St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church

Baptism of Our Lord
2026-01-11 - 2026-01-12
In the waters of the Jordan, Jesus is revealed as the beloved Son of God. Through this great epiphany, Jesus fulfills all righteousness and becomes the servant of God who will bring forth justice and be a light to the nations. In the waters of baptism we too are washed by the Word, anointed by the Spirit, and named God’s beloved children. Our baptismal mission is to proclaim good news to all who are oppressed or in need of God’s healing.

Martin Luther King Jr, renewer of society
2026-01-15 - 2026-01-16
An American prophet of justice among races and nations, King was an eloquent preacher, a leader of the nonviolent resistance to race-segregated society, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Born on this date, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Antony of Egypt, renewer of the church
2026-01-17 - 2026-01-18
One of the earliest of the Egyptian desert fathers, Antony gave away his sizeable inheritance and became a hermit. Later he became leader of a group of monks who devoted themselves to prayer, worship, and labor. Died around the year 356.

Pachomius, renewer of the church
2026-01-17 - 2026-01-18
Born in Egypt, Pachomius became a Christian while a soldier. He became a hermit (a solitary monk) and organized others into a religious community. His rule for monasteries influenced later ones in both the Eastern and Western churches. Died around the year 346.

Confession of Peter
2026-01-18 - 2026-01-19
Today the church remembers the apostle Peter’s great acknowledgement of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This festival serves as a fitting beginning to the week in which we particularly pray that all Christians might be united in faith and witness.

Henry, Biship of Uppsala, martyr
2026-01-19 - 2026-01-20
When Erik, King of Sweden, determined to invade Finland for the purpose of converting the people there to Christianity, Henry went with him. Henry is recognized as the patron saint of Finland. Died 1156.

Agnes, martyr
2026-01-21 - 2026-01-22
Agnes was a girl of about thirteen living in Rome. The details of her martyrdom are not clear, but she gave witness to her faith and was put to death as a result, most likely by the sword. The church has honored her as one of the chief martyrs of her time. Died around the year 304.

Conversion of Paul
2026-01-25 - 2026-01-26
The week of prayer begun by the remembrance of Peter’s confession now comes to an end as we recall the pivotal moment in the life of the other pillar of the early church, the apostle Paul. His encounter with the risen Christ turned him from persecutor of the followers of Christ to one of their leaders.

Timoty, Titus, and Silas, missionaries
2026-01-26 - 2026-01-27
These three early Christian men were missionary companions of the apostle Paul. Timothy became bishop of Ephesus, Titus bishop of Crete, and Silas was imprisoned with Paul at Philippi until they were delivered by an earthquake.

Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, witnesses to the faith
2026-01-27 - 2026-01-28
Women as well as men were important Christian leaders from the beginning, as demonstrated by these coworkers of the apostle Paul. Lydia, a seller of purple goods, lent her home for a church; Dorcas was known for charitable works; and Phoebe was a deacon in the church at Cenchrae.

Thomas Aquinas, teacher
2026-01-28 - 2026-01-29
One of the most brilliant and creative theologians in the church’s history, Aquinas worked to bring together scripture and the philosophy of Aristotle. A member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), Aquinas was also a hymnwriter. Died 1274

Presentation of Our Lord
2026-02-02 - 2026-02-03
Forty days after the birth of Jesus we mark the day Mary and Joseph presented him in the temple in accordance with Jewish law. There they were greeted by Simeon, an aged priest who offered the song “Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace,” as well as by the prophet Anna, who spoke of the redemption of Israel.

Transfiguration of Our Lord
2026-02-15 - 2026-02-16
Today’s festival is a bridge between the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle that comes to a close today and the Lent-Easter cycle that begins in several days. On a high mountain Jesus is revealed as God’s beloved Son, echoing the words at his baptism. This vision of glory sustains us as Jesus faces his impending death in Jerusalem. We turn this week to Ash Wednesday and our yearly baptismal journey from Lent to Easter. Some churches put aside the alleluia at the conclusion of today’s liturgy. This word of joy will be omitted during the penitential season of Lent and will be sung again at Easter.

Ash Wednesday
2026-02-18 - 2026-02-19
On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey toward Easter with a day of fasting and repentance. Marking our foreheads with dust, we acknowledge that we die and return to the earth. At the same time, the dust traces the life-giving cross indelibly marked on our foreheads at baptism. While we journey through Lent to return to God, we have already been reconciled to God through Christ. We humbly pray for God to make our hearts clean while we rejoice that “now is the day of salvation.” Returning to our baptismal call, we more intentionally bear the fruits of mercy and justice in the world.

