FROM PALMS TO THE CROSS

April 20, 2009

I used this video to close our Good Friday service, which was sparsely attended (1/2 regular Sunday attendance). Because we need to experience the grave before we can experience resurrection, we started our Easter Sunday service in the grave. People entered from our hospitality room to the sanctuary to find slow, soft organ prelude music appropriate for a funeral. The lights were low. The light of the windows was blocked by shutters made to fit on the exterior. Additional black drapes were used over internal doorways and windows. In front of the chancel was a large black curtain hung 9.5 feet high, permitting no view of the chancel area. In the center of the curtain was draped an ironed white sheet. The service started without announcements or greeting when the funeral prelude stopped and the remaining lights were cut. The congregation sat in darkness for about 10 seconds. Then "From Palms to the Cross" was projected on the ironed white sheet hung on the curtain. The audio was loud with the video's heartbeat drum. The video faded to black and the congregation sat in silence for ~10 seconds. Then, we had someone peal our church bell 10 times. After the 5th peal, two women at the back of the church cried out, each twice, "He is Risen!" "Christ is Risen." At that moment, the shutters on the windows were quickly removed, the curtain in the front fell to the ground, and all the lights were turned on full -- revealing the chancel area full of white lilies, white paraments, a large wooden cross (present through Lent) now covered with white lilies. All as the opening strains of Christ the Lord is Risen Today rang out, calling us to worship. Since the choir area was behind the curtain, the choir stood at the back of the sanctuary and processed in while singing. "From Palms to the Cross" was very helpful in creating this touch of Christ's death and grave, which offered a great contrast for the celebration of the resurrection. I'd considered other ways of doing this, say reading an obituary of Jesus, but that seemed cheezy to me compared to the effectiveness of the video.