Candles again

I do not think so often about lighting candles in the house during the summer but as the days get shorter it is nice to do this.

I have a very good supply of tealights at home and also small holders to put them in.

We have been using tealights more now at church. Are all tealights and holders made the same size? It seems that they are not.

Maybe a trip to Ikea will be needed to purchase the proper sizes that fit together.

In the various episodes of Midsomer Murders with church settings sometimes the candles are all lit with no service going on the in church. Also sometimes friends are lighting candles for murder victims - there are always lots of these victims in this series.

Lights in the darkness

I might have mentioned once or twice my involvement with candles at St. John’s.

There were candles needed for the Maundy Thursday meal. There were candle holders and candles for the dinner tables.

There were tapers to be lit at the end of the meal and carried upstairs to the darkened church.

So on the Thursday afternoon these two sets of candles were readied and in place.

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The candles at the tables warmed up the gathering. That was not difficult. I sat at a table with other Altar Guild members whom I work with all the time and also the kitchen help who needed to be close to that side of activities.

Then we ate a lamb dinner and joined in the Eucharist after - a long time tradition in the parish. Folks were trying to figure out how long a tradition - at least 20 years. The meal itself was excellent and there was good conversation. The format of the service was very familiar too.

Then the tapers were lit and everyone moved upstairs to the darkened church while singing “Go to dark Gethsemane…”

As a member of the Altar Guild and preparing for and cleaning up after the Eucharist, three of us went into the elevator with a trolley. An older member of the congregation who has trouble with stairs joined us with her lighted taper.

Outside the sacristy where much Altar Guild activity happens there was a small tea light which had been lit. This was to light the way of those stripping the church of candles and altar hangings and other decorations. They did it very efficiently and quietly. The head server had been concerned earlier about the choreography of this event but everything went well.

When finished the door to the church was closed. Everyone left the church after the service. There were some items to be returned to their storage place so I opened the door. A single white candle was burning on a stand. I blew it out.

So for the Good Friday services there will be no decorations and no candles. The plain wooden cross - two pieces of a former Christmas tree - will be put out. Our priest in charge almost fell over it where I had placed it waiting for Friday’s services. Could that provide some reflections for a sermon - how the Cross intrudes into our lives?

Tealights

So I am off to the church in the morning to look for some of these. There are supposed to be some nice coloured ones somewhere. The somewhere is the interesting part. I suspect I may have into look into various cupboards. If they are not there I may have to check out some boxes in the organ loft. It is sort of a mess up there - just like an attic.

February 2nd

So today is 2 important dates on the calendar.

Yesterday at church we celebrated Candlemass. Candles were blessed. During the reading of the Gospel, everyone was given a lighted candle and the main lights were turned down. The fact that it was a dreary day outside made the candles and their light quite pretty.

Today the groundhog who lives in various locations in Canada and the U.S. will be sticking his nose out of his winter residence. Six more weeks of winter or an early spring??

Here in Ottawa there are lots of large snowdrifts and the groundhog may have a hard time seeing out of his burrow.

I do see a number of groundhogs along the Transitway. Now that the Ottawa buses will be running again soon, they may be poking their heads up to see what are those strange red and white vehicles travelling close to their homes.

Images of light

This time of year it is really good to know that the days are getting longer. When the sun is out, one’s spirits feel lifted even when it is cold. That is why Vancouver is not so nice at this time of year - dark and rainy. I did not like the Toronto winters - there was not much snow and it was dreary.

At this time of year there are lots of Christmas lights around. Soon they will be put away for another year. I keep my Christmas tree out of its box until January 6 - the Feast of the Epiphany.

I like to use candles in my house. I have several that I bought a about a year ago and they lasted a long time. Someone said to me - maybe they were beeswax - they last longer.

I like the tea lights in this picture. One can buy a large bag from Ikea. They make for a soft gentle light. A few years ago they started to use these candles at St. John’s. That is a contrast from the traditional tall candles on large brass candlesticks.

I was impressed some years ago reading about Trinity Church Wall Street. Folks would stop to light a candle on their way to work in the financial district. That still seems to me to be from the more Catholic than Protestant tradition. Now the candles are lighted to remember 9/11.

From the service of Evening Prayer:
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee O Lord; we pray: and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

When my mom was staying in the convalescent home in Lachute I would often leave early in the morning to drive home to Ottawa. I would wait until it was starting to get light.

Where I waited for the bus to go to work in the morning I was looking east. At a certain time of year, the sun was very bright.

My mom’s bedroom in Lachute faced east. Her first room in the nursing home faced exactly the same way.

It is interesting to watch news reports when there has been some local disaster. In many different religious traditions candles are lighted. This seems to be a universal way of remembering.