Occurring
for 1 hour
Venue Address
Stoke Road Stoke D'Abernon Cobham, KT11 3PX, United Kingdom
The word tenebrae is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story, so this is not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy. If your expectation of Christian worship is that it should always be happy and exhilarating, you won’t appreciate this service until the second time you attend it.

It starts out with the church in candlelight. There are as many candles as there are readings, plus a white Christ candle. The readers go up one at a time, read their assigned selections, and extinguish one of the candles, until only the Christ candle remains. Then someone reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross. Then the Christ candle is put out, leaving the congregation in near total darkness—and near total devastation. At this point, the service ends. There is no benediction and the people leave in silence. (The lights are turned up but remain dim so that people can see their way out.)

The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn’t over until Easter Day.

St Mary's, Stoke D'Abernon

Our Church, which is the oldest Church in Surrey, was built in the late 7th or early 8th century and has welcomed worshippers throughout the following centuries to the present day. We are still a vibrant and active church serving the daily needs of our Parishioners and the wider community.

Our regular service times are set out on our website www.stmarysstokedabernon.org.uk. The Church is open for visiting between 2-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays from the beginning of April until the end of October except for Easter Saturday and Sunday when the Church will not be open other than for planned Church services

Thank you for taking an interest in our lovely church and visiting our website. We’d love to see you at our services, where you will receive a warm welcome, a faithful service, and refreshments in our church hall after.


Get in touch

Parish Office

St Mary's Church
Stoke Road
Stoke D'Abernon
Surrey

KT11 3PX
Parish administrator
01932 866005

Our website

What's on

Tenebrae

Occurring
for 1 hour
Venue
St Mary's, Stoke D'Abernon
Address
Stoke Road Stoke D'Abernon Cobham, KT11 3PX, United Kingdom

The word tenebrae is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story, so this is not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy. If your expectation of Christian worship is that it should always be happy and exhilarating, you won’t appreciate this service until the second time you attend it.

It starts out with the church in candlelight. There are as many candles as there are readings, plus a white Christ candle. The readers go up one at a time, read their assigned selections, and extinguish one of the candles, until only the Christ candle remains. Then someone reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross. Then the Christ candle is put out, leaving the congregation in near total darkness—and near total devastation. At this point, the service ends. There is no benediction and the people leave in silence. (The lights are turned up but remain dim so that people can see their way out.)

The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn’t over until Easter Day.

Safeguarding

"Our parish of Stoke D'Abernon is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults from harm. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). Our Diocese of Guildford’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor who advises our PSO. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the PSO Janice Scott via the Parish Office or the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor . If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority’s children or adult social care services."

St Mary's, Stoke D'Abernon Charity No. 1128323