Duke Chapel Holy Week Schedule March 29-April 5

During the Christian Holy Week from Palm Sunday through Easter, Duke Chapel will hold the worship services listed below and on the chapel’s website. 

Palm or Passion Sunday is on March 29 and Easter falls on April 5. All services are free and open to the public. 

“During Holy Week, the church journeys with Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane, to Calvary, to the grave and finally to new life in the Resurrection,” said the Rev. Meghan Benson, the chapel’s director of worship. “These worship services are an invitation to see, hear and participate afresh in this central narrative of the Christian faith.”

One new service this year on Maundy Thursday, April 2, at 11 p.m. is a candlelit meditation on the Stations of the Cross, featuring a musical depiction of the Stations first improvised by French organist Marcel Dupré. The service intersperses movements from the Dupré organ piece with prayers and poems by Paul Claudel. Chapel organist Christopher Jacobson will give a talk on Dupré’s music prior to the service at 10 p.m. in the Alumni Memorial Common Room in the Duke Divinity School.

In addition to the Holy Week services, the Duke Chapel Choir will present J.S. Bach's “St. Matthew Passion”oratorio at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 29. The concert follows the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion and will feature, in addition to the Chapel Choir, the Durham Children's Choir and Orchestra Pro Cantores. Tickets are available from the Duke Box Office. 

All Holy Week services are held inside the chapel, unless otherwise indicated. They include:

• 11 a.m. Sunday, March 29 – Palm Sunday worship service with a sermon by the Rev. Luke Powery, dean of Duke Chapel
• Noon Monday, March 30 -- Holy Week noon service
• 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 31 -- Service of prayer and Holy Communion
• Noon Wednesday, April 1 -- Holy Week noon service
• Noon Thursday, April 2 -- Holy Week noon service
• 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2 -- Maundy Thursday service with communion, stripping of the altar and a sermon by the Rev. Sally Bates, chaplain for Duke Divinity School
• 11 p.m. Thursday, April 2 -- Candlelight Organ Meditation
• 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 3 -- Procession of the Stations of the Cross, beginning on the chapel steps
• Noon Friday, April 3 -- Service of Good Friday with a sermon by the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3 -- Service of Tenebrae
• 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 5 -- Easter sunrise service with a sermon by the Rev. Carol Gregg, pastor of the Congregation at Duke Chapel, held on the Duke Gardens South Lawn
• 9 a.m. Sunday, April 5 – Easter worship service with Holy Communion and a sermon by the Rev. Luke Powery
• 11 a.m. Sunday, April 5 – Easter worship service with a sermon by the Rev. Luke Powery

The Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and 11 a.m. Easter services will be webcast live on the chapel website.