Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, is encouraging Victorians to light a candle each night at 8pm and place it into a window of their home as a sign of hope as the newly-introduced Covid19-curfew takes effect across greater Melbourne.
Tonight at midnight new and stringent restrictions come into effect that further limit movement and personal interaction in order to help stop the Coronavirus spread in Melbourne and throughout Victoria. Curfew time provides Victorians with an opportunity to pause to remember each other in our shared experiences, and hold in their minds those are on the frontlines of our welfare.
Lighting a candle is small action that all can share.
‘I will be lighting a candle at my home tonight, placing it into the window facing the street on which I live’, Archbishop Philip said. ‘I invite people across our communities to light up the windows of their rooms, apartments and houses. Together we can spread the light as a sign of hope in these dark days’.
Everybody is invited to share in lighting up our city at curfew time. People of faith may want to pray as they light their candles.
Archbishop Philip explained: ‘For Christians lighting a candle is a symbol of God’s light piercing into the darkness of our own despair. It’s our saying that God’s hope is the power that motivates us as we continue to endure these limitations and experience the sacrifice of this time’.
St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne has created a micro-site with shared social media resources and prayers at curfew time. A simple liturgy to be used when lighting candles was led for the first time by the Dean of Melbourne, the Very Revd Dr Andreas Loewe, at a meeting of the Cathedral’s Chapter, St Paul’s Governing Body, today.
The Archbishop said: ‘Share the light! Post an image of your candle along with the #CandlesAtCurfew hashtag on your social media as you share your thoughts with others. Above all: pray with me for a swift end of the curfew and Coronavirus pandemic in our state’.
Prayer resources and more may be found at cathedral.org.au/candlesatcurfew