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Holy Week and Easter Bulletins: Palm Sunday to Easter 2027

October 26, 2026 · LanternLetter Co.

Holy Week is usually the busiest week of the year for a church office. In one week you may need a Palm Sunday bulletin, a Maundy Thursday service, a Good Friday or Tenebrae service, an Easter Vigil and the largest Easter Sunday crowd of the year. This guide covers what each of these bulletins usually needs, and a timeline so the work doesn't all land in the same few days. Traditions differ, so check every detail with your pastor or worship planner.

Holy Week and Easter dates for 2027

• Ash Wednesday: February 10, 2027
• Palm Sunday (Palm/Passion Sunday): March 21, 2027
• Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday): March 25, 2027
• Good Friday: March 26, 2027
• Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil (held after dark): March 27, 2027
• Easter Sunday: March 28, 2027
• Ascension Day: Thursday, May 6, 2027 (some churches observe it on Sunday, May 9)
• Pentecost: May 16, 2027

Easter is early in 2027, so Holy Week planning overlaps with the first weeks of Lent. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Pascha on May 2, 2027.

What each service bulletin usually needs

Palm Sunday

• Instructions for the procession: where to gather, when palms are handed out, and when to move into the sanctuary.
• Many churches read the Passion on this day, sometimes with several readers and congregational parts. Print the parts clearly, with the congregation's lines in bold.
• The full Holy Week schedule, prominently. This is the last Sunday bulletin before Easter.

Maundy Thursday

• Notes for foot washing or hand washing, if your church includes it, so people know whether and how to take part.
• Communion instructions.
• If the service ends with the stripping of the altar and people leave in silence, say so in the bulletin. Visitors won't know otherwise.

Good Friday and Tenebrae

• Tenebrae services gradually dim the lights as readings are read, so print in large, high-contrast type, and keep the layout simple enough to follow in low light. Our large-print bulletin guide has sizes and contrast tips.
• Note any silence, the “strepitus” (a sudden loud noise some churches use near the end), and how the service ends.
• Some churches hold the Stations of the Cross or a midday service. If you have more than one, make a separate bulletin for each rather than one long one.
• Keep the design plain, often black, gray or deep red, with little or no decoration.

Easter Vigil

• The Vigil is long and has distinct parts (often the service of light, the readings, baptism or renewal of baptismal vows, and the first Communion of Easter). Use clear headings for each part.
• If candles are lit, include a short safety note and instructions for when to light them and pass the flame.
• If there are baptisms, check with the families before printing names.

Easter Sunday

• Expect many visitors. Print the words to everything the congregation says or sings, a short welcome, where to find the nursery and restrooms, and one simple next step.
• Give Easter its brightest design of the year: white and gold are traditional, often with lilies or a sunrise. Use the same design family as Lent so the change of season is visible.
• The “Alleluia” returns in many churches after being left out during Lent, so check hymn texts and responses.
• Include dates for the weeks after Easter: the Sundays of Easter, Ascension and Pentecost, and any new groups starting. This is the bulletin many visitors take home.
• If you hold several Easter services or a sunrise service, make sure each bulletin shows the right time.

A Holy Week schedule insert

A half-page insert listing every Holy Week service, with the day, date, time and place for each, is one of the most useful things you can print in Lent. Run it in the bulletin from about the fourth Sunday of Lent (March 7, 2027) through Palm Sunday, put it in your March newsletter, and make a matching image for social media. Use the wording formula in our announcement wording guide.

Timeline for 2027

1. Mid-January: confirm every Holy Week and Easter service with your pastor and musicians. Choose one design family for Lent and Easter.
2. Early February, before Ash Wednesday (Feb 10): finish the Lent design and the Ash Wednesday bulletin. See the Lent bulletin guide.
3. By March 1: finalize the Holy Week schedule insert and order any special paper or extra copies.
4. Week of March 8: collect orders of worship and reading parts for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
5. Week of March 15: proof and print the Palm Sunday through Good Friday bulletins.
6. By Tuesday, March 23: print the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday bulletins, with extra copies for visitors.
7. After Easter: note what you ran out of or changed at the last minute, for next year.

Get help with Lent and Easter

Holy Week is a good time not to be doing every bulletin yourself. On our done-for-you monthly plans, you send the orders of worship and we send back print-ready bulletins in one design family from Lent through Easter. To see our work with your church's name on it first, get a free Advent cover, or browse one-time templates in the shop. For the season before, see our Lent bulletin guide and Epiphany and New Year guide.

More guides

• Lent Bulletin Guide: Ash Wednesday to Easter
• What Goes in a Church Bulletin: A Section-by-Section Checklist
• Epiphany and New Year Church Bulletins: January to Lent
• Church Bulletin Announcement Wording: Formula and Examples
• Church Bulletin Ideas: 25 Practical Ideas for Weekly Bulletins
• Advent Bulletin Guide: Themes, Readings and Design Ideas
• How to Write a Church Newsletter People Actually Read
• Church Social Media Graphics: A Simple Weekly Plan
• Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Program: A Planning and Layout Guide
• Christmas Church Bulletin Ideas: Covers, Content and Planning for December
• Large-Print and Accessible Church Bulletins: A Practical Guide
• Advent Wreath Readings for Your Bulletin: A Week-by-Week Guide