Men's Holy Week Breakfasts: Looking forward to 2025

Apr. 2—Organizers of the Men's Holy Week Breakfasts have 2025 to look forward to now that they have completed the breakfasts' comeback week.

Their successful revival of the series concluded with the Men's Holy Week Breakfast held Saturday at Central Christian Church, following the Friday event at Lakewood Christian Church.

Sayer Brenner attended the breakfasts with his young sons, Luke and Sage, including the one held Friday at Lakewood.

What influenced him to bring his sons to the breakfasts with him? He indicated he's continuing a tradition.

"I grew up coming with my dad," Brenner said. "Good memories."

Sam Wampler, of Life Church, served as featured speaker for the Friday breakfast at Lakewood Christian Church. Following the event, he and Brad Shelton, who served as featured speaker for the Thursday breakfast at St. John the Evangelist Baptist Church, shared some thoughts on their experiences.

Like the Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon, the Men's Holy Week Breakfasts had not been held since 2019 before mounting a successful comeback last week.

Both of the 2020 events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and both were successfully relaunched last week following the years-long hiatus.

While the Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon traditionally is held on the Maundy Thursday of each Easter Season, the Men's Holy Week Breakfasts are traditionally held for the entire week preceding Easter Sunday.

Organizers of the resumption of the series of Men's Holy Week Breakfasts successfully revived the breakfast's format for 2024. It calls for a lay member from another church to serve as featured speaker for the breakfast held at each host church.

During his presentation, Wampler spoke of each day of the Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey's back to a welcome by an adoring crowd.

Wampler also related how Jesus cleared the temple of buyers and sellers on Monday.

He noted how Jesus denounced the leaders at the temple on Tuesday, comparing them to whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but filled with bones on the inside.

"Jesus was influencing people, but not too worried about making friends," Wampler said.

"The Bible doesn't say what Jesus did on the Wednesday of Passion Week," Wampler noted. "Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus and the disciples spent this day resting in Bethany in anticipation of Passover," Wampler said.

On Thursday of Holy week, Jesus washed the disciples' feet in the Upper Room.

"By performing this humble act of service, Jesus demonstrated by example how believer should love one another," Wampler said.

Then Jesus shared the Feast of Passover with the disciples during the Last Supper.

"In the Upper Room, as the Lamb of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice, giving us freedom from sin and death," Wampler said.

He related how Jesus was taken into custody that night, setting up the events of Good Friday, when Jesus was condemned to be crucified.

Wampler described the agonizing hours Jesus spent on the cross and said some have asked how it can be called Good Friday.

"We are fortunate God is a God of love and grace," Wampler said. "A God who loves us enough to send his sinless Son to die for us to give us freedom.

"A freedom to choose and receive grace, forgiveness of our sins, love, blessings, favor, fruit of the spirit, but most of all a relationship with God, our loving Father," said Wampler.

The series of Men's Holy Week Breakfasts were held at six different churches during the series' revival last week.

Holy Week Breakfasts were held at Dream City Church on Monday; Life Church, on Tuesday; Northside Assembly of God on Wednesday and St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on Thursday, with the events concluding at Lakewood on Friday and Saturday's breakfast at Central Christian Church.

The Men's Holy Week Breakfasts in McAlester began in 1956 and continued each year thereafter until the event's cancelation in 2020, followed by its 2024 revival.