The Rev. Jay Gideon has been in the ministry 40 years, and he knows well what to expect as Holy Week and Easter roll around.

Namely, a full pastoral schedule and a crowded sanctuary on Sunday.

“It’s the busiest time of year for pastors. That’s a cause for celebration, as a preacher, to have more people in attendance. I’m not one to berate those who come (to worship services) once or twice a year that’s worth celebrating,” said Gideon, interim pastor of West Side Presbyterian Church, 1024 Kasold Drive.

This week, thousands of people in Lawrence are joining hundreds of millions of Christians around the world in marking the last days of the life of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion and eventual resurrection three days later.

Holy Week begins each year with Palm Sunday and proceeds through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Easter is Sunday.

In Lawrence, Easter will be celebrated in dozens of congregations around the city with a range of special services, music, drama and preaching from the liturgy.

One way the holiday will be marked in Lawrence is with an Easter Parade sponsored by Faith Builders International, a nondenominational, 200-member church in DeSoto.

The event called “This Blood’s for You” will start at 7 p.m. Friday at Eighth and Massachusetts streets and proceed to South Park.

The parade will use actors dressed as Jesus, Mary, the disciple John, Roman soldiers and members of an angry mob of mockers to dramatically re-create the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

“This is to reach out to the community, to let them know that we are here and that we care. We really had a great reception the last time we were in Lawrence (to have a parade) three years ago,” said Michelle Steele, wife of the Rev. Philip Steele, pastor of Faith Builders International.

Meanwhile, for millions of Jews around the world, the celebration of Passover begins at sundown today.

The holiday commemorates the biblical story of the freeing of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt and their exodus from the pharaoh’s rule.

“It’s joyous in the sense that we are retelling the story of how the Jews were once slaves and how we were freed by God. The commandment (to Jews) is to retell the story every year, and that’s why we have a seder (a ritual meal),” said Neil Shanberg, president of the Lawrence Jewish Community Center, 917 Highland Drive.

During the Passover meal typically celebrated at home with family and friends Jews read from a prayer book called the Haggadah, which outlines the story of how Moses led the slaves into freedom.

“Next to the High Holidays, this is the most important day on the Jewish calendar and one of the most observed,” Shanberg said.

While Jews are gathering in their homes to celebrate the Passover meal, Christians will be coming together in churches to remember the events surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection.

“Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our own celebration of eternal life. Each year we live through the events of Holy Week, then it gets shot to pieces on Friday, when Jesus was killed on the cross,” said the Rev. Jim Ward, interim pastor of First Christian Church, 1000 Ky. “So Easter is a celebration of the completion of the story. There wouldn’t be an Easter if he hadn’t been raised from the dead.”