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Lent and Holy Week at Westminster
The Good Friday
Service of Tenebrae will be held in the sanctuary at Christ
Presbyterian Church ( at 7 pm on Friday, April 10,
2009. *Please note that
no service of worship will be held at
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Our Lenten Journey Leads
to Good Friday The liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (February 25) with a service of worship in which we observe our own mortality and finitude. Lent ends after Good Friday when the mortality of Jesus Christ was realized in his death and sacrifice for our sins on the cross. As we travel the Lenten journey together in 2009, we will begin with the end in mind. Therefore, throughout this Lenten season, we will focus on the meaning of Good Friday for our faith. As Christians, it is easy for us to respond to God’s call to be an Easter people. However, in order to fully embrace the spiritual heights of Easter, we must also experience the spiritual depths of Good Friday. To guide us on our journey, and as we worship in each week of Lent, we will reflect on the seven last words spoken by Christ from the cross on Good Friday. In these scriptures, we are reminded that Christ’s obedience, love, and mercy extended even unto death as he ministered to the criminals that hung beside him (“You shall be with me in paradise.”), to his mother (“Behold your son. Son behold your mother.”), and to us all (“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”). Christ’s seven last words will become the scriptural basis for a Service of Tenebrae to be held on Good Friday evening. Our prayer is that, by studying these words of Christ in the context of God’s covenant relationship with us, we can bring additional meaning and understanding to our Good Friday worship experience and, thus, to our subsequent celebration of the resurrection on Easter morning. This year, one Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, or Service of Shadows, has been planned in collaboration with all of Madison’s Presbyterian congregations and Pres House: Christ Presbyterian, Covenant Presbyterian, Dale Heights Presbyterian, Parkside Presbyterian, and Westminster Presbyterian. In the service, choral musicians from these congregations will combine to respond to the seven last words of Christ with hymns and excerpts from the Requiem composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We anticipate that the service will be led by liturgists representing each of the participating congregations, a choir of approximately 65 singers, and an orchestra of 18 musicians. While the music of Mozart will play an important role in the service, this is not a concert. It is, indeed, a worship service; one that will bring glory to God and draw beauty from the way in which it weaves the deep solemnity of Good Friday with the emotive expressions of mortality reflected in the inspired music of Mozart. The Good Friday Service of Tenebrae will be held in the sanctuary at Christ Presbyterian Church (944 East Gorham Street) on Madison’s near east side at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2009. Please note that no service of worship will be held at Westminster on Good Friday. You are encouraged to make arrangements to carpool together to the worship service as parking at Christ Presbyterian will be limited.
Frequently
Asked Questions Good
Friday Service of Tenebrae and Mozart’s Requiem The last --Joe Chrisman, Minister of Music-- When is the Good Friday Service of Tenebrae? Friday, April 10, at 7:00 p.m. Where will the Good Friday Service of Tenebrae be held? This service will not be at Who is leading the Good Friday Service of Tenebrae? This year, we will join five other Presbyterian congregations
from Why are these congregations uniting for one Good Friday
service? These congregations are unified not solely by our
Presbyterian affiliation, but by a common faith in God whom alone we worship
and serve. The opportunity to worship
together, and thus create a shared experience in our Lenten journey, enables us
to worship through the breadth of our commonality in a service that reflects
one of the most deeply spiritual aspects of our faith. Elements of the liturgy
and prayers used in the service will be taken from the Presbyterian Book of
Common Worship. What is a Service of Tenebrae? The word “Tenebrae” means “shadows.” Therefore, a
Service of Tenebrae is a service of progressive darkness. After each scripture
reading, a candle is extinguished. This allows us to observe how the shadows of
our sinful nature grow eventually to extinguish the light of Christ through his
suffering and death on the cross. What are the “Seven Last Words?” The seven last words are the last statements spoken
by Christ as he hung on the cross on Good Friday. During each Sunday in Lent, we have read one
of these statements in our worship service. On Good Friday, each word will be
read and responded to with either a movement from Mozart’s Requiem or
with a Lenten hymn. As we read these words of our Savior, we will be reminded
that, even in the midst of his suffering and anguish, Christ offered love and
mercy to all as he interceded with God from the cross. As we reflect on these
words of Christ, his own human mortality becomes increasingly real until it
culminates in his final words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” What is a Requiem? A “requiem” is a mass, or worship service, for the
dead. Although the form has been
modified throughout the centuries, the basic textual elements remain the same
today as in the 1500’s when the first musical requiem was set. Some of these elements, such as the Kyrie
(Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.),
are used by reformed congregations like Who composed Mozart’s Requiem? Although this question reads like the joke, “Who is
buried in Grant’s tomb,” it is actually a valid question. Composed between
October and December of 1791, the Requiem was one of the last creative
engagements of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). In July 1791, Count Franz
von Walsegg acted anonymously to commission Mozart to compose a requiem that
would memorialize the death of the count’s wife. In exchange for his effort,
Mozart received partial payment in advance.
However, Mozart died before he could complete the composition. Most music scholars agree that the extant
work is a compilation of the original material of Mozart with vocal parts or
orchestrations completed by other composers.
The edition used in the Good Friday Service of Tenebrae is that of
Mozart’s former pupil Franz Xaver Sussmayer (1766-1803), one of several
composers hired by Mozart’s wife, Constanze, to complete the work so that final
payment could be obtained. What kind of music is the Mozart Requiem? Is it slow?
Is it dark? Is it energetic? The short answer is, “Yes!” Mozart paid particular attention to the text
in making his compositional choices for the Requiem. Consequently, music scholars note that Mozart
placed particular prominence on the role of the choir (as the instrument for
delivery of the text in worship). With
very few exceptions, there are not extensive orchestral introductions or interludes
preceding each entrance of the choir.
Nevertheless, from the angry “Dies Irae” (Day of Wrath, Day of Anger) to
the mournful “Lacrymosa,” (Tearful day) Mozart’s Requiem gives an ample
and emotive expression to the many dimensions of Good Friday. As we worship through the music of Mozart, we
will grow in the knowledge that it is Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on Good
Friday that leads us to the promise of our own eternal life. If I attend the Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, what
should I expect? In the Good Friday Service of Tenebrae, we will
revisit the themes of our mortality and finitude that defined the first steps
of our journey on Ash Wednesday.
Throughout the worship service, you will sense a purposeful cadence of
scripture, silence, darkness, and music. Therefore, you may anticipate a very
deliberate pacing to the service that creates opportunities for you to reflect
upon the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus and its meaning in your own life. You will
be encouraged to sustain a spirit of worshipful solemnity and, in so doing,
create space for God to speak to you and for you to listen to his word to
you. You will gather with other
Presbyterians who profess a common faith. Although the music of Mozart will
play an essential role, this will be a worship service and not a
performance. It is our hope that you
will embrace this opportunity to dwell for a short time in the depths of the
darkness of Good Friday so that you may experience the heights of Easter more
meaningfully and fully. How can I learn more about Mozart, the Requiem, and this
opportunity for worship? At 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 5, Joe Chrisman,
Minister of Music, will lead a class in Fellowship Hall to explore all these
questions and debunk the myths of Mozart.
Plan to attend, and bring a friend! |