Post-Tenebrae comment

Well, it went well. As simple as we could make it, yet profound and a spiritual experience. The only technology used was to provide sound effects at the end of some of the readings. After the last candle was blown out and it was fairly dark, the talented Tammy played 2 verses of "When I survey the wondrous cross" on her flute. That was the moment it all came together for me. The whole thing lasted 45 minutes.
More than 20 people attended which surprised me. Overall I think it was well worth doing and was good for us as a group to work together in this.

Tenebrae

So we're going to put on a Tenebrae service on Easter Saturday. It's the first time the group we still call Third has felt able to do anything public since the original group went various ways. We'll use the Maybridge church hall and run from 8pm to about 9pm or earlier. It's a contemplative service where 8 candles are blown out after each of 8 readings, leaving the hall in darkness and the sound of a closing tomb. The whole thing is preceded by communion.
The beauty is it's simple. It doesn't require months of preparation and can be deeply meaningful. It'll be interesting to see if anyone turns up............

Bizarre Moments

Just one of those bizarre moments that occur once in a while.
I was talking to a female colleague who had her phone on speaker whilst waiting for one of those awful 'dial n for x' systems to find someone for her to talk to. She explained that it was a women's clinic to which she was trying to sell some equipment. She told me that the system had just given her the option to dial 15 if she wanted to make a sperm donation! At that very point, loud and clear from the speaker came the words "Please hold".................................

Can the church progress?

I attended a meeting last night at the church to which our group is loosely connected. First time I'd been in the church building for a while, good to see some old friends. The meeting was something to which a number of people were specially invited to explore how the church can form new congregations practising new forms of church. As always I try not to get my hopes up with these things therefore I was not disappointed. The meeting consisted of about 30 people sitting in a circle with about 40% saying something and the leader of the meeting trying to distill their comments into one line on a flip chart. The emphasis seemed to be to fit everything into headings relating to accountability, responsibility, etc. The only thing I might have found upsetting was that Third was used as an example of how not to do things. I was not upset because I expected it and can see that most people have not even begun to understand how much we put into the group that was Third and how much the remnant of Third means to us now. It is a lifeline, an opportunity to share God and everything He means to us in an environment that doesn't judge, have hidden agendas or expectations; an environment that accepts and loves the people that we are; an opportunity to explore meaningful ways of worship. Sounds like church to me.