Maundy Thursday Service

The word maundy is derived from the Latin word mandatum (commandment) and refers to Jesus giving the “new commandment” to “love one another as I have loved you” to his disciples at the Last Supper (John 13:34). The Maundy Thursday service commemorates the Last Supper and often focuses on two things Jesus did at the Last Supper: the washing of the disciples’ feet and the institution of the sacrament of Holy Communion. The service ends in complete silence with the stripping of the altar, in recognition of Jesus’ prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane and the despair and death to come.