There’s something beautiful that happens in Bulloch County during Holy Week.
For just a few days, our schedules shift, our pace slows, and something bigger than any one church begins to take shape. Sanctuaries across Statesboro open their doors, and we find ourselves worshiping not just beside familiar faces, but alongside brothers and sisters from across our community. It is a quiet reminder that the Church is bigger than any one building. It is alive in every voice that sings, every prayer that rises, every heart that leans in.
The Community Holy Week services hosted by the Statesboro Ministerial Association are one of those gifts. Each day at noon, we gather for worship and a simple meal. Nothing flashy. Nothing complicated. Just the people of God coming together to remember the story that holds us all.
Monday, March 30 – Pastor Lisa Deloach at First Presbyterian Church
Tuesday, March 31 – Rev. Craig R. Tremble at Trinity Episcopal Church
Wednesday, April 1 – Rev. Mark Burgess at St. Matthew Catholic Church
Thursday, April 2 – Rev. Lainie Jenkins at Agape Worship Center
Friday, April 3 – Rev. Jimmy Cason at Second St. John
If you can slip away for even one of these, I promise it will bless you. There is something powerful about stepping into a different space and realizing the same Spirit meets you there.
And yet, as meaningful as these moments are, Holy Week is not just something we attend. It is something we walk.
This is the week where we slow down long enough to hear the story again. Not just the joyful parts. Not just the triumphant entry with palm branches waving and voices shouting “Hosanna.” But the whole story. The hard story. The holy story. The story of Jesus walking toward the cross.
At Pittman Park, we want to create space for that kind of encounter.
On Maundy Thursday, April 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., the doors will be open for a self-guided journey through the Stations of the Cross. You can come when you’re able. Move at your own pace. Start at the altar rail in the Sanctuary and walk through the story step by step.
You will read scripture. You will pause. You may find yourself kneeling, or sitting in stillness, or simply standing and taking it all in. This is not something to rush through. It is something to experience.
Because sometimes we need more than words. Sometimes we need to walk the road with Jesus.
Then on Good Friday, April 3 at 6 p.m., we will gather again in the Sanctuary for a Service of Tenebrae. This is a service of shadows, of Scripture, of remembering the weight of what Christ has done. It is quiet. It is powerful. And it prepares our hearts for what is coming.
Because the story does not end at the cross.
Early Sunday morning, before the sun is fully up, we will gather outside at 7 a.m. in the front parking lot. There is something sacred about greeting the day together, hearing the resurrection story in the open air, sharing communion, and singing as the light breaks through.
Afterward, we will head inside for breakfast, laughter, and that familiar joy that feels like coming home. And of course, we will celebrate Easter together in worship at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Holy Week invites us into all of it: The celebration. The sorrow. The silence. The hope.
So come walk the story with us. Not just the easy parts, but the whole journey. Because when we do, Easter morning does not just feel like a holiday.
It feels like resurrection. And that is something worth showing up for.
-Pastor Stephanie