Friday, April 10, 2009
Tenebrae
We will be having our first Tenebrae Service tonight at 7pm. The word “tenebrae” is Latin for shadows and the purpose of the service is to examine 7 shadows representing the 7 stages of the Good Friday events.
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Here is the excerpt from Sunday's insert offering a fuller explanation of a Tenebrae Service.
ReplyDeleteThe word ‘tenebrae’ is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story, so this is not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy. If your expectation of Christian worship is that it should always be happy and exhilarating, you won’t appreciate this service until the second time you attend it.
The service is composed of scripture readings and songs centered around seven shadows. Seven candles representing the seven shadows will be extinguished as we address each one. These seven shadows represent seven stages of the Good Friday events.
The Seven Shadows are as follows: Shadow of Betrayal, Shadow of Denial, Shadow of Aloneness, Shadow of Accusation, Shadow of Suffering, Shadow of Crucifixion, Shadow of Death. There are scripture readings and a song for each of the seven shadows. The service will conclude with communion.
The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn’t over until Easter Day.
We believe that Easter will be an even greater celebration after we have gone through a time of remembrance that this type of service offers. We hope that, if at all possible, you will join us for this special service.
Steve is not only blogging, but also providing follow up blog-like comments. Very well done sir.
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