Worship & Prayer
Worship in November - From Fantastic Light to the Light of the World
I have to confess that until I came to Lyndon and probably more accurately met our youth worker Catherine Ralph, I had never heard of a Fantastic Light Party such as will be held at Lyndon on All Saints Day. As this was my 3rd year of being part of the service, I thought that I would investigate its origins to be more informed. I therefore duly typed Fantastic Light Party into Google only to find that the first item to come up was none other than Lyndon Methodist Church!
Not to be thwarted, I continued my search and found that Fantastic Light, was a movement to restore to the festival of Halloween its Christian heritage. Halloween takes its name from All Hallow’s Eve, the vigil of the Feast of All Hallows, known to us today as All Saints Day. A series of decisions by the Catholic Church in the early and late Middle Ages gave All Hallows its name and date. All Hallow’s Eve literally means the day before hallowing or honouring God and the work of past Christian’s who worked for God’s glory in the world.
The original All Hallow skeletons were the bones of Christian men and women who had served the church. The original lanterns were hollowed out turnips with a candle shinning out of a carved cross marked on the side. The original prayers celebrated God’s goodness and the faithful service of the saints.
The Fantastic Light Party that will be celebrated at Lyndon on the 1st November will not display the bones of past church members, however it will celebrate God’s continuing goodness and in our 50th anniversary year of the building, will celebrate the Christian service and mission that has come from this place. The party in the hall begins at 4.30pm and the service will be at 6pm. Come wearing something brightly coloured and don’t forget your tea!
Light is a continuing theme as we celebrate the beginning of Advent with an evening Christingle Service on the 29th November. Begun by the Moravian Church in Germany in 1747, Christingle means “Christ’s light,” and the service focuses our attention on the hope and joy that light brings to a dark world. In the darkness of winter, the coming of Christ at Christmas to be the light of the world is a powerful message of hope.
Setting the service on the first Sunday in Advent adds further layering and meaning as we wrestle with the apocalyptic readings of the day. Here we find in Luke’s gospel 21: 25-26, Jesus giving testimony that he will return. The sea will roar, the powers of the heavens will be shaken when the Son of Man comes with power and in great glory. The Christingle shining out as light of the world signs for us not only Jesus coming this Christmas but in great glory at the end of time.
I love these readings. For me they point to the mystery of faith and the power into which the world has been drawn, the promise that our time has been bound to the time of God. Time is now caught up in the mystery of faith. Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again. The same promise that we see coming to fulfilment in the baby in Bethlehem and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead at Easter, will be at work when Jesus comes again. He was there at the beginning of the world and he will be there at the end of time.
So as we will light our Christingles and celebrate Jesus being Light of the World, we will have a sense that his light is behind us, with us for today and ahead of us for the future.
If I hadn’t been writing about Advent following on from All Saints, I may well have missed the promise at the end of the reading of the Epistle for the first Sunday in Advent. The readings from 1 Thessalonians 3, celebrating Jesus’ return at the end of time also highlights that Jesus will not be returning alone, but will bring his friends – all his followers - the saints that have served him through time.
So this month, from a celebration of the saints of the past at our Fantastic Light Party we look forward to their return with Jesus as we begin the Advent season. All of time caught up in the purposes of God.
Amen
Julia Monaghan
23.10.09