With the arrival of Jesus in

Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,

we begin Holy Week, the

highest holy time for Christians.

This is the narrow gate through

which, and only through which,

we can arrive in surprise and joy at

the celebration of the resurrection of

our Lord and Saviour.  It is a week of

high drama and pathos which we best

mark with our fellow Christians

through worship, the washing of feet, the sharing of the Eucharist, the extinguishing

of light.

Holy Week is part

of the season of

Lent.  The colour

for this week

changes though,

from purple to red,

signifying the shift

in the season as 

we enter the time

of Jesus' passion.

Many folks wonder

what the best

ways are for

children to

experience this high, holy time.  If your church takes care to include the children in the

way it marks this time together, then this is the best of all the possibilities.  At home

through this week we engage in a number of practices, including having our traveling

Jesus arrive in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (traveling Jesus), highlighting a story from 

this time on Holy Monday through Holy Wednesday, extinguishing more and more of 

the candles we have been lighting throughout Lent and burying Jesus in his borrowed

tomb on Friday.  See below for more detailed descriptions.

If you hesitate to mark

this week at home or

by having your children

attend your church's

gatherings and worship

during this week, let

me reassure you that

it can be one of the

greatest gifts you can

give to them to do so.

Very young children

may not understand

everything that is

happening in this week but they do want to be a part of what we believe is important

and their presence with us as we move through the events and activities of this week

allows them to do just that.  They are unlikely to be disturbed by the story.  Already

by the age of three

children are having

nightmares - they

know that every-

thing is not right

with the world,

they have likely

glimpsed the

reality of suffering

and they have

their own fears. 

What happens

to Jesus through

this week may not

even surprise them.  What their participation in the week does do is give them the

reassurance that suffering and death are not the end of the story.  That God has

and will triumph.