Christians don’t agree on everything.

But if there’s one thing they all share, it’s a belief in the Passion story and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That spirit of unity among Christians is animating a longstanding tradition in Lawrence of a group of churches celebrating Holy Week across denominational lines. And that ecumenical group will be more encompassing and theologically diverse than ever for the 31st annual Holy Week services scheduled at noon Monday through Friday at First Christian Church, 1000 Ky.

This year’s series of half-hour services, which are open to the community, are the result of cooperation among 11 Lawrence congregations. Four of the churches are participating for the first time.

The Rev. Randy Beeman, senior pastor of First Christian Church, is coordinating the Holy Week services.

“Jesus prayed that we would all be one, that we are all one in Christ Jesus, and that’s my passion,” Beeman said of the cooperative effort.

“We (churches) don’t have to be identical, but we can show where we do have commonalities. We have to celebrate those things that we have in common.”

The tradition of having noontime Holy Week services was a project that was sponsored for many years by a group of mainline, Protestant congregations downtown, plus St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1234 Ky.

This year, the group will look significantly different. The four newcomer participants are evangelical. They are: Clinton Parkway Assembly of God; Heartland Community Church; Lawrence Free Methodist Church; and Victory Bible Church.

THE REV. RANDY BEEMAN is coordinating the 31st annual Holy Week services next week. The services will be at noon Monday through Friday at First Christian Church, 1000 Ky.Cutline

“The group is very diverse theologically now. We have a Roman Catholic church, mainline churches and evangelical churches. How we interpret Scripture is different, and yet we try to find the things that we all agree on,” Beeman said.

Pastors from all the participating churches will have roles in organizing or leading the services.

Commonality of faith

The recent inclusion of more churches in the Holy Week services is an outgrowth of an earlier project that brought Lawrence pastors from different denominations together: the interfaith service at the Lied Center that kicked off dedication activities last July for the Dole Institute of Politics.

“We included people from many different backgrounds in that service, and it started the discussion, ‘Why aren’t we doing this more often?'” Beeman said.

“It was born out of those discussions: ‘Let’s invite more people to partake in this longstanding tradition in Lawrence that a lot of people come to.”

The interfaith service at the Dole Institute of Politics was the spark for a growing conversation among pastors from the Lawrence Association of Evangelicals, the Lawrence Ministerial Alliance and those representing the downtown churches that had sponsored the Holy Week services for years.

The Rev. Peter Luckey lauded the sense of ecumenism that will bring 11 churches together to celebrate Holy Week services for the community.

“We realize that different faith communities do not agree on everything all the time, but it’s great to find ways to worship together and share our communality in our faith during Holy Week and in the death and Resurrection of Christ,” said Luckey, senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.

Plymouth has participated in the cooperative Holy Week services for many years.

Set aside differences

Pastors from evangelical churches who are joining the Holy Week services for the first time said they are looking forward to the joint effort.

“We’re excited to be a part of it,” said the Rev. Bill Bump, pastor of Lawrence Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave.

“We think it’s great when churches can come together for different activities. Holy Week happens to be something we all share in common, and it’s great to get together to celebrate the meaning of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

This is the first opportunity for the Rev. Rick Burwick to participate in the services.

“I actually asked if I could. Last year was my first meeting with Peter Luckey and Randy Beeman when we did the interfaith service for the Dole center. Since then, Peter and Randy have allowed me to be a part of them (Holy Week services),” said Burwick, pastor of Clinton Parkway Assembly of God, 3200 Clinton Parkway.

“It’s important for us as a church to get out of our four walls and mix with believers from other churches. We can worship and fellowship together, and in this case of the Holy Week, celebrate that the Lord is risen.”

The Rev. Paul Gray agreed.

“We were given this opportunity, which we readily accepted. This is a type of thing that all Christians can rally around, celebrate Easter and set aside any minor theological differences we might have,” said Gray, pastor of Heartland Community Church, 619 Vt.

His church will be a part of the Holy Week services for the first time. Gray will serve as liturgist for Thursday’s service, which will focus on Mary Magdalene. He will also give a trumpet solo, titled “People Need the Lord.”

“We just look forward to this opportunity,” Gray said.