tenebrae

tenebrae

The office of Tenebrae is an adaptation of a service that was used in the early church. It is a meditation on the shadows that gradually grew darker and finally enveloped Christ in darkness as he journeyed towards the Cross. The service is therefore in a restrained and solemn mood. Readings from scripture are interspersed with music and periods of silence. This is a service I'm working on for our Lent/Easter season. Each of the eight movements through the shadows of anguish, humiliation, separation and death will be played out through scripture readings, music, dramatic action and silence. We are marrying together the richness of our choral music with the alt*worship tradition - taking ancient ideas and re-engaging with them by putting them into contemporary clothes. New Testament readings, and other possibilities like - Isaac Newton and Gesualdo will sit side by side with Taize, Brian Eno, barbed wire and candles, fairy lights and red paint and who knows what else ...

One candle after another will be put out as the sight of the darkness closing in on Jesus. In retracing the steps of Jesus towards the Cross we will meditate on his obedience to God. We also think of our own life of sacrifice for Christ and those for whom he died. “If any person will come after me, let him deny himself and take up the cross and follow me. Whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.”

Tenebrae - A Service of Shadows

If you have any ideas for this let me know!