Community of Christ
Good Friday 2008
Tenebrae

+ Gathering in Music and in Silence          

+ Welcome and Introduction to Tenebrae

L: We come together this evening in the name of God the Maker, Jesus the Christ and the Sustaining Spirit
C: Amen

L: We gather together in the shadows of the night, following the day of the cross, the day of darkness.
C: Lord, have mercy on us.   

L:  We gather to remember the story of Jesus’ suffering and death.  We gather together to remember that dark time of Jesus dying on the cross. 
C:  Lord, have mercy on us.

L: We gather to connect that story of pain, suffering and death with our own stories.  We know and remember our own personal darkness and shadows.   
C: Christ, have mercy on us.

L: We gather together remembering the pain and suffering in our neighborhoods, our country, our world.  Fire, war, hunger, chaos, oppression, killing, and solitude tear people’s lives apart. 
C: Christ, have mercy on us.

L: We know that evil lives on.  We remember that, daily in our world, injustice and hatred still can win out over justice and love.
C: Lord, have mercy on us.

L: We know that the dark shadows of hopelessness still haunt us. We lament that our work to end injustice and hatred fail to fully stop the evil at work in the world.
C: Lord, have mercy on us.
On this day of the cross,
We pray for your Spirit to support us in the face of shadows and evil.
We pray for your light and presence to be with us in this darkness.
We ask for your mercy and peace.

(silence for prayer and meditation) 

+ Kyrie Hymn (Repeat twice)

Kyrie kyrie elieson;  Kyrie kyrie elieson
Christe, Christe elieson; Christe, Christe elieson
Kyrie, kyrie elieson;  Kyrie kyrie elieson; elieson.     

+ Prayer 

L: Let us pray:
C: Almighty God, we ask that you look with mercy on your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, handed over to sinners, and suffer death on the cross.  Help us remember this sacrifice for us and for our hurting world.  May we this day find new life in you now, and in the world to come; where you reign, O God, now and forever.  Amen

+ The First Reading:  Luke 22:14-34

(a time of silence for prayer is observed)

+ The Second Reading:  Luke 22:39-62

(a time of silence for prayer is observed)

+ Hymn:  Lamb of God