Holy Week leading up to Easter on March 31, 2024, will hold special significance on the Lancaster Bible College campus. To mark this meaningful time of remembrance and rejoicing, LBC Chapel gatherings on March 26, 27 and 28 will focus on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Pastoral Ministry major Christian Ware (’25) helped plan three days of Holy Week Chapels at LBC.

These special Holy Week services for LBC students and the college community were the vision of Pastoral Ministry major Christian Ware (’25), who serves as the LBC Student Chaplain and head of the Spiritual Life Council. Ware presented a proposal to college leadership about a three-day Holy Week focus that would unite the campus community in God’s Word, worship and prayer. College Pastor Timothy Torres has worked closely with Ware to see this vision become a reality.

“The hope and prayer in all this planning was to highlight the glory of Jesus Christ to the student body of LBC and show Him to be the source of our eternal life,” Ware said. “In His life, death and resurrection, even in the darkness of Christ’s death, He made the good news of His resurrection that much more glorious. And when Jesus Christ in His glory is shown, we know students’ lives will be changed.”

First, on Tuesday, March 26, Chapel will focus on the life of Christ. Student speaker of Joshua Salvatore (’26), an Intercultural Studies major, will highlight John 1:1-18—“The Word Became Flesh.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

—John 1:1-4, 9-14

Then on Wednesday, March 27, the Chapel gathering will take the form of a traditional Tenebrae service. Tenebrae—or ‘tɛnəbreɪ, Latin for “darkness”—is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, taking place in total darkness near the end of the service.

During this more somber and contemplative service, members of the Student Life Council will offer a dramatic Scripture reading of the last hours that led to the crucifixion. The readings will be interwoven with music selections from the LBC Chamber Singers, including a setting of Psalm 51 titled “Miserere Mei Deus” by the Italian Renaissance composer Gregorio Allegri. The Chamber Singers will also lead two hymns: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.”

College Pastor Timothy Torres

“This unique Chapel service may invoke sadness among our students, faculty and staff as we remember all that Jesus had to endure to finish the work of our sin and to defeat our greatest enemy, which is death,” Torres said. “Our Student Caregivers and Student Affairs team will be on hand to pray with and minister to any students who might need support.”

To close out Holy Week Chapel gatherings on Thursday, March 28, Communication major Andrew Orton (’26) will present spoken word pieces on the resurrection. The presentation was originally performed by Georgia’s Passion City Church [watch “What’s So Good About Good Friday?” on YouTube]. LBC participating students obtained permission from Passion to utilize the reading for the Holy Week Chapel. Also that morning, Ware will speak on John 20:11-18 during this celebratory service.

Lancaster Bible College’s Spiritual Life Council consists of the leaders of the faith-based clubs on campus, such as the International Student Fellowship and Student Evangelical Fellowship. These student leaders gather to coordinate efforts to help create a more Christ-like community throughout the campus.

Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, Lancaster Bible College’s 90th anniversary, weekly Chapel gatherings have centered on the theme of “More Than Conquerors” from Romans 8:37-39. Chapel is a common time and place where the entire LBC community, both in Lancaster as well as other locations virtually, can gather to encourage one another and receive instruction and challenge from the Word of God.

These services are at the core of LBC’s effort to encourage spiritual growth in the life of every student as LBC fulfills the mission to “educate Christian students to think and live a biblical worldview and to proclaim Christ by serving Him in the Church and society.” Gatherings at 9:10 a.m. three times per week bring the campus community together for worship and biblical truth from a diverse lineup of speakers with a unified purpose to engage Scripture, form disciples and build community.

The community is invited to live-stream chapel at 9:10 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the academic year at lbc.edu/chapel.