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Free-Church Liturgy: Maundy Thursday


Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a while, and boy has a lot happened in the last 10 months! I am now the Senior Minister at Turner Christian Church in the Willamette Valley, and, more importantly, I'm the dad of an adorable 7-month-old boy named James! 

Needless to say, I haven't had much time to write posts. However, over the past year I have had the opportunity to write some services for use at our church--for Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and baptisms. Some of them might even be worth sharing! 

I'm aware that there is a growing interest in liturgy among churches that are part of the "free-church" tradition--that is, churches that don't use prayer books or set liturgies like Catholic, Episcopalian, and some other churches do. If you're in that boat, it can be really difficult to find liturgies for those kids of services. So, since these services are just taking up room on my hard drive, I thought I would post them online for other pastors to use. I will post an outline below, and then at the bottom I will include links to the leader's booklet and bulletin. Feel free to use these, tweak them, and make them work for your congregation or setting--after all, I adapted the work of others to create them in the first place. 

The Structure of this Maundy Thursday Service

The idea behind this service is that the congregation will reenact the entire Last Supper and hear most of the words spoken by Jesus in John's gospel. This service is designed to be used in a fellowship hall, with the congregation sitting around tables. I'm sure you could adapt it to work in a sanctuary.

The service involves Scripture readings, singing hymns, corporate prayer, hand-washing, and communion. Everything you need in terms of readings, prayers and lyrics are in the books. You will notice that I changed foot-washing to hand-washing. This was done to accommodate our congregation, many of whom are elderly and unable to take their shoes off easily. It also makes people more likely to participate. 

In terms of supplies, you will need to provide each table with a bowl, a pitcher of water, a drying cloth, and communion elements. 

Order of Service

I. Introduction
Opening Prayer
Reading: Luke 22:7-13
Song: I Love to Tell the Story

II. Hand-Washing
Reading: John 13:1-17
Hand-Washing

III. The Betrayal of Judas
Reading: John 13:21-27
Prayer of Confession

IV. Communion
Reading (at table): Matthew 26:26-29
Prayer (at table)

V. The Command to Love
Reading: John 13:31-35
Song: They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love

VI. Peter’s Denial
Reading: John 13:36-38
Song: Amazing Grace

VII. Words of Comfort
Reading: John 14:1-4, 6-7, 12-14, 25-27
Responsive Reading: Psalm 136

VIII. The Words of Parting
Reading: John 16:20-33
Song: Oh How He Loves You and Me

IX. The High-Priestly Prayer
Reading: John 17

Booklet Links




If you have any questions or comments about the liturgy, let me know! God bless!

~Matt
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