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?