ITEMS OF INTEREST

Maundy Thursday
From the earliest times, the week before Easter (Holy Week) has been a period of very special services. Maundy Thursday is the name given to the fifth day of the week in the English tradition-or Holy Thursday in the Roman tradition. The word maundy comes from the Latin word mandare or "commandment" because this is the day that Jesus, at the Last Supper, gave his disciples "a new commandment, that you should love one another" (John 13:34). Jesus demonstrated the spirit of this commandment by washing his disciples' feet, so there may be a ceremonial foot washing at this service. Jesus humbled himself to serve others, as we also should learn to do so. At the end of the service the altar is often stripped and left bare so that the church on Good Friday is barren of all ornamentation.
Source: Christopher L. Weber, Welcome to Sunday (harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing 2003) pp. 50, 52.