By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

The day began festively as scores of parishioners processed with their palms along the Gallery of Light in the Faith Development Center and into St. Ann Church, Lawrenceville, for the liturgy of Palm/Passion Sunday, March 31.

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And for about 200 or so of those same parishioners, the span of time which opens the door to Holy Week would come to a moving conclusion hours later when they returned to the church to share in the solemn experience of “The Shadow of the Cross,” a contemporary adaption of a service which harks from Medieval times.

There, as at the earlier liturgy, they would hear once again words commemorating the suffering and Death of Jesus on the Cross and anticipating the Resurrection.

This time, though, instead of entering the church in radiant company, they encountered a dimly lit space, illuminated only by seven candles and sacred silence from the 50, black clad choristers waiting reverently in the hallway that leads to the nave. Scores in hand, they waited to share with the faithful a contemporary re-telling of the suffering and Death of Jesus on the Cross and anticipating his Resurrection.

In the moments that followed, everyone in the nave – choir, under the direction of Rachel Lavery, readers and listeners alike, would join in a prolonged mediation on Christ's suffering.

Tenebrae (Latin for “darkness” or “Shadows”) is a devotion traditionally offered at night during Holy Week – particularly on the last three days.

It is characterized by the successive extinguishing of candles as the Scripture readings progress, symbolizing the extinction of all human hopes. As it gets darker, the faithful reflect on the great pain that was inflicted on Jesus during The Passion.

The readings, illuminated by hymns, told the story of the Passion, portraying Christ's pathos and sorrow as one candle after another – seven in all in this modern arrangement by Lloyd Larson, a Midwestern music minister, composer and arranger -- were extinguished.

In his version, Larson wove together traditional favorite hymns including “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Beneath the Cross of Jesus,” with contemporary songs including “Lamb of God” and “How Beautiful,”both by Christian recording artist Twyla Paris.

The powerful blending of song and Scripture captivated those who had returned to the church for their second service of the day moving more than a few to tears, especially during the singing of “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” and “I Need Thee Every Hour.”

When the Tenebrae concluded, a consensus quietly emerged that the service had helped open the door to Holy Week in a wonderful and moving way.

In brief, closing remarks, Trinitarian Father Gerard F. Lynch, pastor of St. Ann Parish, described himself as being left “speechless” by the power of the performance. “I don't know if you felt what I felt,” he said. “But the beauty of the voices and the (Scriptures) took us up to heaven and gently brought us back down.”

The whole day, beginning with the procession was a “true entry into Holy Week. I'm so happy so many people came back this afternoon.”

Lavery, the adult choir director, who earned a master's degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, called it a “wonderful experience,” one that reflected, she said, the “incredible people in the parish,” and it's nature as “a huge family.”

Family pariticpation was certainly exemplified by Gillian Cannon, her husband Andrew Gow and their son, James Gow.

“A great start to Holy Week,” was how Cannon described it. She, son James and husband Andrew all devoted their talents to the Tenebrae. The elder Gow sang bass in the choir while Cannon extinguished the candles along with James, who also read Scripture.

“It was wonderful of the parish to give people the opportunity” to continue keeping Palm Sunday after morning Mass, said Cannon who added that “having people come together at a time not normal for church brings alive the meaning of Holy Week.”

James, a sophomore in Lawrence High School, and a member of the youth choir, called it “a great way to being. It gets you in the perfect mindset” for Holy Week, he said.