“Let’s Journey Together to Jerusalem” is the theme for La Cañada Presbyterian Church for Holy Week this year. The church plans to walk with Jesus, so that each person may find his or her own story in Jesus’ story and experience Easter in a new way.

LCPC has a full slate of offerings beginning this Sunday, April 13 – Palm Sunday – and members of the community are warmly invited to all of them.

This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Gary Dennis’ sermon title will be “The Praise Before the Storm” at 7:55 a.m., 9:25 a.m. and 11 a.m. worship services. He will reflect on the Palm Sunday story as told in Luke 19:29-40 and speak about how praise often precedes the resistance we sometimes experience.

Also Sunday, a time of prayer and meditation will be offered at 9:30 a.m. in the Cook Prayer Chapel. The session will begin with prayer and a reflection, then a passage will be read, after which participants will have an opportunity to pray and meditate silently on the text. It is an opportunity to engage Scripture in a deeper way and to experience the hidden reality of God.

At 2 p.m. in the Sanctuary on Sunday, the LCPC Chancel Choir and Orchestra will present “Absolute Heaven,” a concert showcasing French romantic composers from the late 19th century. Solos will be sung by Lori Stinson, Matthew Thomas and Gregory Geiger. Tickets ($15 general) are available in advance at the church office or at the door.

Companions for the Journey will have a special “Visitors’ Evening” on Tuesday, April 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Cook Prayer Chapel, and visitors are welcome to engage in a time of quieting the mind and praying the Scriptures in order to listen for God.

Lectio Divina in Community, a meditation on Jesus’ Last Supper, will be offered on Thursday, April 17 at 9 a.m. in the Cook Prayer Chapel. This is an ancient Christian discipline of listening to, reflecting on and responding to the Word of God in an open group.

Also on April 17, LCPC will hold its Maundy Thursday Communion Service at 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary. This reverent, reflective service includes music and a message, and concludes with a walk to the cross.

The crucifixion drama “Were You There?” will be presented Friday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. It will feature LCPC’s Drama Ministry and Praise Band.

On Saturday, April 19 “Living in the In-Between Times,” a time of prayer and meditation for Holy Saturday, will be offered from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Cook Prayer Chapel.

Also available daily in the church’s NartheX, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, are stations portraying biblical scenes of Jesus’ journey to the cross along with devotional guides.

Easter Sunday, April 20, will be greeted at 6:30 a.m. with a Sunrise Service at Hahamongna Park. Three identical worship services will then be presented in the Sanctuary at 7:55 a.m., 9:25 a.m. and 11 a.m. Dennis will preach on “The So-What of the Resurrection,” using a story about the resurrected Jesus from Luke 24:36-49. During the 9:25 a.m. worship hour, there is a family-friendly overflow area in the church’s Fellowship Hall where families are invited to bring young children and snacks and beverages are available.

“An empty tomb, as crucial as it is in the story of the resurrection, means nothing by itself,” Dennis said. “Because Jesus has been raised from the dead, our self-serving narcissism that does so much damage in our relationships with God, others and ourselves can be turned around. We no longer have to live like that. We can be forgiven. We can change. That’s the message that we have to share with the world.”

La Cañada Presbyterian Church is located at 626 Foothill Blvd. For further information, visit www.lacanadapc.org or call the church office at (818) 790-6708.