Non-Catholic Faiths And Palms

[BlyssfulDreamer]

Just a question, tonight after coming home from Palm Sunday Mass with my palms in hand I was stopped to visit by a neighbor and was asked about the palms. Now, I know these folks go to church every Sunday, although, I don’t know where, so, I am asking…Are most protestant churches ignorant of what the palms are and what Palm Sunday is?

:heart:Blyss

 

[lak611]

From Wikipedia, “On Palm Sunday, in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Episcopal church and most Lutheran churches, palm fronds (or in colder climates some kind of substitutes) are blessed outside the church building and a procession enters, singing, re-enacting the entry into Jerusalem. In some Lutheran churches, children are given palms, and then walk in procession around the inside of the church while the adults remain seated.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday

From the website of a Presbyterian Church. " Palm Sunday: No Children’s Sunday School but kids, be sure to come to the 11am service to help bring in the Palm Branches!" cpcwestyellowstone.org/

From the website of a Methodist Church. “The children of the church entered the Sanctuary carrying palm leaves to signify Jesus’ entry into the city of Jerusalem. This is the beginning of the Holy Week that will culminate with the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.” gbgm-umc.org/moseley/palm_sunday.htm

 

[BlyssfulDreamer]

Thank you:thumbsup:

 

[lak611]

You’re welcome. Here’s more.

From the website of a Lutheran Church. “Palm Sunday Celebration
Join us for a wonderful Palm Sunday procession down Devon Avenue with Jesus on a LIVE donkey, the disciples, onlookers, banners and palms! Palm Sunday services are Sunday, April 1st at 9am and 11 am.” edgebrooklutheran.org/

From the website of a Baptist Church. "Palm Sunday Picnic and Easter Egg Hunt

Everyone, young and old and in-between, is invited to share the fun and enjoy a hot dog lunch followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for the children. The children will travel back in time to experience a Palm Sunday Parade of Palms. The fun will begin following the Palm Sunday Service (April 1) and will take place in the dining room." calvaryroanoke.org/

 

[Syele]

It really seems hit or miss whether a church of any denomination will have palms on Palm Sunday. The Vineyard did, Church on the Rock did one year and not the other, the Episcopal Church did, the Baptist did not. I don’t know what the pattern here is.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

I don’t know what the pattern here is.

could be volunteers needed, money to buy or organize, did something else, people are allergic to plants, goat ate the palms, florist was shorted,

 

[Syele]

could be volunteers needed, money to buy or organize, did something else, people are allergic to plants, goat ate the palms, florist was shorted,

LOL it’s something bigger than those, the ones with no palms generally have congregations who have never heard of Having Palms at church, even though they know the portion of scripture pertaining to it. I had thought it was only liturgical churches that did this, but then I found it definitely is NOT only them… but there seems not constistant way to tell if a church will have a Palm Sunday service or not.

 

[Cat]

In the 1980s, I was in charge of children’s ministries in my Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.

I always organized a Palm Sunday children’s parade, with real palm fronds (the kind you make into crosses afterward).

At the very beginning of the service, several daddies would lay jackets and suits coats on the floor at the front of the church. Then the music would start, usually “Hosanna Little Children”, and the children would process down the aisle, waving their palms, and drop them off at the front of the church on top of the jackets.

After church, I and other volunteers would pass out palm fronds to anyone who wanted one. Many people wanted one.

One year, I had something special happen. After church, a lady came up to me in tears. She told me, “Thank you for organizing this palm processional. I’m a Catholic visiting my family, and I was so afraid that I would have to miss the palm processional on Palm Sunday. But I didn’t!”

It was just one more thing that made an impression on me. To me, it made perfect sense to re-enact the processional on Palm Sunday. I hadn’t grown up with it in my Baptist church, but when I got old enough to be “in charge,” I organized it on my own.

When that lady talked to me, I realized that all Catholic Churches did some kind of palm processional with real palms, and it made me think about how many other things the Catholic Church did that made sense.

As someone earlier in the thread stated, a palm processional and real palms are hit and miss in the evangelical Protestant churches. It just depends on which Mommy or Daddy or Children’s Pastor is in charge!

I think a lot of evangelical churches don’t do a palm commemoration, but many do some kind of special children’s thing on Palm Sunday. I’ve seen a lot of Easter Egg hunts in my city, and also several churches do children’s dramas/cantatas/concerts/puppet shows, or some special program starring the children of the church.

(As many of you know, I converted to Catholicism on April 10, 2004. Wonderful day!)

 

[Syele]

Today our bulletin had across the front (where the church name generally is):

Palm Sunday

The sermon included a reading of the related scriptures, but no processional or Palm Fronds. (My first Easter at this church)

 

[lak611]

Today our bulletin had across the front (where the church name generally is):

Palm Sunday

The sermon included a reading of the related scriptures, but no processional or Palm Fronds. (My first Easter at this church)

Too late now for that, but maybe if you check websites of different churches, you can find out who is having palms and processions. I just checked online and found a few churches in various areas and different denominations that did have palms and processions.

 

[sandmountainsli]

I know for fact the Methodists and Baptists in this area celebrate Palm Sunday, our FCM Church had a sermon about the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and afterwards we had Communion.
I am unsure about the Pentecostals but I think they do the same.
WP

 

[Zirconia]

My regular church does not use palms and does not include references to Palm Sunday or much about Holy Week.

However, this year I got the opportunity to visit the Orthodox church down the street for Palm Sunday, and there were palms everywhere (including big ones arching over the door, and small ones over every icon, and small ones for everyone in the congregation to hold, and pussy willows for the people used to that substitute).

There was a procession around the church for everyone who wanted to participate, and we carried the branches and burning incense sticks with us. Then everyone came back inside, and at one point during the readings, we all shouted Hosanna and waved our branches (three times).

Yay! :yup:

I do not know why some Protestants have decided to drop this; I would like to see it reinstated.

Zirconia

PS, someone broke in and stole my computer, that’s why you haven’t heard from me in a while.

 

[Syele]

Too late now for that, but maybe if you check websites of different churches, you can find out who is having palms and processions. I just checked online and found a few churches in various areas and different denominations that did have palms and processions.

I already go to a different church for ash Wednesday every year… I guess it will be twice a year now.

 

[Rawb]

As a protestant we never had palms blessed or prayed over in church. Some people might have worn them to church that day, but I can’t remember. My family would come home and cut branches off our palm tree out front and decorate the house with them though, so even if a church doesn’t have palms the members might.

 

[lak611]

PS, someone broke in and stole my computer, that’s why you haven’t heard from me in a while.

I am sorry about your computer being stolen. :crying: I hope it was not too costly for you to get another one or that you did not lose anything important that was on your hard drive.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

Hi,
The baptist church I went to and my non-denom I go to now both celebrate Palm Sunday with palms.

We dont let the children have them until the end for obvious reasons.

My children make crosses out of hteir palms. I actually have the one my son made on our bulletin board.

Actually I have never been to a church that didnt celebrate with palms.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

As I was sitting at lunch here in Pomona California I was looking at the Palm trees and thinking about Palm Sunday. I thought about the thread here. Then I thought about home in Alberta Canada. There is no palm trees.

Although I didnt voice exactly that earlier, I realise thats what I meant now. I bet Alaska has the same problem.