Ship of Fools: Stations of the Cross options

Thread: Stations of the Cross options Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :

I'm hoping that some of you will give me information about how your church manages the Stations. I'm not concerned about the texts, prayers, etc. That is our priest's business. But he prefers semi-darkness, sometimes more or less dark, so it is very difficult to make out the station plaque itself, and to read the responses in the leaflet.

And, there seems to be a serious difference of opinion about whether or not the processional cross should be carried from station to station; and if it is appropriate to have 1 or 2 or no candles carried from stop to stop.

There is a faction insisting that carrying the cross and candles 'around' is overly precious, fussy, and completely against the spirit of the whole service.

What say you?

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

The church is darker than usual. It's very difficult for the reader, though there is some light in the ambo. (A large-print copy would help.) There's some light in the congregation, but a friend of mine who's developing macular degeneration has to choose his seat by finding one under a light. The Stations themselves have small lights aimed at them (because of visibility problems when they were first installed.)

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

It's a popular devotion, not liturgy, so you can do it however you like. I'm used to larger celebrations having cross and candles going from station to station. The more people, the more candles.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

Not sure of the usefulness of cross and candles unless you have some children you wish to involve.

The less fuss, the more people can concentrate.

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

I find having a candle moving from plaque to plaque helps not hinders concentration. I'd agree with Hart: you can pretty much do what you like in terms of style, so it's as fussy or not as you make it. Especially useful if people will be turning to face the stations, but not travelling around the church. It's good to have someone 'making the journey'.

Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :

It isn't much of a walk from station to station. The custom has been for all the people there to move from point to point, which I think is a good thing. A candle or two would certainly help make the plaque visible, and IMO deepen the contemplation, not impede it. Even when nave lights are on, it's difficult to make out the image.

And what about the cross? I can't think what the objection is to that.

Thanks for the comments so far. I appreciate it.

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

I think AiE has a good way of looking at it. If everyone present is moving from station to station, I'm not sure I see the need for cross and candles, unless the candle bearers really are needed for light. I think they serve well as a symbol of the people of God on the journey (rather than just the presider) when the congregation is too large for everyone to be able to move from station to station.

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

I've never know cross and candles for the Stations. It's a devotion, not a necessary part of the liturgy of the church. But have 'em ir if you like to.

What I would recommend is that you don't make a fifteenth station for the Resurrection.

In Jerusalem, where the devotion originated, the last station is the tomb at the Holy Sepulchre itself, the place both of burial and resurrection. The resurrection is not a Happy Ending that cancels out the death and burial. The place of burial and the place of Resurrection are the same place. The Christian faith is summed up in that fact.

Posted by Oblatus (# 6278) on :

We do it quite similarly to how it's done in this video from St. Mary the Virgin, NYC.

Normal church lighting, I believe; yes to processional crucifix and candles.

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :

I'm told that in Rome (city, that is), the tradition is to use a large wooden cross painted black (no corpus theron), accompanied by candles.

This would seem 'a good thing,' since the typical processional cross can be distractingly ornate.

JMO, howerer.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

We rarely get more than a handful of the faithful to Stations, so everyone walks with the conductor (who wears his/her cassock) from picture to picture - most of which are fairly close to each other. Normal lighting is used, not only to make it easier for the conductor, but also to allow the faithful to see their hymnbooks! We usually start and finish Stations with suitable hymns.

A related tangent - at what times/on which day(s) does your place hold Stations? We've tried Friday evenings, and, more recently, alternate Saturday mornings (after Mass) and Sunday afternoons, but without any noticeable increase in attendance! I do appreciate that numbers don't really matter.....

Ian J.

Posted by Rev per Minute (# 69) on :

In my RC childhood (post-Vatican II), we processed with cross and thurible. Candles came only if we had enough servers on a Saturday morning.

Our (Church in Wales) Stations has no procession, no cross and no candles, and the lights are on as normal. The minister leads people from one station to the next, leading prayers and singing as we move along. We have a prepared script for each station.

Tangent - a couple of years ago, while describing the crucifixion, I caused my teenage daughter to faint... A little too much enthusiasm in describing the nails and the blood, apparently! [Roll Eyes]

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :

On a completely different tack:

Last night I attended a concert/service/meditation (not sure what they called it).

Format: a VERY brief explanation of the devotion of Stations; a bidding prayer; the Our Father, said by all; the 14 Paul Claudel poems, each followed by an organ improvisation. Both reader and organist were stunning; a final blessing.

