Good Friday services

Today we are having company, so we will be going to an evening Good Friday worship service. Grace and Peace Presbyterian in California, MD, will be having their Tenebrae Service at 7 pm tonight. Here is the invitation:

"Good Friday marks the death of Jesus Christ. It's called ‘good' because of what Jesus' death means for the redemption of the world. Worship this evening focuses on three aims: (1) to narrate and remember the events of Jesus' death, (2) to open up the meaning of these events for our understanding of God and the redemption accomplished by the cross, and (3) to invite worshipers to renewed prayer and dedication.

Please enter humbly, worship deeply, and leave quietly this evening with your heart centered on the suffering of Christ for you and your salvation. You will observe a diminishing of light through the service in the pattern of tenebrae worship. Tenebrae means shadows, and so our worship will include an experience of some of the shadows that Christ endured. At the close of the service the bell will toll seven times to represent the fullness of Christ's sacrifice for us."

I know most of the folks at Grace and Peace, so I know that the music and the message will not be offensive.


Those of you with children may prefer the service at 7:30 pm at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Lusby. The invitation reads:

"The Passion Of Christ: An Outdoor Worship Experience. Witness the last week of Jesus' life on an outdoor stage with live music, animals, and a cast of more than 50."

I would like to go to this service but I am not willing to take a chance on the live music being offensive. I'm only offering this choice because I've come to accept that most people aren't offended by any music.

Whichever service you choose (and there are so many more locally), please spend time reflecting on what our Lord did for us on the cross.

Many blessings ~ Kathie