ALCM Savannah: Compline at Christ Church

Recently the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Region 2, held its biennial regional conference in Savannah. The first event on our calendar was Compline at Christ Church (Episcopal) which dates from the 1700's. Compline is the last service of the daily offices at about 9:00 p.m. Pictured is the church, but also a poster that sits outside the church announcing the service of Compline. In the Episcopal service of Compline, the congregation's particpation is "inward" rather than outward. Still, the service is not a performance but ". . .it is a transformance of the individual worshipper."

About an hour before the service, persons from the church walk through Savannah's historic squares and invite the people they meet, many of them tourists, to prayer by handing them a post card sized version of the poster below.

The prayers, psalms and hymns are sung by the choir while the congregation follows the service in darkness, save for the light of a few candles. At Christ Church, this ecumenical choir of musicians and choir directors from are churches is under the expert direction of Mark K. Williams, Parish Musician. If you find yourself in Savannah on a Sunday evening, I encourage you to see if the service is being held and then to attend. I promise that you'll be glad you did.