Maundy Thursday. This service celebrates the Last Supper of Jesus, the night of the Jewish Passover where he imparts to his disciples the practice of Holy Communion and also the night when he is betrayed and abandoned by his disciples.

Then name comes from the Latin “mandatum” or mandate – a commandment. At the table with the Disciples, Jesus says to them, “A new commandment I give you: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you should love one another.”

The service centers on the teaching of Jesus, remembrance of his life with his followers (then and now), and the celebration of Holy Communion. The Service ends with the stripping of the Altar as Psalm 22 is said/sung. This is a symbolic act that foreshadows Jesus death and burial while also readying us for the starkness of the day to follow: Good Friday when Jesus dies on the cross.