Amidst the palms and pageants, extra services and rituals, it may be difficult to remember why this week is holy and to hear the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection in a new way as ministry leaders.

So instead of educational activities geared to telling the story to others, which we may have been planning for weeks, today’s post is a collection of resources from around the web that will help us to hear the story anew. The only planning you’ll need to do here is to find 10 minutes or so during this week to read or view some of the following devotional pieces from many different traditions.

Saint John’s School of Theology in Collegeville, Minnesota has uploaded a series of Visio-Divina videos, using the illustrations from the St. John’s Bible to view scripture in a new way. This link takes you to their devotional for Good Friday.

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is a hymn lyricist, who is very generous in sharing her work with others. She has composed 10 new hymn texts for Lent and Holy Week this year. They are set to familiar hymn tunes, so are easy to sing in your personal devotions as well as communal worship. Here are her compositions beginning with Palm Sunday and continuing throughout the week.

For those who like to watch others sing rather than sing themselves, here is a 2011 video of the Trinity Community Ensemble from Eastern Canada singing a mashup of Ride On King Jesus and Total Praise.

Finally, if ritual is what most connects you with God and you wonder how they commemorate this week in Jerusalem, here is a taste of the Eastern Orthodox Service of the Holy Fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre celebrated on Holy Saturday.

Blessings during this time! May Christ’s presence enliven your journey from death to new life this week!

We’ll return next week here at Hope4CE as we continue to explore innovative ideas for teaching and learning in educational ministry.

Kathy Dawson, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Columbia Theological Seminary