MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE

Join us for a Tenebrae Service:

 The office of Tenebrae (the name means “darkness” or “shadows”) is a Holy Week devotion, which dates back to the seventh or eighth century A.D. and is characterized by the successive extinguishing of candles.

As the passion story unfolds, the darkness increases, until, with the death of our Lord, only one candle is left burning – the light of God’s love.  At the conclusion of the final reading, the candle is also extinguished and a dramatic organ interlude is played to symbolize the death of Christ and the stone rolling across the entrance to the tomb.  But, like God’s love, the candle will not remain extinguished.  After a quiet pause, it is lighted again in glad expectation of Easter morning.