Tenebrae, a Holy Darkness from Grant Howard on Vimeo.
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On March 27th, Church of the Redeemer presents Tenebrae.  This event of Holy Darkness begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village.  Admission is free but seating is limited.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event is about 75 minutes long.  There is free parking available at Cornerstone Financial, 1701 21st Ave S.

We welcome the entire community and people of all/no faiths to join us for Tenebrae.  

Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning "shadows" or "darkness.”  It’s based on an ancient liturgy of the Benedictine monasteries of Europe. The traditional service walks through the last week in Christ's life through psalms, lessons, prayers, and gathering darkness. It centers around a gathering of fifteen candles which are snuffed out, one by one, as the service goes on. The increasing physical darkness symbolizes Jesus' life ebbing away.

Our Tenebrae follows the same basic outline as the traditional one. It refers to the pattern of psalms and teachings.  We still douse lights in the same order, while bringing one back at the end to symbolize the Resurrection. However, this Tenebrae is a multi-media event of live music, images, dark comedy, film, recorded music, and still photography.

Tenebrae is non-narrative and sometimes non-verbal. It’s an intuitive journey into a storm of hope and rejection. Most everyone will find something difficult in it, most everyone will find something moving in it. This is not for kids as there are moments of PG-13 language and images.  

We hope you can come.