A service of evening prayer for

The worshipping community of Long Ashton, Barrow Gurney and Flax Bourton The name Tenebrae is the Latin word for "darkness" or "shadows," and has for centuries been applied to the ancient monastic night and early morning services of the last three days of Holy Week, which in medieval times came to be celebrated on the preceding evenings.

This service is marked by the reading of Psalms and verses from the . We begin with seven candles alight but their gradual extinguishing during the course of the service signifies the enveloping darkness - until a single candle, considered a symbol of the Lord, remains.

Towards the end of the service, even this candle is hidden, typifying the apparent victory of the forces of evil.

However, at the very end, a loud noise - the ‘strepitus’ - is made, symbolising the earthquake at the time of the resurrection (Matthew 28:2).

The hidden candle is then restored to its place and by its light all depart.

Material in this service is taken from the Oremus website, and compiled from: The Book of Occasional Services, 1979, Episcopal Church; and Celebrating Common Prayer, Society of St. Francis.

The recording of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae is by the Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter. The gathering

O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us.

Chant

Stay with me; remain here with me. Watch and pray; watch and pray.

Verses from Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

The first candle is extinguished

Verses from Psalm 59

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me. Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!

The second candle is extinguished Verses from Psalm 22

Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

The third candle is extinguished

A reading from the Lamentations of the Prophet

How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal.

She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among the nations, and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve,[a] and her lot is bitter.

Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to your God!

The fourth candle is extinguished

Responsory

On the mount of Olives, prayed to the Father: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.

The reading continues:

From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembers, in the days of her affliction and wandering, all the precious things that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was no one to help her, the foe looked on mocking over her downfall.

Jerusalem sinned grievously, so she has become a mockery; all who honoured her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans, and turns her face away.

Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; her downfall was appalling, with none to comfort her. “O Lord, look at my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!”

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to your God!

The fifth candle is extinguished

Responsory

My soul is very sorrowful, even to the point of death; remain here and watch with me. Now you will see the crowd who will surround me; you will flee, and I will go to be offered up for you. Behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. You will flee, and I will go to be offered up for you. The reading continues:

Enemies have stretched out their hands over all her precious things; she has even seen the nations invade her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation.

All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O Lord, and see how worthless I have become.

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.

From on high he sent fire; it went deep into my bones; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all day long.

My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they weigh on my neck, sapping my strength; the Lord handed me over to those whom I cannot withstand.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to your God! The sixth candle is extinguished Responsory

Lo, we have seen him without beauty or majesty, with no looks to attract our eyes. He bore our sins and grieved for us, he was wounded for our transgressions and by his scourging we are healed. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. And by his scourging we are healed.

Music - O vos omnes - from the Tenebrae Responsories by

Verses from Psalm 88

For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.

The seventh candle is hidden.

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross.

Silence is held Christ for our sake became obedient unto death, even death upon a cross; therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.

The ‘strepitus’ is sounded and the seventh candle is replaced

Verses from Psalm 16

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Chant

The Lord is my light, my light and salvation. In God I trust. In God I trust.

The dismissal

Go in the light of Christ! Thanks be to God

We depart in silence