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

What does it mean to be non-creedal?

Steve Caldwell says "The problem here isn't humanism vs. theism for theist Unitarian Universalists -- it's the non-creedal nature of Unitarian Universalism" This is a good point. We need to think much more deeply about what it means to be a non-creedal religion. The first thing I want to say is that there is more than one possible understanding of non-creedalism. The Disciples of Christ are a non-creedal church, they say here : " Freedom of belief. Disciples are called together around one essential of faith: belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Bible, the Holy Spirit study and prayer, and are expected to extend that freedom to others." Quakers are also non-creedal and say here : Quakers have no set creed or dogma - that means we do not have any declared statements which you have to believe to be a Quaker. There are, however, some commonly held views which unite us. One accepted view is that th...

LOST and theology: who are the good guys?

***Spoiler alert*** I'm continuing some theological/philosophical reflections while re-watching the series LOST. One of the recurring themes in LOST is the idea of the "good guys" and the "bad guys." We start the series assuming the survivors (who are the main characters) are the "good guys" and the mysterious "Others" are definitely bad guys. But at the end of series 2 one of the main characters asks the Others, "Who are you people?" and they answer, in an extremely disturbing way, "We're the good guys." The series develops with a number of different factions appearing, "the people from the freighter" "the DHARMA initiative" as well as divisions among the original survivors. The question remains among all these complicated happenings "who really are the good guys?" I think one of the most significant lines in the series is an episode when Hurley is having a conversation with ...

What is Radical Christianity?

Radical Christianity is about encountering the God of love . It is first and foremost rooted in the discovery of a universal and unconditional source of love at the heart of reality and within each person. God is the name we give to this source of love. It is possible to have a direct and real personal encounter with this God through spiritual practice. We encounter God, and are nourished by God, through the regular practice of prayer, or contemplation. Radical Christianity is about following a man called Jesus . It is rooted in the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish prophet living under occupation of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago. It understands that's Jesus' message was the message of liberation. His message was that when we truly encounter God, and let God's love flow through us, we begin to be liberated from the powers of empire and violence and encounter the "realm of God" - an alternative spiritual and social reality rooted in love rather th...

Reignite

Search This Blog