Happy Fourth Week of Easter (Day 23 of the 50 Days of Easter)!

At Synod this week, I had a conversation with a young woman who had announced to all of us that she had found our Synod gathering a “work of art”. She told me that she had moved from her denomination to Anglicanism because of our beautiful rites. I’ve heard this over and over and over again. One of the things that troubles me, therefore, is that some people too often feel the need to change the liturgy, or add to it with a running commentary of what we’re doing. Instructions interfere with the power of the Holy Spirit working within us. On that note, I thought I’d repeat an important teaching regarding the Doxology at the end of the worship service of The Holy Eucharist. I see people nodding and smiling at others around them during the Doxology as if this is a greeting of some sort. Please read on…

A Liturgical Note For You:

I’ve said many times that our worship transforms us. First, a quotation from Tobias Stanislas Haller: “While some fuzzy and even erroneous theology can emerge and has emerged from a careless or casual study of liturgy, the church has also produced some equally erring academic theology, and this often has happened in those traditions that strayed furthest from the historic shape of the liturgy, caught in a tangle of texts and exhortations and confessions – all of them “about” God, some of them even “preaching Christ,” but few of them making present the divine reality with the [quiet] eloquence of water, oil, bread, and wine” (Remembering God, p.10-11). Liturgy done without deep understanding can malform us, can lead to very wrong theology that is detrimental to the life of our Church. When people – with good intentions, I’m sure – mess with the liturgies, they are, unmistakeably, also messing with our theology: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi (the way we worship is what we believe). Although accidental, the damage is real.

With this in mind, I ask you: During our worship services, when you pray to God, do you look around and nod and smile at others praying around you? Of course not. You are praying to God. The others around you are joined with you in prayer, one body, praying to God. After we have shared the feast at God’s table – the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we praise God with a special prayer called a doxology. A doxology is a hymn or psalm of praise to God. It comes from two Greek words: doxa meaning glory/praise and logos which means words. This may seem familiar to you because we also find doxa in another common word: orthodoxy (ortho means true/correct/proper and so, put with doxa it means right praise or right worship). 

The Doxology at the end of the Holy Eucharist is not the only doxology in our worship. The “Glory to God” (BAS p.186) at the beginning is called “The Greater Doxology” and the “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost…” is called “The Lesser Doxology”. We sing doxologies during some of our Eucharistic Prayers (“Glory to you for ever and ever.”) How do you know when something is a doxology? When you hear words directing glory and praise to God, it’s a doxology. All doxologies in our worship are a continuation of our worship of God and of our praise to God. It is not appropriate, therefore, to direct this worship and praise to the people around us. 

Happenings:

Saturday, May 17, 9:30am Guild of St. Joseph Breakfast at the Trinity Centre!

Saturday, May 31: Trunk Sale at Zion and Spring Tea at Emmaus. Please check previous posts for the details. 

Thursday, June 5, Prayer Study, 4-5pm at the Trinity Centre. We’ll begin our journey of discovery of contemplative prayer. 

Friday, June 6, Line-Dancing “Fun”Raiser, 6:30pm at the Trinity Centre. Just $5 will get you a great evening of fun and refreshments. For all levels of line dancers including the “never-evers” like me. 

For Your Devotions:

Monday, May 12th is the commemoration of Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer, died in 1910. Despite strong resistance from her family (nursing was not considered a suitable occupation for a lady of her status), Florence entered nursing school and eventually ended up in Turkey caring for British and Allied soldiers during the Crimean War. Under her high standards, the mortality rate decreased dramatically and she became known as “the lady of the lamp” because she dedicated her time to the soldiers during the dark hours of the night. To read more…  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Florence-Nightingale

Wednesday, May 14th is the Holy Day of St. Matthias the Apostle.  According to the first chapter of Acts, it is Matthias who is chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. Matthias then receives the Holy Spirit along with the other disciples and, after that, the New Testament does not mention him. Early tradition credits Matthias with Christianizing Cappadocia and the region around the Caspian Sea. It is also believed that Matthias was crucified. To read more…  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Matthias 

In the joy of Christ,

Susan