Songs & Updates for Holy Week 2026

Posted by on
 
Holy Week 2026
Image Source: Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Thanks for a strong Palm Sunday last week! I was a bit nervous about Jesus, the Lord, but it ended up working out nicely. The harmonies on Where You There lovely too! Here's the audio.

Holy Week continues! Thanks so much for all of your time and flexibility over the past few months (especially with the extra rehearsals). There's a ton of music & logistics, but it's finally coming together!

As a reminder, here's what the schedule looks like for the week. If you need time to set up/prep, please come ~15 min. early! That way, we can start these final rehearsals on time (we'll need that full hour for Vigil, I suspect :-).
  • Thursday, April 2nd - Holy Thursday (Joanne):
    • Rehearsal @ 6:15 PM
    • Mass @ 7:00 PM
  • Friday, April 3rd - Good Friday:
    • Rehearsal @ 12:30 PM
    • Prelude @ 1:55 PM
    • Service @ 2:00 PM
  • Saturday, April 4th - Easter Vigil:
    • Rehearsal @ 7:00 PM
    • Mass @ 8:00 PM
  • Sunday, April 5th - Easter Sunday:
    • Mass @ 8:30 AM (Barb P.)
    • Mass @ 10:30 AM (Joanne)

You're more than welcome to come out Thursday (or Sunday!) as well; music is posted to the website.

Finally, if you have questions or need anything, please get in touch! Happy to chat or find time to meet. I want to make sure you're all comfortable with what's happening (especially for Saturday). 

If I don't see you, have a happy, blessed Easter!


Good Friday
Friday, April 3rd @ 2:00 PM

Director: Cris
Singers: Cris, Melissa, Lisa, Frank, Barb P., Barry, Jake, Ben, Ginny
Instrumentalists: Bev (piano), Frank (guitar)
Out: Joe, Maureen, Karen, Ally

If you'd like the music plan for your binder, the final version is HERE. There won't be a printed program, so we'll need to put page numbers up on the hymn boards. 

If you can, please wear RED. Red is the liturgical color for Good Friday, so it would be nice to match (we should have done this for Palm Sunday as well -- my bad!).

Let's plan to use the front row choir & guitar mics (normal Saturday setup); if others join us, we can expand into the second row. 

There should be plenty of time before the liturgy, so let's run the entire program. We may possibly look at some Vigil songs too. And if we have a chance for a quick group photo, that would be great!

It goes without saying that Good Friday is a more somber liturgy. Let's keep the music more subdued than usual. I'll also try to keep any conducting 'small' (but still clear!) to minimize distractions.

Prelude:
Who is That Man? (Besig)

**We'll sing this five minutes before the liturgy starts. Please watch for cues, especially on the sustained notes!**

Responsorial Ps (Barb P.):
SS #058 - Ps 22 - My God, My God (Smith)

**This will be done the same way as last weekend. If others join us, let's make sure we're in-sync on the triplets during the refrain!**

Acclamation (All):
GC3 #511 - Were You There? (Spiritual)

**We have new booklets for The Passion this year! But we'll still sing each verse in the usual spots:

Before: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”
​Pause: “Were you there when He bowed His head and died?”
​After: “Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?”

Don't forget that the second verse isn't in the book! If there's time, I'll try to knock out a quick transcription with just the verses we need.**

Intercessions (Cris & Barb P.):
The Solemn Intercessions

**Barb P. and I will cantor a total of 11 Intercessions (one was added by Bishop Mark this year). Bev will give us pitches on organ.

At the end of each Intercession, everyone responds "Lord, hear our prayer". Father will then recite a prayer, before we move onto the next Intercession.

If you'd like to follow along, a copy of the Intercessions is in the folder.**

Solemn Procession:
GC3 #514 - Behold the Wood (Schutte)

**As a reminder, the cross will be brought up the isle and stopped at three points. Each time, we'll give Fr. Jozef a cue note and he'll sing "Behold, behold the wood of the cross, on which is hung our salvation" (or something along those lines). We genuflect and respond "O come, let us adore".**

Veneration:
Instrumental Selection

**From past Fridays, Veneration can take a while! We may want to start with an instrumental, before singing the first Veneration song. Or, we could go up between songs. Let's see what works best!**

SS #172 - Behold the Cross (Hurd)

**Let's sing this as written and avoid repeating verses. Including the harmony would be lovely! Also, last week was a great example of how the carry-through phrasing should be handled -- let's do it the same way :-).**

GC3 #510 - Jesus, Remember Me (Berthier)

**We played with this last Sunday. The idea is for it to unfold 'organically' -- we'll slowly add/remove singers & instrumentalists to keep things 'fresh' (while also not rushing the tempo). Depending on how much time we need, it'll go something like this:

-Piano
-Add guitar
-Add cantor
-Add choir
-Add parts
-Sing on 'ooo'
-Instrumental
-Re-add choir
-End a cappella

Also, since we don't have any melodic instrumentalists, Bev may try to play the c-inst. parts, which would give us a bit more variety.**

Communion:
GC3 #512 - O Sacred Head, Surrounded (Traditional)

**Just like Veneration, we can go up to receive Communion first, or do it between songs.

We'll sing all three verses, repeating as needed. Let's try to sing at least one of the verses a capella (probably 3).**

GC3 #476 - Adoramus Te Christe (Haugen)

**As a reminder, the refrain will always be sung twice. The very first time, we'll sing it all together (no canon/round). After verse 1, women will sing part 1 and men part 2 (don't worry about part 3).

