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Candles of Joy and Concern

A liturgical question:

What is the best equipment to use for candles of joy and concern? (I'll leave other questions about the best way of doing this aside for now)

I've used tea lights on a metal tray before, but I'm not sure that's the best way. I think a better way is probably taller candles in a bowl of sand like this:


Is that the best way to do it? It needs to be something that is safe and easy for people to use, especially elderly people. And something that looks good.

But where do you get a good bowl like that? Come to think of it, where do you get a big lot of sand? Any thoughts?

Comments

Rich said…
Somewhere like B&Q should sell you your sand.

As for the bowl, the first place I thought of was a craft fair. Usually there are wood turners there who would probably make one for you if they didn't have exactly what you wanted on the day.
7:07 pm
Robin Edgar said…
Maybe you could throw a few Roman Candles in for people who have spectacular joys and concerns. ;-)
7:55 pm
Anonymous said…
Sorry, bit late to be commenting on this but, firstly, how about CHILDREN? It's not just the elderly who find candles difficult, and children can and should be involved in joys and concerns services. They don't look so great but you can buy battery candles which kids can blow on and off. Tall candles have the advantage that they can be held more easily to light them off other candles - and that's the tricky bit with tea lights. Encourage people to light from the centre/back first. Craft sand may be better (but more expensive) for holding the candles. Even more straightforward would be a piece of wood with holes drilled to hold the candles. I sometimes wander why we can't do something else (like adding a flower to a vase) for joys and concerns... You could have different types of stems/greenery/spikey stuff etc so can people can pick something which fits their mood.
11:34 am
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