Shadows

Where there is much light, the shadow is deep.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Tonight at 7 p.m. we will hold a service of shadows, known by the Latin for shadows, Tenebrae. During our worship the sky outside will darken. Inside, we will use a medieval holy week pattern of worship that has us reading from Lamentations and Psalms while progressively putting out candles on the altar as we remember how the world seemed to darken as it moved toward Good Friday.

More on this funkiest service of the church year can be found at Wikipedia: Tenebrae And for more on the roots of our Holy Week at King of Peace, check out Father Steve's Blog where he has an post on The Pilgrimage of Egeria, a woman, possibly a nun, who made a four year pilgrimage from nortwestern Gaul to Jerusalem in 381–384 and described her experiences for the folks back home and thus brought Holy Week to Europe and eventually to Kingsland, Georgia.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light
—a light that will shine on all who live
in the land where death casts its shadow.
—Isaiah (9:2)

Because of God's tender mercy,
the light from heaven is about to break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.
—Zechariah (John the Baptist's Father) Luke 1:78-79