Christ Episcopal Church
311 E. Church Street
P O Box 4162 (all mail)
Martinsville, VA 24115
Ph. 276-632-2896
Fax 276-632-6605
News
A Sung Order for Compline: March 3, 10, and 17, at 7:30 p.m.
Following the scheduled Wednesday evening Lenten Programs, treble singers of the Christ Church Choirs will chant our annual Lenten services of Compline in our quiet, candle-lit nave.
As the quietness of night blankets us, we often are lost in the unsettledness of our minds. Inner thoughts sometimes speak as loudly as the worrying voices of the day.
After sunset on the first three Wednesdays of March, treble voices of the Christ Church Choirs will offer a sung Order of Compline.
Taken from the Latin complitorium, meaning "completion," Compline is traditionally the service performed at day's end, just before retiring. The short service, beginning on page 127 of the Book of Common Prayer, found its origins in the 6th century and is as poignant today as it was nearly 1,500 years ago. It is not a performance by our Choirs, but rather a simple service that recognizes and addresses our human fears of the night and of our own mortality. Compline gives thanks for the blessings of the day that has passed, invokes a sense of God's peace and protection from the unknown of the darkness of the night, and joyfully anticipates the day to come.
Recognizing often overlooked spirituality in silence, your participation is not vocal, but instead involves listening and silent prayer. In a world saturated with secular concerns--money, daily comforts, and conflicts--the singing of Compline attempts to musically express greater values: concern for the nourishment of the soul and God's protection in our lives.
"Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace." -- from An Order for Compline, BCP p.135
An Order for Compline, Wednesday, March 3, 10, and 17, 7:30 p.m., in the Nave
* Donations will be graciously accepted this evening to provide tuition funds for our choristers attending the Royal School of Church Music training courses in July.
