Ames churches are offering a variety of ways to celebrate the Christian Holy Week this weekend, with services and other activities being held from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and Student Center, 2210 Lincoln Way, is holding Stations of the Cross starting at noon today at the church.

Participants will move through 14 locations on campus and in Campustown, including Catt Hall, Lake LaVerne and Planned Parenthood, to simulate the steps of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

“We’re going to go to different sites as a way of connecting the death of Christ with the events of our daily life and the lives of people throughout the world,” said John Donaghy, campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas.

The first station is when Jesus is condemned to death, which will be held by a plaque commemorating Iowa State’s role in the Manhattan Project. The stations will take a little more than an hour to complete, winding up back at St. Thomas Aquinas to symbolize Jesus’ rise from the dead, Donaghy said.

“It’s not just the historical path of Christ’s death, but the fact that Christ is sharing in people’s suffering even today,” he said.

Stations of the Cross will also be held at the church at 3 p.m. today, with the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Liturgy of Easter Vigil will be held at 8:30 p.m. Easter Sunday mass will be at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Donaghy said Easter is meaningful to all Christian religions, but especially for Catholics.

“In the Catholic tradition, these days from Holy Thursday until Easter are the most important days of the year,” he said.

Campus Baptist Church GARBC, 130 Sheldon Ave., will be having a play tonight at 7 and Saturday night at 6:30 to celebrate the death and return of Jesus Christ.

“The church musicians and actors of Campus Baptist Church will present a sacred Easter drama entitled ‘The Centurion,'” said Charles Alber, pastor of the church. “[It is the] narrative story of Justus Antonio, a first-century Roman centurion who was troubled by the conflicts between an oppressive government and the small band of Christian believers.”

“The Centurion” will be performed as a reader’s theater piece with a chorus and orchestra, he said. It is open to the public, and child care will be provided.

“The program is presented as a seasonal gift to the community, free of charge,” Alber said.

Collegiate United Methodist Church-Wesley Foundation, 2622 West Lincoln Way, is holding a tenabrae, or darkness, service tonight at 8 in the church sanctuary.

“They start out with lights, then they make it darker as the service goes on, extinguish candles and read the scripture,” said Nancy Wylie, secretary at Collegiate United Methodist.

The congregation will have a sunrise service Sunday at 6 a.m. in the ISU Arboretum, Sheldon Avenue and Hunt Avenue. A breakfast prepared by the church’s youths will be served at 7 a.m. in the church, with additional worship services in the sanctuary at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

University Lutheran Congregation and Student Center, 2126 Gable Lane, will have a prayer service at noon today.

“The focus is a real quiet, somber sort of expression, where our attention is really directed at the cross,” said Fritz Wehrenberg, pastor at University Lutheran.

University Lutheran will also hold a vigil from 11 p.m. until 1 a.m. Saturday.

“There are four parts to the Easter Vigil. One is the celebration of new light, and a new fire is lit. The second part is to review all of God’s work through selected readings, the history of salvation. The third part is a baptismal renewal, and the fourth part is to celebrate the resurrection and to share holy communion,” Wehrenberg said.

The vigil will begin at the church, and participants will make their way to a congregation member’s house for the first meal of Easter.

Easter service begins at 11 a.m. at University Lutheran.

“On Easter Sunday morning, we have just a joyous celebration of the resurrection, followed by a dinner at 4 o’clock for those students who can’t make it home for Easter dinner,” he said.

The dinner will be at Wehrenberg’s house. Those who would like to attend can call 268-9714.