Churches celebrate Easter traditions this week

Churches and community groups will march through Palama tomorrow morning in the annual Palm Sunday Parade, beginning a week of traditional events leading up to Easter, April 8.

The procession that will set off from Aala Street at 8 a.m. is typical of island Easter-time observances, which bring members of different churches together to celebrate Christianity's holy days. The Royal Hawaiian Band will lead the musical march along Beretania and King streets, ending at the Banyan Mall near Kaumakapili Church, where a short service will be held, followed by a reception.

Members of St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Cosmopolitan Community Church and Kaumakapili Church will participate. They will be joined by volunteers in the Weed and Seed Program and Mayor Wright Youth Group.

Palm Sunday memorializes Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem shortly before he was crucified. According to the Gospel account, he was greeted by followers waving palm fronds, which gave the day its name.

Other Holy Week events include the following:

» Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St., dramatizes the story each year. A live donkey will join palm-waving Sunday School children in an entry procession at the 9 a.m. service tomorrow. Following the service, people may bring their pets to a Blessing of the Animals at 10 a.m. on the front lawn.

» Central Oahu churches plan a series of nontraditional events during a "Day of Aloha" tomorrow. Members of Hope Chapel Mountainside, Mililani Presbyterian Church, Pacific Islands Bible Church and others will undertake community service projects after services in Wahiawa, Mililani and Mililani Mauka.

» "The Witness," a dramatic depiction of the life of Christ featuring 60 performers, will be presented at 7 p.m. at Honolulu Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 2313 Nuuanu Ave. Free performances will also be given on Thursday, Friday and next Saturday.

» Hope United Methodist Church of Kaaawa, 51-558 Kamehameha Highway. The 10 a.m. service will include a children's procession with palms.

» Nuuanu Congregational Church, 2651 Pali Highway. "Lift Up the Cross," a musical drama, will be presented at the 9 a.m. service.

» Moanalua Community Church, 4867 Bougainville Drive. The 10:30 a.m. service will feature the choir directed by Ryan Hudson performing an Easter cantata.

» First Christian Church, 1516 Kewalo St. The Palm Sunday service will begin at 10:45 a.m.

Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday

This marks the Last Supper of Jesus with his apostles, and many church services re-create the biblical scene of Jesus washing his apostles' feet.

» Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, 712 N. School St.. Catholic Bishop Larry Silva will preside at the 7 p.m. Chrism Mass, at which sacramental oil used in churches throughout the year is blessed. All other Catholic parishes will hold an evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.

» St. Andrew's Cathedral, Queen Emma Square. After the 7:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday liturgy, the church will be open for a watch of prayer and mediation behind the high altar, which will continue until the noon Friday service.

» First Presbyterian Church at Koolau Golf Course, Kaneohe. The 7:30 p.m. service will include the Stations of the Cross and the sacrament of communion.

» Windward United Church of Christ, 38 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua. After the 6 p.m. service featuring the Chancel Singers and cellist Janice Trubitt, a soup supper will be served. The cost is $4 or $12 for families.

Good Friday

Commemorates the day Jesus was sentenced to death and crucified.

» Members of several churches will join in the annual Walk with the Cross at 11 a.m., taking turns carrying a wooden cross from Thomas Square to Central Union Church.

» The walk is followed by a noon ecumenical service at the Central Union Church Parish Hall, with pastors and musicians from several churches providing music and scriptural meditation. The movie "The Passion of the Christ" will be shown at 1:30 p.m.

» The annual Windward Coalition of Churches Good Friday service will begin at noon at Windward United Church of Christ, 38 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kailua. Pastors of seven churches will offer reflections. An offering will benefit the coalition's Women's Prison Scholarship Program.

» St. Andrew's Cathedral, Queen Emma Square. The day's events include a program, "What's So Good About Good Friday," from 9 a.m. to noon in the Von Holt Room, the Good Friday Liturgy from noon to 2:30 p.m. and Stations of the Cross at 5 p.m.

» Kawaiaha'o Church, 957 Kawaiahao St. The 11 a.m. "Celebration of Our Lord's Passion" will feature the debut performance of "Memorial," a choral composition by Rene Clausen.

» People have the opportunity to "Nail Your Prayers at the Cross" at a 1:30 p.m. service at the Salvation Army, Kauluwela Mission Corps, 296 Vineyard Blvd.

» Salvation Army, Leeward Corps, 98-612 Moanalua Loop, Aiea, noon service.

» Epiphany Episcopal Church, 1041 10th Ave. A Good Friday retreat from 9 to 11:30 a.m. will feature the Rev. Michael Giffin of Australia. He will weave scriptural meditation with Hawaiian history in a series of short reflections.

» Newman Center, 1941 East-West Road. A service of Taize prayer around the cross will begin at 7:30 p.m.

» First United Methodist Church, 1020 S. Beretania St. The 7 p.m. service will focus on the "Seven Last Words of Christ."

Holy Saturday

For Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox Christians, the celebration of Easter begins with evening liturgy on the night before Easter Sunday.

» The "Free Range Easter Egg Hunt" at First Presbyterian Church at Koolau Golf Course, Kaneohe, will begin at 9 a.m. Children from 2 to 12 years old will be turned loose to pick up stray golf balls on the driving range and exchange them for Easter treats.

» St. Andrew's Cathedral, Queen Emma Square. "The Great Vigil of Easter" will begin at 7:30 p.m.

» Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, 712 N. School St. The 7 p.m. Easter Vigil Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Larry Silva. Other Catholic churches will celebrate the vigil.