Next week is Holy Week, the time when Christians around the world remember Christ’s passion and journey to the cross.
At Estes Park United Methodist Church, we invite everyone to special services as we worship together on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
“Holy Week invites us into the full story,” explained EPUMC’s Rev. Ann Lantz. “It moves from the love shared at the table, through the sorrow of the cross, to the hope of resurrection. Each service helps us remember that God meets us in every part of the journey.”
Maundy Thursday – A Service for all the Senses – April 17, 2025, 6 p.m. EPUMC’s Maundy Thursday service will engage the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. This multi-sensory worship experience invites us to walk alongside Jesus during his final evening
with his disciples. We’ll reflect on powerful themes of love, humility, strength, forgiveness, and gratitude through sight, sounds, touch, taste, and smell. This is a unique opportunity to experience the story of Jesus’s last supper in a way that is both familiar and freshly moving.
Good Friday – A Service of Shadows and Stones – April 18, 2025, 12 p.m. (Noon) Estes Park United Methodist Church has planned a solemn and reflective Good Friday worship service titled A Service of Shadows and Stones. This deeply moving service will guide
participants through the final hours of Jesus’ life, using scripture, song, prayer, and silence to reflect on the weight of the cross and the depth of Christ’s love.
Structured around a series of “shadows”—Condemnation, Separation, Sorrow, Despair, Suffering, and Death—each moment invites worshipers to enter into the story with reverence and honesty. As each shadow is read, a stone will symbolize the burden carried and the pain endured, helping us to feel the gravity of Good Friday in a tangible way.
Traditional hymns such as Go to Dark Gethsemane, What Wondrous Love Is This, and Jesus, Remember Me will accompany the readings, offering space for contemplation and prayer. The service will conclude in silence, inviting all to leave in quiet reflection, carrying the story with them into the waiting of Holy Saturday.
Easter Sunday – Christ is Risen! – April 20, 2025, 9:45 a.m. EPUMC will celebrate Easter Sunday with a vibrant and hope-filled Easter worship service. This special service marks the culmination of Holy Week and proclaims the good news of resurrection with music, prayer, and celebration.
Centered on the theme Everything In Between: Grief and Hope, the service reflects on the journey from sorrow to joy, reminding us that God’s grace meets us wherever we are—whether in doubt, grief, or celebration. Through Scripture, song, and a message from Pastor Ann Lantz, worshipers will be invited to encounter the Easter story in a deeply personal way.
The Chancel Choir will offer two musical selections, Ring the Easter Bells Victorious and Celebrate This Glorious Day, and the congregation will join in classic hymns such as Christ the Lord Is Risen Today and The Day of Resurrection. A special children’s message, a unison prayer of confession, and an affirmation of faith will further draw us into the joy and mystery of Easter morning.
Whether you come with confidence or questions, in celebration or in search of peace, all are welcome to share in this time of worship, community, and renewal.
“From the upper room to the empty tomb, Holy Week reminds us that God walks with us through love, loss, and new life,” said Rev. Lantz. “Easter morning is the promise that hope and love always have the last word.”