Sunday of the Passion
2026-03-29 - 2026-03-30
Palm Sunday Reconsidered – The Lutheran Witness
Over the years some have suggested that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (known as Vatican II) of the Roman Catholic Church “messed up” our Lutheran observance of Palm Sunday by inserting the Passion account into the day. Some have further suggested that the Passion on Palm Sunday is an accommodation to those who might skip the services of Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. But that’s not really the case.
Palm Sunday, as we know it today, is an amalgamation of two distinct lines of the church’s tradition: the palm branch custom of the Jerusalem church of the fourth century and the Western Church tradition prior and parallel to that of reading the Passion narrative. The Palm Sunday we know, as it’s given (admittedly rather abbreviated) in Lutheran Service Book (LSB), is where those two lines meet.
A pilgrim’s tale
If you went back to fourth-century Jerusalem, you’d meet a Spanish pilgrim named Egeria. We don’t know much about her except that she traveled extensively throughout the Holy Land from about A.D. 381 to 386, keeping a very detailed travelogue of her journey — what, when and how various days and holy days were celebrated and observed. Her account has survived to this day.
For the Sunday before Easter, she notes that for the morning ceremonies and Divine Service “everything” is done “as usual” — her phrase for when what’s done in Jerusalem is the same as back home in Spain — except for the afternoon. Around noon or one o’clock, everyone gathers on the Mount of Olives for a service of prayer and readings, then they process with palm and olive branches to the place where Jesus ascended, and they offer more prayers and readings. Then they process with their branches back into Jerusalem for the afternoon services around five o’clock.
At that same time, however, in the Western Church — even in Egeria’s Spain — we find no mention of palms or Palm Sunday in either the readings for the Divine Service or in the names for the Sunday (of which there were many). Rather, the focus for that Sunday is on the Lord’s Passion; St. Matthew’s account was the standard.
But that begins to change, and in a way that’s similar to what still happens today. When you go on vacation or visit a different congregation, perhaps you bring a bulletin back to show your pastor. Maybe you even suggest, “This congregation did such and such a thing … could we try that here?” Thanks to pilgrims like Egeria (and many countless others whose names and accounts are lost to us) the palm theme migrates to other Christian communities. It first shows up, as you might guess, in Spain by the fifth century. Over the course of the next 500 years, it spreads from Spain into Gaul (modern-day France) then into Germany. Around the end of the sixth century, the practice had already been used, in modified form, in Rome.
As palm ceremonies meet the tradition of reading the Passion accounts in the West, they remain a bit distinct. The “liturgy of the palms” is placed prior to the Divine Service, as the Passion maintains preeminence in the Divine Service; our Palm Sunday rite in LSB still maintains this tension. However, over the course of 1,100 years, the ceremonies of the palm rite expand.
Reformation adjustments
By the time of the Reformation, the palm rite with the triumphal entry Gospel had become, essentially, a full, separate “Divine Service” culminating in, not the reception of the Lord’s body and blood, but the reception of the blessed palms. In any given region, you could find that basic structure of the Divine Service for the palms: psalmody and antiphons, up to six prayers of blessing, multiple readings, sometimes a brief sermon and finally the “consecration” of the palms with its own Proper Preface, the singing of the Sanctus, the praying of the Lord’s Prayer and, finally, the distribution of the palms.
So what about the Lutherans? Well, amongst us, you found both the full rite with the Passion or “just” Palm Sunday. Places like Brandenburg (1540) kept the full palm rite but omitted the consecration of the palms. In 1589, Matthäus Ludecus, dean of the Lutheran cathedral of Havelberg, criticized the palm procession (he’d inherited an elaborate one) but provided most of the music for it as well as three settings of St. Matthew’s Passion.
However, places like Magdeburg, in the 1613 Cathedral Book (similar to our Altar Book), appoints simply the triumphal entry account for Palm Sunday. There’s no reading of the Passion. The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH, 1941) followed that tradition. It should be noted, though, that in the Holy Week 1963 issue of the early liturgical journal, Una Sancta, the more ancient Palm Sunday celebration (as well the more historic rites for Good Friday and the Easter Vigil) was (re?)introduced to large sections of American Lutheranism.
But no matter how you celebrate Palm Sunday, what everyone agrees on is the singing of “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” (LSB 442). This hymn has been part of the Palm Sunday liturgy since the ninth century. Written by Theodulf (d. c. 821), bishop of Orléans, legend holds that he’d fallen out of favor with the emperor and was imprisoned. As he heard the palm procession pass by the prison, he began singing his hymn. It so impressed the emperor that he had Theodulf released and restored to his position, requesting that the hymn be sung during the palm procession every year. The emperor’s request has been met ever since.
Misnomers
Perhaps something should be said about the unfortunate misnomer of Palm Sunday as “The Sunday of the Passion.” That is a recent development. As already mentioned, Palm Sunday has been “Palm Sunday” since the fifth century. Yes, the Passion is read, but the day is named for the palm ceremony and the triumphal entry. Historically, “Passion Sunday” was the Sunday before Palm Sunday, known in the one-year lectionary as Judica. Whereas the preceding Sundays in Lent are catechetical in nature about what it means to be baptized into Christ, Judica begins the final two-week journey where our focus shifts especially to Jesus’ physical sufferings for our sake as the plots and threats against Him rise. Palm Sunday, then, begins Holy Week, still part of Passiontide, where that suffering reaches its fulfillment, as the plot is carried out and Jesus sheds His blood to win our salvation. This is triumph.
So, what does this mean? The LSB Palm Sunday rite — with procession and the Passion — has just as much Lutheran history and precedent as TLH’s “just” Palm Sunday. It’s also commended to us by the majority of Christian history. So, if your pastor uses this rite, rest assured he’s not doing something weird or strange; he’s not following after Vatican II, or covering all his bases, or accommodating those inclined to skip Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. What LSB offers is the Western Church’s tradition of about 1,600 years, which has fed and nourished Christians in times of plague, war, fear, unrest and also in times of peace.
Receive the gifts
In fact, if your church offers the Divine Service or even the Daily Offices for Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I encourage you to attend those as well. And, if not, ask your pastor about it. Yes, you will hear all four Passion accounts — Matthew on Sunday, Mark on Tuesday, Luke on Wednesday and John on Friday. You’ll also hear the writings of the prophets looking forward to these things. You’ll hear the preaching of the Apostles ruminating on the fulfillment of these things and the gifts thereby given. You will hear an abundance of Holy Scripture gloriously woven together. You will hear the fullness of the Lord Jesus’ suffering and death, recounted by each of the holy evangelists with their specific emphases, whereby He rescues us from sin, death and the devil.
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!

