Traditional Candlelight Services
Well, I tried to stay away from the blog until after Christmas, but I just couldn't. We spent the day at my sister's and tomorrow our children will join us for our own immediate family celebration. It should be fun.
I was thinking of our candlelight service last night and am warmed by the afterglow of its simplicity. I have alway believed that it is hard to do better than the story right out of Scripture. This article agrees with my simple belief.
Last night after our candlelight service we stayed up late watching the Christmas Eve service from Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago. It was a great service. Very traditional, including some excellent readings, a short but good sermon, and a candle lighting component. These are the "rich upper crust" of Chicago's magnificant mile. Simple worked for them as well.
We switched over to watch the Celebration of Christmas broadcasting from Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee. This university cranks out some of the top people in the music industry. They showcased a traditional choir, traditional Christmas hymns and a couple of solo performances by some really good singer/musicians. Simple, yet very effective.
We then watched the program of a mega-church in our area. It was filled with acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, gifted musicians and soloists. The stage was covered with fog, synthetic snow and elaborate sets. It was quite an extravagant show. But, it left me somewhat confused. It seemed that in an attempt to retell the story in a fresh and relevant way, the simplicity of the message was made abstract and obscured. Maybe it was the traditionalist in me, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I didn't think it was bad, actually it was quite good from a technical and creative perspective, just a bit confusing.
I guess that is the beauty of Christianity. The same story can be told in a hundred different ways, and we can choose how we experience it. The key being that the message must be communicated. Whether it is by word, song, music, dance or art, the message can be conveyed.
I'll stick to keeping it simple. After all, it doesn't get much simpler than a Virgin, a manger and Immanuel.
I was thinking of our candlelight service last night and am warmed by the afterglow of its simplicity. I have alway believed that it is hard to do better than the story right out of Scripture. This article agrees with my simple belief.
Last night after our candlelight service we stayed up late watching the Christmas Eve service from Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago. It was a great service. Very traditional, including some excellent readings, a short but good sermon, and a candle lighting component. These are the "rich upper crust" of Chicago's magnificant mile. Simple worked for them as well.
We switched over to watch the Celebration of Christmas broadcasting from Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee. This university cranks out some of the top people in the music industry. They showcased a traditional choir, traditional Christmas hymns and a couple of solo performances by some really good singer/musicians. Simple, yet very effective.
We then watched the program of a mega-church in our area. It was filled with acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, gifted musicians and soloists. The stage was covered with fog, synthetic snow and elaborate sets. It was quite an extravagant show. But, it left me somewhat confused. It seemed that in an attempt to retell the story in a fresh and relevant way, the simplicity of the message was made abstract and obscured. Maybe it was the traditionalist in me, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I didn't think it was bad, actually it was quite good from a technical and creative perspective, just a bit confusing.
I guess that is the beauty of Christianity. The same story can be told in a hundred different ways, and we can choose how we experience it. The key being that the message must be communicated. Whether it is by word, song, music, dance or art, the message can be conveyed.
I'll stick to keeping it simple. After all, it doesn't get much simpler than a Virgin, a manger and Immanuel.
posted by jawbone at
10:19 PM
1 Comments:
I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older, but I also believe less is more when it comes to Christmas Eve services. It's nice to have a time of stillness and serenity. In years past it's been an opportunity for me to reflect on the past year and once again consider the mystery of God's grace.
td
By
Anonymous, at 5:50 PM
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