oh, "Good" Friday...

Some observations...

We did our first Maundy Thursday gathering this year. I loved it. Loved it even more than Good Friday this year. We gathered in a home, did some readings of Jesus washing the disciples feet, focused our time on servanthood...
We had a communion time, but rather than a somber time, we made it more of a celebration. Probably a bit more like that last passover/first communion. Yeah, a weird undercurrent of knowing something bad was coming, but still... Passover! God freeing us from slavery (in our case, to sin and self).
So, rather than break off little tiny pieces of bread or have an oyster cracker, we took big chunks of bread hot from the oven, poured ourselves glasses of grape juice or wine and talked to each other as we ate. And before we did that, we washed one another's hands. It was wonderful.

Good Friday, however... Will someone please remind me that last year after Good Friday I said I wanted to do something different and this year after Good Friday I'm saying "Next year... let's do something different!"???

I don't know, maybe it accomplished what it was meant to. It's 3am... I can't sleep... all riled up inside. Too many images of Christ (and not the good ones) in my head, too much darkness...

The Tenebre service was a revelation to me when I first did it about 5 years ago. To do a church service that wasn't centered on wrapping things up in a neat package and sending people out feeling some sense of closure- that was revolutionary to me...

We've done it 3 years running for evergreen now, and now I'm thinking, we do enough of that in general. Enough somber moods and dark-lit times of contemplation...

Maybe it's just how I'm feeling tonight. The art set-ups where wonderful. Stations of the Cross, amazing paintings and 3-D works that just plain rocked...

But for the main "service" part, next year, maybe something different... The thing about Good Friday Tenebre services are, I always feel so crappy afterwards and I can never tell if that's because I'm supposed to feel crappy or if it's just because it sucked :)

We had (I think) a bunch of 1st time people there tonight. Hard to tell when it's that dark... I certainly hope that grim, dour time when no one really talks to one another or makes very good eye contact is not their only exposure to evergreen. Ahhh.. but then Good Friday isn't really about "us" is it?

Heath did some amazing 3-D art... sculptures of Christ coming out of Books.

These Stations were done for last year, I think... very cool. In fact, they've now travelled all over the US, having been recruited for use at the National Youth Workers' convention this last year...

Nathan did this crucifix:

I'm just blown away at how good (not just artistic good... Spiritually impactful good) our artists are- like this by Tim...

You can't tell from this image, but the background for this (like many of Heath's works) is literally Scripture... that is, if you could look closely enough, you'd see that underneath the art, set into the "canvas" of the picture are pages and pages and pages from the Bible. It's a pretty wild thing to walk closer and see the words of Scripture in the face of Jesus...

I'll post some photos when I get some good ones of the small pieces from the middle of the room that many of our women did... really great stuff.

Thanks everyone, especially all those of you who came and helped set up/stayed late for tear down, did art, sound, mediashout, etc... I love you guys for many reasons, not least of which being servants to our community.

Comments

[FEATHERHEAD]

Just interrupted "Campmeeting" to stop by and wish you a blessed resurrection Morning/ Happy Easter Sunday.Praise God, that Jesus died for us,or there wouldn't be much to be happy about!

[Revrdmark]

Loved your reflection on Good Friday. I have been doing the Tenebrae service at the congregations I've served for going on 10 years now (geesh I'm getting old!) I have had the same reaction. A service so dark, and sending us out to the streets with the Christ candle extigushed and smoldering without a nice happy message tied up in a bow, and their pastor usually moved to tears at the alter, seemed(and seems) disturbing to me. But the reason I keep the service every year is that I know its good for me to remember that Easter doesn't come without Good Friday. It's all to easy to have Easter become about bunnies and egg huunts and choirs and not about the celebration of what this forgivness and grace is. Glad to see your soul a bit undone as you lead your congregation and friends into this celebration friend!