About This service

Holden Village (Link) has a legacy of creating liturgical music that reflects the Village’s commitment to inclusive and contemporary language. We seek to add to that musical repertoire and hope that this service is used only as long as it is relevant to the community. 

This service generally follows a traditional vespers service format with one important and intentional difference. A traditional vespers service focuses on themes of light overcoming darkness. We sought to create an evening service that celebrates darkness and does not create a binary opposition between light and dark. While we acknowledge that these metaphors are found throughout the Bible, we also recognize that these associations have been implicitly and explicitly used to cause harm, especially for people and communities of color. We also believe that moving beyond oppositional binaries helps us recognize and celebrate the diversity of God’s creation. 

Thus, this service seeks to honor twilight, dusk, night, and darkness as times of blessing and renewal in our lives. The service also has themes of creation and justice, and recognizes all bodies as holy. 

All scriptural texts were translated into English from the original languages. We drew inspiration for the Opening Litany from John 1. The text for the Evening Hymn was partially inspired by Genesis 1 and Psalm 8. We also acknowledged the slave Hagar– the first person to dare give God a name– who called God El Roi, or God Who Sees Me (Genesis 16:13). Despite her pain and struggle, Hagar receives God’s blessing.  In Psalm 121, we focused on verses 5 and 6 rather than the more familiar verses 1 and 2, emphasizing the theme of God as protector of the individual and the community. The Angel’s Announcement and Mary’s Song are from Luke 1 and the Prayer of Jesus follows Luke 11:1-2 and Matthew 6:9-13.

Thanks to the 2022-23 winter community for your support, encouragement, and feedback. Special thanks to Laura Elmquist who arranged the C instrument score and provided valuable assistance though the writing process.  

G. Mark Griffith

Rachel J. Joy

Heather L. Griffith

Steve Wolbrecht 

Holden Village, June 2023

Photo credit:  Berit Kirkegaard