Maundy Thursday
2026-04-02 - 2026-04-03
The liturgical color is either scarlet or white.
What does the name mean?
The term “Maundy” comes from the Latin “mandatum;” it is from a verb that means “to give” or “to order” — command. After Jesus and the disciples finished the Last Supper and walked toward Gethsemane, Jesus taught them a new commandment — “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).
The Last Supper
On the first Maundy Thursday, after they had eaten, Jesus gave the disciples his body and blood together with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of their sins. Called Holy Communion or the Eucharist, Lutherans believe this to be one of two sacraments — gifts from God. Most worship services focus on the meal and communion as a way to commemorate this day.
Foot washing
The story of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel records a remarkable event that is not mentioned in the other Gospels — to illustrate humility, Jesus performs the duty of a slave, washing the feet of his disciples and urging them to do the same for one another. Some Lutheran congregations incorporate this act of humility into their Maundy Thursday services.
Stripping of the altar
After the Eucharist is celebrated it is customary to “strip the altar,” which symbolizes the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers before his crucifixion. It represents the humiliation of Jesus and the consequences of sin as a preparation for the celebration of new life. In many congregations Psalm 22 is read or sung while the paraments are being removed.
-from Living Lutheran

Service of Maundy Thursday
2026-04-02 19:00 - 19:30 (America/Denver)

Good Friday
2026-04-03 - 2026-04-04
No vestments or paraments are used on this day.

The stations of the cross

The stations of the cross is a devotional practice that consists of 14 stations, each one standing for an event that occurred in the passion of Jesus. Art, combined with literature, movement, prayer and reflection assist people as they work their way through this devotion.
The seven last words of Jesus
These are the phrases spoken by Christ during the time of his crucifixion. Recorded in the Gospels, they reveal the divinity of Jesus as well as his humanity.
‘Tre Ore’
Italian for “three hours,” “tre ore” refers to the time that Christ was on the cross — from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. While no definite ritual is prescribed, this service centers on a series of homilies on the seven last words of Christ, along with appropriate hymns, periods for silent meditation, and the stations of the cross.
Tenebrae (Latin for “shadows” or “darkness”)
Tenebrae is usually held the evening of Good Friday and includes the gradual dimming of the lights and extinguishing of candles. The Christ candle is removed from the sanctuary and a concluding “Strepitus” or loud noise (slamming shut the Bible) symbolizes the earthquake and agony of creation at the death of Christ.
–from Living Lutheran

Service of Good Friday
2026-04-03 19:00 - 19:30

Easter Breakfast
2026-04-05 08:00 - 09:30

Easter Morning Sunday Service
2026-04-05 10:00 - 11:30

Easter Sunday
2026-04-05 - 2026-04-06
White is the liturgical color used on this night.
The Easter Vigil is the pinnacle of the church year. Held between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter morning, it is the first celebration of Easter (traditionally holy days are considered to begin at sunset).
Service of Light
The Easter Vigil begins outside of the church building where a new paschal candle is blessed. Worshipers are reminded of the connection between the Passover of ancient Israel and the new Passover, which is Christ’s victory over sin and death.
Alleluia!
The alleluia is used for the first time since the beginning of Lent.
Baptism and affirmation of baptism
During a service of new beginnings, new brothers and sisters in Christ are baptized and new members are received through confirmation or the profession of faith.
Vigil readings
In “Evangelical Lutheran Worship” there are 12 Old Testament readings that are appointed for this service, which recount the acts of salvation throughout history. Some of the readings may be omitted leaving four that should not be excluded — the story of creation, the deliverance at the Red Sea, salvation freely offered from Isaiah and Daniel’s deliverance from the fiery furnace.
-from Living Lutheran
