In this week’s newsletter, Mother Liz offers heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to a beautiful Holy Week and Easter at Ascension—from Passion readers and lay preachers to those who kept the Maundy Thursday watch, prepared altar flowers, served at Easter brunch, and made the liturgies flow with grace. She gives special recognition to the choir and Dr. Dennis Keene for his “astonishing 45 years of love, artistry and dedication,” noting the congregation’s standing ovation after the Widor Toccata on Easter Sunday as more celebrations of his ministry continue before his Pentecost retirement.

In her message this week, the rector connects Palm Sunday’s ancient story to present-day witness, planning to join Saturday’s No Kings March calling for democracy, justice, and peace. She explores how Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was itself a public protest: a humble prophet on a borrowed donkey contrasting sharply with Pilate’s simultaneous imperial procession through another part of town. The tension between these two visions of power and authority plays out throughout Holy Week and history, asking where we will put our bodies, feet, and hearts as we follow Jesus’ way of vulnerable, self-giving love.