The word ‘tenebrae’ is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the Tenebrae Service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story and has been designed for Good Friday.
Many may view the Lent and Easter season as an arduous time and may be too quick to jump to the Easter morning Hallelujahs. A person may miss the impact of the entire Easter story if they only get in on the happy ending and may rob themselves of joy by attending an Easter Service without fully journeying through the Holy Week.
The service will begin at 7 p.m. with St. Andrew’s brightly lit with candles plus a white Christ Candle. Readers, when finished, will extinguish each candle until only the Christ candle remains. The Christ Candle is extinguished after someone reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted when he was on the cross. St. Andrew’s will be in near total darkness, and then the service ends.
People will leave in silence.
The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment and agony of the passion story. The story is left unfinished because the story is not over until Easter day.
St. Andrew’s Choir, under the direction of Chella Henderson, will be singing Easter anthems.
