The Palm Sunday Path Processional Worship

2,000 years ago, Jesus entered into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover on a donkey, an image reflecting his just, humble leadership and care for those in need. Nearly 500 people from across our region, representing 8+ traditions and dozens of worshipping communities, gathered for a time of communal prayer and public witness on Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026 for a processional from Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck to the ND State Capitol Steps, where we joined in an ecumenical worship service uplifting our shared values of feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger.

Our preachers - Sr. Kathleen Atkinson, founder of Ministry on the Margins, and Jasmine Tosseth-Smith, Executive Director of Bismarck Global Neighbors - shared powerful words of encouragement and challenge, inviting us to recommit to the call from Jesus in Matthew 25 to welcome, feed, and heal in our communities.

We plan to gather again on Palm Sunday next year - Sunday, March 21, 2027. Check back here for more information!

  • "Our faith communities are meant to be uncomfortable and prophetic, not safe therapeutic communities. Prophetic communities ask the hard questions – of our leaders AND of ourselves. The energy is in the questions. " - Sister Kathleen Atkinson

    Read more of Sister Kathleen Atkinson’s sermon from the Processional at https://substack.com/home/post/p-192606241.

  • "When we reduce people to categories, we shrink our own souls. When we speak about immigrants as if they are problems before they are people, something inside of us erodes. We may think we are protecting something. But if we lose our humanity in the process, we have not protected anything at all." - Jasmine Tosseth-Smith

    Find the rest of Jasmine Tosseth-Smith’s sermon from the Processional at: https://substack.com/home/post/p-193378184

  • "Today we have proclaimed the values Christ gave to us – Feed the Hungry, Care for the Sick, Welcome the Stranger. Let your daily choices carry these values into every corner of our shared life. Speak them with courage to every leader who shapes our communities. Live them with tenderness wherever you go. Let them guide the way every single one of us shows up in public, trusting that Jesus meets us in this work." - Pastor Gretchen Deeg

    To read the rest of Pastor Gretchen’s closing charge to us, visit https://davejenkins394305.substack.com/p/sending.

Photo and Video Credits: Scott Houser and Gretchen Deeg

Used with permission.

Palm Sunday Processional Information
Palm Sunday Processional Information