Between June 17th and June 26th, I've been spending time with my family in Charlottesville and Richmond. While in Richmond this past week, I attended the Wednesday Night 5:30pm service at St. Thomas' in Richmond. My family has had a home in the Ginter Park area of Richmond, on the "North Side" since the 1940s. My mother lives there now. So St. Thomas' is our neighborhood church. On Wednesdays this summer, St. Thomas' is having what they call a Contemplative Eucharist that features candlelight. I really enjoyed it and, if you live in Richmond or visiting on a Wednesday, I recommend that you check it out. The altar and other areas features votive candles, and in the center of the central aisle were candles, from which one can light a thin tapper candle and then place it in a bowl of fine black sand so that it stands up, as one says a silent prayer or offers an intention. At the beginning of the service, time is given for this lighting of a candle for those who wish to do so. The other feature of this service that I found particularly interesting and distinctive is the time of the response to the readings. Instead of a homily or sermon, we did a lectio divina practice. The priest reads the lesson three times and, after each time, all present have the opportunity to offer the word or phrase that speaks to them (how the Spirit is speaking to them), after each reading we are encouraged to go deeper in our reflection, moving from just a word to what it means to us and then to the challenge or encouragement it presents to us as we seek to follow God and be Christ's people in this world.
This picture is not from St. Thomas' but it gives you an idea of how the candles look, the ones you can light at the start of the service. I had a great experience there.
No comments:
Post a Comment