I believe the bidding prayer and blessing were taken from the TEC 'Book of Occasional Services,' or whatever it's called these days.

Total time was approx 1.25 hours.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

In response to georgiaboy and Bishops Finger...

The processional cross that we use for all services during Lent is a very simple dark wood cross -- perfectly plain.

We do Stations on Wednesday evenings following a meatless potluck supper and before our Lenten class. This format allows people to come and go for whichever part(s) of the evening they choose.

Posted by LQ (# 11596) on :

This is painful for me, as it's my first Lent since I moved away from Toronto! There, I was accustomed to spending Friday evenings at St Matthias, Bellwoods.

Stations begin with the Stabat Mater (the jaunty, metrical one, not the plainsong). A crucifer flanked by taperers leads the officiant and reader around the church. It's a small space, but also a relatively small group, and people do move from station to station. Another hymn wraps it up (I can't remember which, but it all comes straight out of the Forward booklet).

No cope for Stations, as in the photos I've seen from S. Clement's Philly, but Benediction follows, and for that they put on the whole rig, humeral veil and all. The Lenten Prose is sung between the O Salutaris and Tantum Ergo.

Posted by Magic Wand (# 4227) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LQ:
No cope for Stations, as in the photos I've seen from S. Clement's Philly, but Benediction follows, and for that they put on the whole rig, humeral veil and all. The Lenten Prose is sung between the O Salutaris and Tantum Ergo.

Well, we never had one before this year either...

Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :

I don't think that I have ever seen stations inside a church without a cross and candles moving from station to station. Though I have seen the celebrant without a cope, more often I have seen him with one.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

No cross or candles: short meditation on each station then the versicle and response. Hymns split up to cover walk between stations. After 14th station lengthy prayers, followed by Lent Prose.

Short pause thereafter before Compline.

Posted by The Silent Acolyte (# 1158) on :

No processional cross?! Really?

It is a procession, nominally with fourteen stations.

It is stations of the cross. The one about which we say, "Take up your cross and follow me."

This vestigial flouncing around the church with only a score of people is a remnant of LARGE processions, perhaps in the church, perhaps at outside stations.

With any procession you want a focal point. Which would be a Lenten processional cross.

If you have a processional cross, you want candles to accompany it. No processional cross should go without lights.

The full form ought to be cross and candles, MC, as many readers as you like, and the officiant, ideally a priest. One reason for four or five acolytes leading Stations is that, in the AngloCatholic World, one might like to have the personnel on hand to serve Benediction immediately after (with smoke, lights, and MC).

All that said, with the score of folk attending at Our Lady of Hardwork and with the limited number of acolytes these days, we sometimes make due with cross, reader, and priest.

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

When stations take place round the grounds at Walsingham on Saturday morning, with the different groups one after another,I can't remember any servers. The priest is in a stole and possibly a cotta if s/he chooses (one thing a woman priest can lead at Walsingham - and they do) but the groups vary.

It is a devotion, not the liturgy of the church and can perfectly well be done individually. (That is why churches have the stations permanently on show.)

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

'Stations' is often used in modern liturgy to denote different meditation spaces where people can wander in and out in any order. (And note that the Maria desolate stations are done backwards.)

Stations of the cross can be done like this, as can stations of the resurrection.

So it need not be as procession.

Posted by Oblatus (# 6278) on :

quote:
Originally posted by The Silent Acolyte:
With any procession you want a focal point. Which would be a Lenten processional cross.

We use a simpler, smaller processional crucifix than our big, top-heavy brass one used at Solemn Mass. The one for Stations is lightweight and wooden except for the metal (sort of a pewter look) corpus. Going down the narrow side aisle, it's crucifer-taper-officiant-taper.

Posted by Vulpior (# 12744) on :

From a simply practical point of view, if you have a larger number of people then a cross/crucifer can lead to the next station, stop and turn at the point where the massed crowds should also stop and turn. If the officiant is leading a larger crowd then they either stop by the station and leave people to form their own appropriately sized cluster, or they indicate the point to stop and then have to step back to the station.

When it's something that people don't do often, or are experiencing for the first time, giving a bit of a physical lead in this way can help.

This also leaves the cross behind the crowd during observance of the station, so not a focus until it's time to move again.

Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :

We had a small 'crowd' last night. Good Friday service from BCP, then the stations of the cross. I was happy to see 2 torches move from station to station, very reverently. No cross though. We sang 'Jesus, remember me...' as we moved from place to place.

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