On Good Friday 2008 at St Andrew's Edgware I was determined to
linger on the stark message of Friday without rushing into the
Third Day Hope.
This was our first Easter between vicars but last year laid the
grounds for further experimenting. People were warned that the service would be aimed at adults.
Thanks to Sharon who provided activities for the few children
who did turn up with parents.
Thanks to the many sources I drew together,
the cost of Christ's sacrifice was made very clear to us.
A 2 metre crown of thorns made from barbed wire
was suspended from the ceiling .
First seen at hold this space in dead man waiting .
A service that Cheryl Lewis and Mark Pierson
lead in Oz on an Easter Saturday. This and some of the other
elements of the service were further developed
by Thinkerlabs in Ontario in a service aimed more at younger
people they called Blood on Our Hands.
Plastic cups of ice coloured with red food dye were suspended
from the crown of thorns and dripped from holes in the cups
throughout the service onto a white sheet below.
A large wooden cross was placed on the white sheet supported
by a chair at one end.
The room was unlit except for one candle and moving images
and song words projected. Readings from Mark 15 told the story
without introduction followed by responses of silence,
song words or ritual.
Most effective was a responsive reading of
God on a Stick by Paul Hobbs from Alternative Worship
by Jonny Baker and Doug Gay. Also at the end, introduced
as a press release I read the powerful Communique by Godfrey Rust
from Welcome to the Real World.
For the first time at our church people were invited to walk around
and react to the various elements of the scene in response to the
beginning of the crucifixion read from Mark: 21 - 32 .
Nails: an act of confession - invited people to:
drive a nail into the wood
to ask for forgiveness for someone they had wronged
drive a another nail into the wood
to forgive those who have sinned against us
take a nail home
as a reminder that we must forgive as we've been forgiven
The Cup of Suffering was filled with red wine vinegar.
The invitation was to take a sip from the cup
to express willingness to follow Christ wherever He may lead
or read Mark 14: 32 – 42, Luke 9: 22- 24 or Mark 15: 33 - 37
Placed below one of the dripping ice cones was a bucket
collecting drips. The invitation was to place a thumb print
on a piece of paper using a red stamp pad and place it in
the filling bucket. As the service progressed the splashes
stained the instruction sheet in a quite unplanned way.
There were also various elements of the crucifiction story
available as visual reminders.
The purble robe was a mauve pashmina on which was placed
a small crown of thorns that could be handled and two dice.
( Mark 15: 16-20 & John 19: 24 )
A sponge and vinegar ( Mark 15: 35 ).
Comments are invited from those who attended and
others who have used similar elements in Good Friday worship settings
Monday, 24 March 2008
Good Friday 2008
On Good Friday 2008 at St Andrew's Edgware I was determined to
linger on the stark message of Friday without rushing into the
Third Day Hope.
This was our first Easter between vicars but last year laid the
grounds for further experimenting. People were warned that the service would be aimed at adults.
Thanks to Sharon who provided activities for the few children
who did turn up with parents.
Thanks to the many sources I drew together,
the cost of Christ's sacrifice was made very clear to us.
A 2 metre crown of thorns made from barbed wire
was suspended from the ceiling .
First seen at hold this space in dead man waiting .
A service that Cheryl Lewis and Mark Pierson
lead in Oz on an Easter Saturday. This and some of the other
elements of the service were further developed
by Thinkerlabs in Ontario in a service aimed more at younger
people they called Blood on Our Hands.
Plastic cups of ice coloured with red food dye were suspended
from the crown of thorns and dripped from holes in the cups
throughout the service onto a white sheet below.
A large wooden cross was placed on the white sheet supported
by a chair at one end.
The room was unlit except for one candle and moving images
and song words projected. Readings from Mark 15 told the story
without introduction followed by responses of silence,
song words or ritual.
Most effective was a responsive reading of
God on a Stick by Paul Hobbs from Alternative Worship
by Jonny Baker and Doug Gay. Also at the end, introduced
as a press release I read the powerful Communique by Godfrey Rust
from Welcome to the Real World.
For the first time at our church people were invited to walk around
and react to the various elements of the scene in response to the
beginning of the crucifixion read from Mark: 21 - 32 .
Nails: an act of confession - invited people to:
drive a nail into the wood
to ask for forgiveness for someone they had wronged
drive a another nail into the wood
to forgive those who have sinned against us
take a nail home
as a reminder that we must forgive as we've been forgiven
The Cup of Suffering was filled with red wine vinegar.
The invitation was to take a sip from the cup
to express willingness to follow Christ wherever He may lead
or read Mark 14: 32 – 42, Luke 9: 22- 24 or Mark 15: 33 - 37
Placed below one of the dripping ice cones was a bucket
collecting drips. The invitation was to place a thumb print
on a piece of paper using a red stamp pad and place it in
the filling bucket. As the service progressed the splashes
stained the instruction sheet in a quite unplanned way.
There were also various elements of the crucifiction story
available as visual reminders.
The purble robe was a mauve pashmina on which was placed
a small crown of thorns that could be handled and two dice.
( Mark 15: 16-20 & John 19: 24 )
A sponge and vinegar ( Mark 15: 35 ).
Comments are invited from those who attended and
others who have used similar elements in Good Friday worship settings
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