The non-denominational service was open to everyone willing to mount the 252 steep stair steps up to the Cathedral Chamber, deep inside the mountain. Once inside, about 120 worshippers gathered under the massive limestone formations, heard the great Easter message and (after catching their breath) sang songs of praise and worship.
The unusual service was organised by cave guide Colin Tyrrell. This is Colin's fifth year of organising Easter and Christmas services at Jenolan Caves. This year, the inspirational Easter message was delivered by Mark Mitchell, CEO Scripture Union NSW.
The service (readings, prayers, songs, message) also included unusual touches – snippets of the cave's church service history, by Barry Richard, one of Jenolan's longest serving cave guides, and an inspiring musical solo by talented cave guide Annelise Van Den Elzen. But the highlight was a poignant enactment of the 3 women who went to the tomb of Jesus, to anoint his body. In the enactment, the women made their way through the darkened Cathedral Chamber, sobbing with fear and grief, and whispering anxiously - how could Jesus be dead? What should they do now? How would they persuade Roman soldiers to let them into the tomb? One woman braved the black depths, and emerged with amazing news.
It was in a tomb, a manmade cave, where an angel first brought the news of Jesus' resurrection. So a church service inside a simple cave allows worshippers to somehow feel the Easter message on a deeper level, both literally and figuratively.
The softly illuminated Cathedral Chamber is one of the biggest at Jenolan Caves – 54 metres high. It was named not only because of its huge dimensions, but because its formations reminded early cave explorers of church features - the 'baptismal font', the 'pulpit', 'the organ', 'the belfry', 'the organ pipes' and 'the cathedral windows'.
Until the late 1960s, underground church services were held regularly in the Cathedral Chamber, by various denominations. Amazingly, in the 1960s, services were broadcast regularly from underground and aired live on Sydney radio station, 2GB. In 2008, World Youth Day saw the Cathedral Chamber used for Catholic Mass, approximately 50 times, over 8 days - each Mass accommodating a full busload of pilgrims.
Now, every Easter and Christmas interested staff of Jenolan Caves organise an underground church service. The next one will be on December 11, 2011.