During one of our LENT discussions, we talked about how Good Friday gets a little lost during the Easter celebration. Without experiencing the darkness, it is harder to appreciate the light of Easter. When I was growing up, we didn�t do anything special for Good Friday. I have become interested in hearing about various church offerings on that day.

Some churches offer a Tenebrae Service where there is a gradual extinguishing of candles while scripture is read and somber songs are sung. The Last Seven Words of Christ are read. The First Word is from Luke 23:33-34: �When they came to the place called �The Skull�, they nailed Jesus to the cross there, and the two criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said �Forgive them, Father! They do not know what they are doing.�" The broad scope of these words clearly conveys Jesus� compassion. They can be interpreted as asking God to forgive the guards that hung him on the cross, or they can be asking forgiveness for our sins. To me this is powerful because it sums up resurrection. Jesus is sacrificing himself so that we are forgiven.

The last word is from Luke 23:46 where Jesus shared with us the final dedication of his soul. �Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, �Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!� And having said this he breathed his last.� I found text for a Good Friday service on the Seventh Word that I want to share. �Jesus entrusts his spirit -- his life and all that has given it meaning -- to God in faith; even at the point of his own abandonment, when the good seems so very far away, he proclaims his faith in God; the darkness cannot overcome it.�
http://www.spirit-net.ca/sermons/a-gdfr-sn.php

In addition to our Church Chapel being open for part of Good Friday, there will also be a Taiz� service in the chapel at 7pm. This has been described as a meditative worship service with simple somber music.