor Stations of the Cross, or view the Stations of the Cross online here.

What to Expect

At St. Peter’s, we welcome the faithful, the seeker, the doubter, for God’s embrace is wide and God’s good news is for all. Whoever you are, and wherever you find yourself on the journey of faith, you are welcome at St. Peter’s, just as you are, to receive the riches of God’s blessings so freely given. What We Believe >>

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

We say that every year on Easter, in fact, almost every Sunday of the Church Year, and some years it is easy to see and say, some years not so much. This last year has been hard—I know you don’t need me to tell you that. We have all suffered so much—death, grief, isolation, loneliness, depression, despair, political upheaval, and the “background” noise of the usual aches and pains of life. And yet, here we are, proclaiming “Alleluia!” Proclaiming life in the midst of death. Proclaiming triumph in the midst of what looks like defeat and despair. To an observer, it could seem like we have lost our collective mind. But I don’t think so. 

Because the story of death and new life, the story that Jesus lived and lives, is God’s story—it is ingrained, built right into the world. The pattern of suffering and dying, yet being reborn is one that the trees know, the birds and squirrels know, and one that we know too. It is a story that acknowledges the distorted and broken world in which we live and the violence we do to each other, and yet states loudly, clearly, and unequivocally that the end of the story is always new life in God. That nothing is more powerful than God’s love, not even death. That resurrection, both in this life and in the life to come is God’s way. It is a story that we walk in our own lives, and that in the next week we will walk with Jesus. Come join us at St. Peter’s during Holy Week as we wait with Jesus and bear witness to the end of his life, then joyfully shout “Alleluia!” with us on Easter as God puts an eternal exclamation point on God’s YES to life.