Episode 82: Creation Tenebrae

Today Alli and Jasree welcome the Rev. Tuesday Rupp, the Rev. Norman MacLeod, the Rev. Rachel Thomas, and the Rev. Erin Flinn to discuss Earth Tenebrae. 

The service of Tenebrae dates at least as far back as the twelfth century.  The service is typically used in Holy Week as a form of preparation for the observance of Christ’s Passion: his arrest, humiliation, torture, trial and execution. Tenebrae is the Latin word for “shadows.” It traditionally includes psalms of lament, readings from the book of Lamentations and sung Latin Responsories.  This version of Tenebrae emerged in June, 2014 from the Pilgrimage for Earth, organized in cooperation with Church of the Woods, Canterbury, New Hampshire.  The Pilgrimage looked at the suffering of the Earth through the lens of Holy Week, from Maundy Thursday to Easter, culminating in an expression of hope that God’s abundant love will give humankind the wisdom and will to preserve “this fragile earth, our island home.” The Gospel of John proclaims that Christ came to save the whole world, and that our world came into being only through Christ, the Word of God.  Our Tenebrae tonight views the distress and destruction of our natural environment in the light of Christ’s Passion.  The traditional psalms of lament remain, as do the sung Responsories, composed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Words of Wendell Berry, a contemporary farmer-poet, lamenting the depredations of the modern era on our environment, replace the passages from the Biblical Lamentations.  In addition, this service will include chants by the choir of the names of species which have been lost in the modern era.  Known as a Litany of the Extinct, the names of animals will be chanted in English and of plants in Latin, using their botanical names.  In keeping with the theme of shadows, during the course of the service, the candles and other lights in the church will be gradually extinguished.

Read the full service booklet here.

Find more information about the Earth Tenebrae service, including a future "Watch Party' online at https://www.trinityhartford.org/worship/. 

You can find this episode and others on our website coffeehour.org. Be sure to like us on Facebook, and give us a follow on Instagram and Twitter. ​

In Christ and Coffee,
Alli & Jasree

---