pat loughery

And another thing I’m wondering…

Two people have asked me this past week: “What’s the significance of candles in a church setting?”. And I can’t answer the question satisfactorily, but perhaps you can.

If you’ve read about the emerging church much, you’ll find that it’s jokingly referred to as the candles-and-coffee-and-couches church.

We use candles in a few areas: First, in an idea I shamelessly stole from Rich & Rose at the Vineyard in Shoreline we have a little table set up with a set of candles that people can light and write prayer requests or the name of a friend whom God is missing. Second, once a month we take bread and juice together as communion, and I like to practice unsafe candleing near the communion elements for that also. We do an advent wreath at Christmastime. There’s probably more times, but that’s a good start for now.

For my part, I think candles add a sense of peace and reverence and holiness (this probably comes from my church upbringing more than a deeper psychological reason).

Here’s my best guesses as to why the church uses candles:

1. It’s a ritual passed down from church before electricity was available for lighting.
2. There’s a direct influence on ambiance that candles lead us into.

But I’m not sure. You?