Green Gaia
Veteran Member
I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this, but since someone asked me about in PM, I thought I'd share with everyone.
What is Tenebrae? In the Christian tradition the purpose of the Tenebrae (which is latin for darkness) service, usually done on Good Friday, is to recreate the emotional aspects of the Passion story, so it's not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy. Many find Tenebrae the most moving service of the Christian liturgical year, as it does not promise too-early hope, but admits the devastation that precedes the joy of Easter morning.
My church did a UU version: A service of readings, silence and hymns in remembrance of not only Jesus but also other martyrs* from history and the present, some of them UU. The service began in candlelight and after each reading, a candle or two was extinguished until the end when we were in darkness, symbolizing the extinguished lives we just heard about. We left in silence because of the seriousness of the service and it's subject. What can you say after hearing about people being murdered for their beliefs? We hold their lives and their pain in our hearts until Sunday and we come together again and Easter brings new hope/life/rebirth.
*others included:
Katherine Weiglowa - an 80-year-old Polish woman who was burned alive for questioning the Trinity and "judaizing"
Toribio Quimada - founder of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines, who was murdered for the changes he brought to the Philippines
Oscar Romero - stood with the Salvadorian people against the government and was killed for it.
Rev. James Reeb - UU minister who was killed in Selma, Alabama, while fighting for black voting rights.
Le Ly Hayslip (still alive) - was tortured while living in Vietnam by soldiers
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - civil rights leader who was murdered
What is Tenebrae? In the Christian tradition the purpose of the Tenebrae (which is latin for darkness) service, usually done on Good Friday, is to recreate the emotional aspects of the Passion story, so it's not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy. Many find Tenebrae the most moving service of the Christian liturgical year, as it does not promise too-early hope, but admits the devastation that precedes the joy of Easter morning.
My church did a UU version: A service of readings, silence and hymns in remembrance of not only Jesus but also other martyrs* from history and the present, some of them UU. The service began in candlelight and after each reading, a candle or two was extinguished until the end when we were in darkness, symbolizing the extinguished lives we just heard about. We left in silence because of the seriousness of the service and it's subject. What can you say after hearing about people being murdered for their beliefs? We hold their lives and their pain in our hearts until Sunday and we come together again and Easter brings new hope/life/rebirth.
*others included:
Katherine Weiglowa - an 80-year-old Polish woman who was burned alive for questioning the Trinity and "judaizing"
Toribio Quimada - founder of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines, who was murdered for the changes he brought to the Philippines
Oscar Romero - stood with the Salvadorian people against the government and was killed for it.
Rev. James Reeb - UU minister who was killed in Selma, Alabama, while fighting for black voting rights.
Le Ly Hayslip (still alive) - was tortured while living in Vietnam by soldiers
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - civil rights leader who was murdered
