Rector's Reflections

During the months of July and August we will do something that members of the parish have been requesting for several years.  We will undertake a series of meditations on the service of the Holy Eucharist in its component parts.  This series of an “instructed Eucharist” will replace the usual sermons on the scripture texts, departing from the custom of the church to proclaim the Good News by reflecting on the Bible passages that are assigned to us by the Revised Common Lectionary.  Paul once said, “Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel!”  (1Corinthians 9:16).  Though the preachers in the summer weeks won’t be specifically addressing the gospel passages, we will still preach the Gospel of God in Christ as we receive Good News in our sharing the sacrament of the Eucharist. 

There are a number of new worshippers in our pews.  Studies have shown that many new members of the church don’t know the customs of our worship. Some have been raised in other rooms of the Christian household whose order of worship is quite different from what the Anglican catholic liturgical tradition observes.  Still others have been raised with no religious background at all, so we can imagine what it must be like to encounter what has been called the “Episcopal Aerobics”--stand, sit, kneel, bow, cross, etc—while juggling prayer book, two hymnals, and a bulletin with all its inserts. 

Therefore we are urged to instruct the congregation about the shape and nature of our worship:  why do we gather in a space we call a sanctuary -- that is, a holy space? What makes it holy, and how are we called to silence, awe, reverence, contemplation, praise, penance, and rejoicing in that special place?  How is this space intentionally different from the Town Meeting Room in the building next door?  Most of us are starved for the power and energy that come to us when we can acknowledge the Presence of God with other people in silence before worship.  Our culture is deteriorating.  I join the many who attribute the lack of peace and courtesy in our common discourse to the vanishing capacity for human beings to be still before each other in God’s Presence.  What does it mean to gather in the name of God?  What is the origin of the Exchange of the Peace, what does it mean, and why does it always follow the Confession and Absolution?  These are not merely rote and empty rituals—they enact and model how Christians believe and expect that real peace and justice can be established in the world outside of the gneiss walls of the Church. We would do well to be reminded that to be sent out to love and serve the Lord means that we are all at that moment apostles –those who are sent. 

So I hope you will make a special effort to come to reflect on the liturgy, the primary work of God’s people, this summer.  For those looking for some commentary on the scriptures during these summer months, we hope to provide some bulletin inserts.  (One idea was to ask the biblical scholars in our parish--we have a few-- to write up some reflections to be included in the bulletin, but as is often the case, that great idea might come too late for us to implement.)

Please know that we will have ONE SERVICE at 9 am from July 4 through September 5 (Labor Day Sunday). The Vestry and I hope that the earlier time this summer will spare us the heat that can oppress us within these stone walls and allow us more time in the summer months to enjoy God’s blessing of Sabbath refreshment during the rest of the day.

May your summer be a restorative, refreshing, and sacred time of reconnection with the Creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and with those you love.               Rob+