Today, as I passed the Lutheran Church near my workplace, I saw that they were having a Good Friday Service at 12 Noon. I wouldn't have time for the full service, I had to be back at 12:30 at work. Hmmm....what to do? Good Friday, I wanted to be in church and I so much wanted to hear the song, "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord". I thought to myself, that surely it would be alright to sit at the back and stay as long as I could...and that is just what I did! I was able to hear three readings from the Bible and three hymns...and the third hymn was the one I especially wanted to hear!
One of the other hymns was one that I was not familiar with.... but it sounded very good with the congregation singing along with the simple piano accompaniment. The song is called "They Crucified My Lord"...or is more often known as "He Never Said A Mumblin' Word". I found several videos on YouTube but I am unable to link to them for some reason. Both songs are Negro spirituals, I wonder if they could be written by the same person? No one knows for sure who wrote these songs, but someone wrote them, and if you have read my blog for long, you must know how much I think about songwriters!
Even though I was only there for half of the service, I found it very moving. I hope that I didn't disturb anyone when I left early. God knows that I did have to get back to work! Love to you all. Happy Easter.
I had not heard of the last hymn you mentioned. I will look it up. Remember the good old days when employers would allow you extra time off to attend Good Friday services?
ReplyDeleteAfter I wrote this post, I realized that I have never been able to attend a Good Friday service since I have always worked on that day! I remember calling companies up North from my travel agency job in the 80's and 90's and a great many of them would be closed on Good Friday. I wonder if they still do?. Happy Easter.
DeleteHave a wonderful Easter, Kay. By the way, I'm loving that cherry blossom photo of you on your header. Takes my breath away every time I see it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kay, we love them! And remember that they were a gift from the generous heart of a Japanese man, Hideo Ogino. And my husband does take the BEST photos, don't you think?
DeleteI didn't make it to church for Good Friday but am very familiar with the song, Were you There when they crucified my Lord. It does give cause for thought. Happy Easter to you and yours !
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing to hear the crowd very quietly say "Not a word" at the end of the song. I knew the other songs but that one,"He Never Said A Mumbling Word", I did not know. The readings, the songs, the quiet and cool church with the busy outside world buzzing around in the noontime hour in the bright sun. It was a place of peace and quiet and perfect for meditation of the Lord's passion and sacrifice. Happy Easter to you, my friend!
DeleteI love to stop in at a different church every now and then, especially such special days as Good Friday. And if you're taking a little time for God, it's all good. I have never heard that particular song either, Thanks for shairing. Love your pictures. - Karen
ReplyDeleteTaking a little time for God...since I told you about a hymn, I am thinking your words could be worked into a song as well! Thanks for your sweet comment. Happy Easter.
DeleteGlad you got that chance.
ReplyDeleteThe second pic is wonderful.
I was trying to find shadowy photos and I just happened to think of that last one from one of our sunsets from Lake Alexander. Thanks, of course, Richard took both of them.
DeleteOur church has a Maundy Thursday service. It's about an hour and a half, as they read the account of the Last Supper, then serve communion. After that, the whole passion story is read and the communion table draped in black. When the readings and songs are done, we go outside in silence, where a tomb waits, with soldiers standing guard. We sing "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord", and the soldiers roll a stone in front of the tomb. Everyone leaves in silence. It's all quite moving and solemn, and because it's Thursday evening, even people who have to work on Good Friday can attend.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year you could pre-arrange to have an extra hour off of work on Good Friday. If you earn vacation hours, you could ask to take just one hour on that day.
The trouble with a service at mid day is that it interferes with people's lunch hours, and I hardly ever have any vacation days left, I always have to save them and they are always used up in a year that I visit England!
DeleteI do know about the Maundy Thursday service, maybe I will go to that next year. The one at your church sounds very moving and one that I would like to attend.
Happy Easter.
Happy Easter! xx
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter and may God's blessings be with you always!
DeleteIn Italian, tenebre simply means "dark" or "darkness", while the word for shadow is "ombra". I wonder when/how that changed from the original Latin. Isn't language and its development endlessly fascinating?
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether your boss would not have understood if you'd told them at work that you needed a longer lunch break to attend the full service.
Ah, Richard asked me about this too...and the church service bulletin said "shadows" or "darkness", I just used the first word I saw. He also wondered about the word, so I thank you for this...Tenebre is Italian! I am seeing my Italian/American friend today, I should have called and asked her! I LOVE languages, endlessly fascinating to me also.
DeleteHmm....someone at work who will listen to me and accommodate me so that I could attend a church service and cut into someone's lunch hour? HEAVEN FORBID! :-) Happy Easter to you and your family. x
Richard told me that ombre meant shadows...this I knew from doing my crochet work! But it was too late to fix my post, I have so little time these days!
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