Celebrating Tenebrae: Geneva church hosts Good Friday service with Batavia, Aurora Methodists

Pastors and members of Batavia, Geneva and Aurora United Methodist churches celebrated Good Friday with a joint Tenebrae service at United Methodist Church of Geneva.

A Good Friday service, Tenebrae increases darkness by gradually extinguishing candles and dimming of lights to symbolize the coming darkness of Jesus’ death.

After a welcome and gospel lesson by the Rev. Rob Hamilton, the story of the suffering and death of Jesus from John’s gospel was divided into seven readings over a public address system. Readers included Tammy Scott and Melissa Meyers, pastors at the Aurora and Batavia churches and members of their congregations. After each segment of the story was read, Hamilton extinguished a candle.

Worshipers left in silence to ponder the impact of Christ’s death and await the celebration of the coming Resurrection.

Tenebrae is the Latin word meaning “darkness.” The service of Tenebrae as practiced in most Protestant Churches is an adaptation of medieval Roman Catholic practices for each of the days of Holy Week dating back to the ninth century, according to a news release. For Protestants, this single service is typically held at night on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday.

Also known as a “service of shadows,” Tenebrae is a service that uses scripture, music, and symbolic darkness to meditate on Christ’s Passion. The service involves gradually extinguishing candles, representing the darkness of Christ’s suffering and death, culminating in a final silence and darkness.