If one’s Holy Week and Easter don’t include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bonfires and grilled fish for communion, then one obviously has never been to The Fountains.

“In an effort to reclaim the meaning of what have otherwise become rote observances of some of the most important celebrations of Christianity, The Fountains continues to embrace the practices and rituals of the ancient Christian church before creeds, medieval piety, and Fundamentalist guilt obscured the true meanings of the season,” reads a press release from the church.

On Maundy Thursday, April 6, The Fountains will embrace the practical expression of servanthood and reaches out into the community with a ritual that makes its efforts to love one another real in the world.

As servants striving to touch the lives of others, The Fountains has partnered with A New Leaf men’s shelter in Mesa to include the assembly of over 100 meals for homeless men as part of its 7 p.m. Communion Service.

“On Good Friday, April 7, The Fountains will mark the death of Jesus with reflections that connect people to the longings and pain of the very human Jesus,” continues the press release. “Instead of wallowing in collective guilt and violence (based on the deeply flawed notion of “Original Sin”), The Fountains’ noon service will honor one who was as human as we are and who modeled being faithful to his convictions, no matter the cost.”

For those who want to sleep in on Easter, the Sunrise Service is the latest service in Town, beginning at 7:30 a.m. in The Fountains’ Memorial Garden. Look for the bonfire where, like Jesus on Easter, participants will be grilling fish and flatbread for the communion service based on John’s lakeside Easter story.

At 9:30 a.m., The Fountains will be celebrating “New Life” with fellowship, music and an inspiring message that takes Easter “out of the realm of some fanciful 2,000-year-old event and applies the good news to real life today,” said Pastor David Felten.

Everyone in attendance will be receiving a free “blessing bag” of basic toiletries and non-perishable food items intended to be given to homeless people that they might encounter along their way.

“When we say all are welcome at The Fountains, we really mean it!” Felten said. “As a Reconciling Church, we affirm and celebrate our LGBTQ+ neighbors as beloved children of God and an important part of our family of faith. So, we look forward to not only celebrating with everyone this Holy Week and Easter but putting love first in all we do!”

For more information, find The Fountains online at weputlovefirst.org or call the office at 480-837-7627. The Fountains, a United Methodist Church, is located at 15300 N. Fountain Hills Blvd.