Good day,

I had a crazy busy day yesterday and didn’t get this out on Monday as usual but, hopefully, “better late than never”.  

Lenten Lunches continue this week: Wednesday, 12-1pm at Emmaus on Wellington St. in the Soo.

Next Monday, March 4 is the free breakfast at St. George’s in Echo Bay, 9:30am. Our guest speaker is Barb Harten, the Director of Extendicare – Mapleview.  

Also, on Monday evenings, 7pm, through Lent, we’re having Zoom Bible Studies – loads of fun and lots of great conversation! 

A Liturgical Note For You: 

Stand? Sit? Kneel? What Do We Do? I have said many times that our liturgies form us. They can malform us, too. How do our liturgies do this? One very important way we are formed is through what we do with our bodies. We all know that “body language” is an important, unspoken, form of communication in the creature world. In addition to projecting ideas and emotions without saying a word, there is another aspect to “body language” you should know about. French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, talks about a body of knowledge (no pun intended) that informs our worldview that he calls our “habitus.”  Our habitus is a system of characteristics, thoughts, behaviours, and attitudes that we carry in our body. Most important to know is that this habitus is formed in us most often without our even being consciously aware of it: “knowledge that is not taught but inhaled.”

I really like that phrase. For most of us, our waking time is spent engaged in activities that are “second nature” – we don’t need to think about them to do them. We can choose practices and routines, like practicing piano scales or shooting pucks into a net, that will shape habits into second nature, but much of our second nature is acquired unintentionally with immersion over time. Some activities, although very useful, like driving a car (which relies on our habitus to do a lot of things without needing to think about them), do not form us into loving, caring individuals. But consider the child growing up in a family who always greets one another, friends, even new acquaintances, with a kiss – a practice that can form a habitus in which a loving, forgiving nature is a part (think of the kiss of peace that Paul says believers should practice).

Our liturgies are our practice in living in God’s kingdom. What we do during our liturgies shapes what we think and what we do, not just during the liturgies but in our lives outside the church walls as well. It is presumed that nearly all of our liturgies will be experienced as we stand together. Why? There are a lot of reasons for standing: Anglican priest and world acclaimed scholar Paul Bradshaw tells us that the early Christians were forbidden to kneel since this was not a posture appropriate to the joy and hope of a post-resurrection people; we are in God’s presence and so we stand in respect, reverence, awe, and praise; we stand to proclaim (and we do a lot of proclaiming throughout the entire liturgy, not just when someone reads from Scripture!).

Standing together – or assuming any posture together – is an important point. It is a huge factor in forming our habitus – our Body of Christ habitus. We rise and stand together to sing the national anthem. When we stand together in God’s presence, or when we kneel together in God’s presence, this is active participation, movement that signals to our brains to take note of what we are about to do. And what we are doing is forming solidarity with each other and allegiance to God as well as care and concern for what the others around us are feeling and thinking. We are forming ourselves to be the Body of Christ together. 

So, let’s consider what the opposite forms in us – adopt the posture you prefer, stand, sit, kneel, whatever… It sounds like a hospitable invitation. However, it presumes that individual experience is foundational to worship, and it forms us in such an understanding. As we appreciate in civic ceremonies, for example, like the singing of the national anthem, there is something that solidifies a corporate identity when we share a posture together. Shared postures, such as standing, speak of respect, readiness to serve/act, active participation, solidarity. Christian liturgy has always allowed for people with physical limitations to assume a posture that accommodates their need. However, it is only a recent innovation in Christian worship that has treated ritual posture to be a matter of individual preference. Our liturgies aim to form us as “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Peter 2:9).  The fulfillment of this purpose best becomes a reality when we learn and live into our faith together, including in its ritualization, when we learn and engage in the “steps of our dance” together.   

For Your Devotions:

Monday, February 26th is the memorial of Florence Li Tim-Oi, Priest, died 1992. Florence was a deacon for several years when, for reasons due to the war a priest could no longer travel to provide her flock with the Holy Eucharist, in January of 1944 the Bishop of Hong Kong ordained her as a priest…The first female priest in the Anglican Communion! This, of course, was controversial but her quiet grace and profound faith and dedication opened many eyes to the work of God through women in our church. Florence had offered up her priest’s licence, after the war, to quiet the controversy. This was reinstated, with much rejoicing, in Canada in 1984. To read more about this extraordinary lady, go here:  https://www.anglican.ca/faith/worship/resources/li-tim-oi/  

Tuesday, February 27th is the commemoration of George Herbert, Priest and Poet, died 1633.  George was Welsh but spent most of his life in England. He was born into a wealthy family and was sent off to be educated at Cambridge with the intention of becoming a priest. He was side-tracked for a number of years by a position as the university’s orator and then life at court. When King James I died, George turned his attention back to the priesthood and, after his ordination, was beloved by his parishioners for his dedication to holding daily Morning and Evening Prayer in the church, his kindness, and his generosity. He died of consumption, just seven years into his priesthood, before his 40th birthday. He wrote the words to one of my favourite hymns…King of Glory, King of Peace. For more info:  http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/110.html

Friday, March 1st is the memorial of David, Bishop of Menevia, Wales, died about 544.  David is the patron saint of Wales, often depicted with a white dove on his shoulder because of a popular legend…Apparently, as he was preaching one day, the land beneath him grew into a hill so that he could more easily be seen and heard – and a white dove landed on his shoulder and stayed there as he was preaching. David had been determined to lead a quiet life in a monastery he’d founded but the people (and God) had other plans for him and he was reluctantly made a bishop. So much for a quiet, secluded life. To read more…  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-David

Saturday, March 2nd is the commemoration of Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, died 672. Chad is credited with having Christianized the English kingdom of Mercia but that almost didn’t happen…Chad was originally consecrated as the Bishop of York but, apparently someone else had as well. Oops. The Archbishop of Canterbury charged Chad with improper ordination and Chad resigned. The Archbishop was impressed with Chad’s humility and made sure he was ordained as a bishop elsewhere…in Mercia. To read more… https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Chad

In the hope of Christ,

Susan