Also, women will sustain their last note while men finish their line (we'll add a couple of bars to cover this). Otherwise, we'll do this as written and end it after singing both verses.**

<><  ><>  ><>


Easter Vigil
Saturday, April 4th @ 8:00 PM

Director: Cris
Singers: Cris, Ally, Lisa, Frank, Barry, Jake, Ginny
Instrumentalists: Bev (piano/organ); Frank (guitar); Ally (clarinet); Joe (percussion)
Out: Maureen, Karen, Ben

If you'd like the music plan for your binder, the final version is HERE. There will be a printed program too (I'll send separately). With this much music, we won't worry about using the hymn boards.

Just like Friday, let's plan for our usual setup. I'm not expecting any others to join us at this point, but we can always use the second row if needed. 

Since we didn't get through everything last Sunday, let's run the second half of the program before Mass. Then we can review the first half. It would be great to squeeze in a group photo too (probably afterward). 

Because the first part of Mass (until the Gloria) will be in the dark, I replaced the batteries in our three music stand lights. I'll also bring three more so that there's enough for everyone. 

Since there's too much to cover here, a separate email went out earlier walking through logistics for this liturgy. I hope it all makes sense!

(All Mass Parts, except the Gospel Acclamation, are from Mass of Remembrance, including the Gloria, Holy, Eucharistic Acclamation 'A' (We Proclaim Your Death), Doxology & Lamb of God)

Light Service:
Christ, Yesterday and Today (Weston Priory)

**This will be sung outside as part of the Blessing & Lighting of New Fire (don't forget flashlights). It'll be done after Fr. Jozef speaks the text "Christ, yesterday and today..." If you'd like to follow along, here's the text Father will use.** 

The Light of Christ (Haugen)

**Sorry for the confusion Sunday! There are at least three different versions of this music floating around! I've created a new PDF (HERE) with just the pages we'll need. Please use this instead.

The paschal candle will be brought up the isle and stopped at three points. Each time, we'll give Dcn. Jack pitches and he'll sing "This is the Light of Christ"; we respond "Thanks be to God".

The Cantor will then sing the Refrain once, and the Choir repeats. We'll end the song here for now.** 

Exsultet (Cris):
The Easter Proclamation

**Other than starting pitches, the Cantor will sing this fully a capella. One section intended for clergy will be skipped. At the very end, everyone will join in singing the final 'Amen'. If you'd like to follow along, the music is in the folder.**

Responsorial Ps (Cris):
GC3 #095 - Exodus 15: Song at the Sea (O'Kelley/Fischer)

**Please take a look! This is a new piece that moves at a pretty fast clip!**

Responsorial Ps (Lisa):
GC3 #042 - Ps 30 - I Will Praise You, Lord (Inwood)

Responsorial Ps (Jake):
GC3 #097 - Isaiah 12: With Joy You Shall Draw Water (Ref I) (Haugen)

Glory to God:
Mass of Remembrance (Haugen)

The Epistle (Frank):
SS #082 - Ps 118 - This is the Day (Fisher)

Acclamation (Ginny):
GC3 #081 - Alleluia (Haugen)

**This will be sung immediately after the Psalm above (no Reading in between). We'll sing the Refrain twice -- once with the Cantor, and once with everyone. We won't do any verses.**

Litany of Saints (Jake):
Litany of the Saints (Becker)

**A corrected version of the music (with the missing 'non-Saint' verses added) will be posted shortly. Jake will sing the Cantor parts, with everyone else on the echo. If it's easier to follow, the text will also be in the program -- you'll just need to know the melodies for each segment.**

Blessing of Water:
GC3 #097 - With Joy You Shall Draw Water

**During the Blessing of Water, we'll sing the second half of the refrain as a response six times. There will be a (very) brief into, and we're in after that.**

Hymn After Baptisms:
SS #137 (GC3 #790) - The Summons (Fisher)

**After the Baptisms, we'll sing this while the candidates get dressed. In the past, this has taken a while, so we'll need to be prepared to repeat verses and/or add instrumentals.**

Anointing w/ Chrism:
GC3 #552 - Send Us Your Spirit (Haas)

**During Confirmation, the second half of the refrain will be sung twice as a response.**

Baptismal Promises (Lisa):
The Light of Christ

**Individual candles will be re-lit. We'll sing the refrain and verses (as many as needed). The verses are typically cantored, but could be done as a group if we'd like.**

Sprinkling Rite (Cris):
SS #041 - Streams of Living Water (Consiglio)

**Please take a look! We've only sung this once before, but it's a close match for the text in the Missal. 

The Choir will keep repeating the refrain, while the Cantor sing the verse on top. We'll probably add in the verse every couple of repeats, depending on how much time we need.**

Preparation:
GC3 #525 - The Strife is O’er (Traditional)

**Including the parts would be great! There should be time to get through the entire song, but we'll play it by ear. We may also add an a capella refrain and verse near the end.**

(Mass Parts)

Communion:
GC3 #535 - Resucitó

**Let's tentatively plan to begin this with an instrumental, before adding in voices. That'll give us time to go up and receive Communion. We'll do all four verses, before moving on to the Meditation.**

Meditation:
Whom Do You Seek? (Killoren)

**If you don't already have this one in your binders, you're welcome to use the new spiral-bound Killoren books in the cabinet. 

For the verses, let's be careful about not letting the tempo drag! The second half (with men) tends to slow down. These are also largely unaccompanied, so we'll need to stay together.**

Closing:
GC3 #540 - Jesus Christ is Risen Today (Traditional)

**We'll sing all four verses back-to-back (no interlude). Besides the four-part harmony, if anyone's feeling adventurous, there's a descant on verse 4 :-)**

><>  ><>  ><>