Maundy Thursday

We found a new and exciting way to "celebrate" Maundy Thursday at our church this year. It was João's idea and I helped him in the implantation. We had an all night prayer meeting, in which we "re-lived" the events in the last hours (Thursday - Friday morning) of Jesus' life. As we read the Scriptures, we found 13 events and so we divided this into 30 minutes segments, with a couple of coffee breaks in the middle. Different people were in charge of each 3o minutes. Each person had a different style. We had discussions, films, dramas, "sermons", powerpoint, simulations etc. in each presentation of the event, followed by prayer. The prayer was in varied forms, silent, group, individual, etc. We began with the washing of the feet, in which we prayed for humility. I was in charge of the last supper, so we had pita bread, pure grape juice, and some dipping sauce for people, as they sat at their tables to eat, talk, sing, discuss the meaning of the bread and wine and pray for true communion and unity at our church. Although due to church practice here in Brazil I had to carefully emphasize that this was NOT the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, to me it was a lot closer to what Jesus really intended than what we do with our measly little cups and squares of bread. But then, who am I to argue with long years of church tradition?
I had never managed to stay for an all night prayer meeting before... stay or stay awake, either one! I did nap in the evening before leaving (since it was 10-6), so I was wide awake when we started. Around 5AM I was fading pretty fast, as the lactic acid started its famous build up and my legs and arms were killing me. But we ended at 5:30 to then sit down for a breakfast together. When we left after 6AM, it was light and safe for everyone to travel.
As you know, it's not all that safe to be out on the streets in the dark and late at night here. So when people showed up for the prayer meeting, they knew it was going to be an all night affair! We had no idea of how many to plan for, as this was something new. The church, in the past, has had all night prayer meetings. And small groups continue to do so, but not as a church-wide event. We thought maybe 40 people would be really good. Just in case the administrator and I decided to set up for 80. To our total surprise, people just kept coming and we ran out of room for the first part (we changed rooms after the Last Supper). We had way more than 100 people. I know that doesn't sound like a lot of people, for a church of our size, but really it is for a new event, for an all night prayer meeting (in what many people consider a dangerous part of town) and before a LOOOOONG holiday weekend when everyone travels.
The night flew by in a hurry and I loved it. It was great to study the WORD, pray together and enjoy the communion of the saints. We had lots of young people and lots of old people, so the mixture was just terrific.
I admit I was plenty sleepy Friday morning and I hit the sack for about 4 hours as soon as I got home. Friday night I also didn't need anyone to rock me to sleep either. It was more than worth it. I loved the experience and I hope some time in the near future we will be able to promote more experiences like this.
I hope you have a wonderful celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord planned . God bless!