The Context of Maundy Thursday
I love the liturgical seasons of the church. When I first came to the Episcopal Church I was captivated by the services of Holy Week – all of them except Maundy Thursday. I never attended a Maundy Thursday service that didn’t feel like a let down in some way, except for one. When I lived in Nigeria, I remember attending an Anglican church for a Maundy Thursday service. When the priest washed our feet, it meant something. Everyone wore sandals or flip flops over dusty roads. Our feet were actually dirty and exposed, and that foot washing took on a new meaning for me. However, in most of our churches, very few people like to get their feet washed. Foot washing on Maundy Thursday is often awkward and unsettling rather than a remembrance of Jesus on the last night with his disciples.
Many years ago, I was looking at the organist copy of the Hymnal 1982 and discovered a lot of extra music that doesn’t show up in the pew editions. I found a chant (S 344) that I immediately fell in love with and wondered how to bring into a Maundy Thursday service. And then I started rethinking the service itself. For the church I attended in Massachusetts, I set out to create a setting that would allow foot washing and Eucharist to be within the context of the upper room discourse from John 13-17. I wanted to create a formation piece that would help participants know the longer story of Thursday in Holy Week broken into parts for readers.
Originally, we set this in our parish hall. A table was set in the center with folks ask to read one of the disciples as they walked in. The narrator, Jesus, and Peter were chosen ahead of time. Other participants sat in a circle around the table with choir members interspersed. Altar guild set up what was needed for Eucharist and for foot washing on the side so that it could be used at the proper time. 12 assorted candles were lit on the table and when Judas leaves he blew out his candle. We would eventually move into a darkened sanctuary for the final scenes and the stripping of the altar while the choir chanted. The reserve sacrament would be taken to the back of the church where we had created a garden from house plants folks brought in (complete with the sound of water from a small fountain hidden under the pews). Everyone would sing “Were you There” and then depart in silence. It was simple and yet moving.
I am offering you this “script” with the story broken into parts. Many churches have used and adapted it over the years and you have my permission to do so. Please feel free to use any part of this as you wish. Adapt to fit your community. Just let me know if it you use it.
Blessings, Amy.