Easter
Celebrate in Community with Family at St. Paul’s
Welcome Home!
There are so many ways you and your family can share in the love of God and experience Jesus this season. The opportunities are before you – scroll down to see the details on each worship opportunity you can connect with this Easter and beyond.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church is located in Decatur, Illinois, but you can worship with us from anywhere with services also available online. Come as you are – there is no “dress code” requirement for Easter worship (or for any of our worship services). Family and community are just some of our values here. Everyone is welcome – invite your family and friends to join us for any or all of our Holy Week and Easter worship experiences.
Holy Week & Easter Worship
MAUNDY THURSDAY
March 28th at 6:30 PM
GOOD FRIDAY
March 29th at 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Communion Service at 12:30 PM & 6:30 PM
EASTER SUNDAY – FREEDOM CELEBRATION
March 31st at 8:00 AM & 10:30 AM
Easter Sunrise worship at 6:30 AM with Communion
WORSHIP WITH US FOLLOWING EASTER
Join us Saturday at 6:00 PM (Contemporary Worship)
or Sunday at 8:00 AM (Traditional) & 10:30 AM (Contemporary)
About Our Holy Week & Easter Worship Experiences
The HUNT Family Easter Event
Make a plan for Saturday, MARCH 23rd from 10:00 AM-12:00 PT and join us for THE HUNT – Family Easter Event & Annual Egg Hunt!
THIS FREE EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE – ALL ACTIVITIES ARE INSIDE. No matter the weather, we’re ready to have some fun! (And if it’s nice that day, we’ll take the Egg Hunt outside.) We’re celebrating together and want to bless the community as we enter Holy Week and look toward Easter.
Everyone is welcome for family-friendly activities for all ages, prize giveaways, treats, photo booth, inflatable fun, an Easter Walk-Thru Experience (walk with Jesus to the Cross and His resurrection) and of course the annual Easter Egg Hunt (with Egg Hunt beginning just after 11:30 AM, areas for Ages 0-3, 4-6, 7 & up). While celebrating what’s best about our community, don’t worry adults, we have surprises for you too! We’ll have some special eggs just for you, some filled with prize tickets. There is also an “enter to win” section where you have a chance to win some larger prizes.
If you have questions about this event or if you would like to help, contact Andrea Gerhard in our Church Office at 217-423-6955 or info@spldecatur.org
Maundy Thursday
Join us on Maundy Thursday for a taste of forgiveness and freedom as we remember the Passover and the Last Supper on March 28th at 6:30 PM. Celebrate along with our sixth graders and their families as they receive First Communion, and engage in the Lord’s Supper as a family and community together. We will close worship with the Stripping of the Altar as we prepare for Good Friday.
Good Friday
On a day where we fully experience the depth of Jesus’ love for us, and come to understand the price of forgiveness and why we need freedom from sin, connect at 1:00 PM or 7:00 PM on Friday, March 29th for Tenebrae worship (Service of Darkness). Receive the message and recall the seven last words of Jesus through scripture and song.
A Communion Service (with confession, absolution, and the Lord’s Supper) will also be offered 30 minutes before each service for those who would like to partake. Join us at 12:30 PM or 6:30 PM in the Worship Center.
Easter Sunday
A Freedom Celebration! As we complete the 40 days of the Forgiving Challenge, we can raise a hallelujah and proclaim “He is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Hallelujah!” and embrace the freedom won for us through Jesus.
Early risers can start celebrating with Easter Sunrise worship at 6:30 AM (with Communion offered)
Easter Sunday Celebration of Freedom is happening at 8:00 AM & 10:30 AM on Sunday, March 31st. (These services will also be available via live stream.)
Looking to Deepen Your Holy Week Experience?
Check out some of the resources available on Instagram and on our Facebook page including individual and family activities and our Forgiving Challenge devotions and resources.
Let’s Be Social #EasterAtSPL
You can connect with SPL in many of the places you already are! Connect by clicking these icons.
When you’re worshiping with us this week, snap a photo! We’d love to see all of your smiling faces take over all of the news feeds.
Tag @spldecatur and/or post with #EasterAtSPL and #SPLDecatur
If you have any questions about any of these Holy Week or Easter worship experiences, please contact the Church Office or send us a direct message from our Facebook page.
