Tag Archive for 'prayer book'

NZ Prayer Book 20 years on

Published on November 25, 2009 in liturgy. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

Sunday November 29 is the 20th anniversary of the launch of A New Zealand Prayer Book/He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa (NZPB/HKMA).
I would be interested in knowing how many copies have been sold in New Zealand?
How many copies have been sold overseas?
How many copies were bought and are now sitting at the back of churches on shelves and seldom brought out, or in pews and seldom used? How many are using this book as the standard for worship?
There is a lot of enthusiasm amongst some people about this Prayer Book – but is it the prayer book as a whole – or certain sections of it that people find exhilarating? My own suspicion is that there is a small collection of nuggets within the book that people treasure and enthuse about. This post is going to quickly hover over the contents and make brief comments and ask some questions.

The Calendar
The Church Year p 4-6 has changed significant shape since 1989 (the date of publication)
a lot of the regulations p 7-13 have been altered since 1989
The Calendar p 14-25 the feasts have been added to, altered, and moved

Liturgies of the Word
Morning and Evening Worship p 29-53 my guess would be that this service is little used as it stands
Daily Services p 54-103 The Common Life Liturgical Commission provided an alternative to this with Celebrating Common Prayer (NZ). Clergy here have in these last 2 decades no longer been required to pray the office. In a denomination with previously a strong dynamic that all pray the office daily, I would be fascinated to know how many of our 100,000 faithful Anglicans use this office provided here. It should not be that difficult for that to be surveyed. I suspect it would be a very small proportion.
Daily Devotions p 104-137 I suspect these are popular before a meeting, etc. They are part of what people find and appreciate as “different” in this book.
Midday Prayer p 147 – 166 I suspect as with the Daily Devotions
Night Prayer p 167 – 186 I suspect one of the most popular services in the book
Family Prayer p 187 – 191 Had you noticed it?

Psalms for Worship p 195 – 373 Controversial because of the changes to “Israel” and “Zion”, and the removal of the imprecatory material. Inclusive, yet still translates YHWH as Lord. My guess would be – widely used.

Liturgy of Baptism and the Laying on of Hands for Confirmation and Renewal p 383 – 399
My guess would be that local variants on the baptism rite exist in a majority of places. The confirmation service is probably mostly used untouched.

Liturgies of the Eucharist p 404 – 510
General Synod has allowed so many variations to these texts in the last twenty years there will be a lot of local variation. Certainly the NZ Anglican Church is not held together by a well-known, well-loved set of eucharistic texts. In any gathering of committed Anglicans beyond a regular parish community, it would not be possible to celebrate the Eucharist without giving people the texts in their hands (or on a screen). Only a very, very small number of our 100,000 would be able to give the response to “The peace of God be with you all.”
A Form for Ordering the Eucharist p 511-514 has been supplemented by General Synod with another formulary An Alternative Form For Ordering the Eucharist
A Service of the Word with Holy Communion p518-520. My guess: rarely used.
Themes for the Church’s Year p 522-524 Not used
Seasonal Sentences Prayers and Blessings for use after Communion p 525-545 Used by half?

Sentences Prayers and Readings for the Church’s Year p550-690 Mostly not used. Recently replaced by a digital resource.
Three Year Series p 691-723 Not used

Holy Communion p 729-737 Used by half?
Ministry of Healing p 738-748 drawn from as a resource?
Reconciliation of a Penitent p 750 – 753 used rarely?
Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child p 754-761 used by half?
Blessing of a Home p 762-775 used by some, including those with a sense of humour
Marriage Liturgies p 780 – 808 probably used as a primary resource. Second Form rarely used.

Funeral Liturgies p 811- 884 used as a resource

Ordination Liturgies p 887-924 often used as is; adapted as a resource for Total Ministry/Locally Shared Ministry

Catechism p 926-938 I would be interested to know
Table p 939 – 941 No longer valid

This is a completely unscientific summary. Have you been doing the Maths as we’ve gone along – is that about 8% of the text is being regularly used and is unchanged by General Synod or its commissions etc. in the last twenty years?

What are some of the best parts of NZPB/HKMA? We are a very small church (probably about the size of a large CofE diocese) if you really had a passion about something you could probably have gotten it into the Prayer Book.
The language is inclusive (horizontally and vertically) – though the Commission’s “Out of love for the world God gave the only Son…” was even beyond General Synod’s pale, and rather than leave it to “A sentence from scripture may be read” they insisted on having “God so love the world that he gave…” Lord is still Lord – and there’s lots of Lords.
There is quite a bit of complementary imagery. Probably most famously is Jim Cotter’s paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer “Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,…” although even the Commission couldn’t cope with Cotter’s original “Love-maker”.
There’s an increased sense of creation and a focus on the environment. Some of that was patched on later, of course. The “St Anne Liturgy”, otherwise known as the “Northland Rite” or “Pink 3″ until 1983 had language like, “Therefore, Lord of glory,…” when it became Thanksgiving for Creation and Redemption there was a find-and-replace to language such as “Therefore, God of all creation…”
Maori has an appropriately significant place. Other Pacific Island languages are included. There is indigenous artwork included.
There is a very healthy theology of ordination, of the vocation of the laity.

What are some of the worst parts of NZPB/HKMA? We are a very small church (probably about the size of a large CofE diocese) if you really had a passion about something you could probably have gotten it into the Prayer Book.
Basic liturgical principles such as consistent responses to similar cues so that they can be learnt by heart were lost.
No calls were made to abandon material someone had worked so hard on (eg. the Two Year Lectionary).
Basic liturgical principles such as being able to watch during action – rather than needing one’s head in the book – were neglected.
Little attention was given to appropriate gestures that might fit with the newly created texts.
The baptism (confirmation) rite must take the international Anglican fail prize.
There is an extremely weak theology of the Trinity.
Essentially this was a text dropped into the life of the church – there is no commentary, little formation or training accompanied its introduction.
The digital text and the print films were lost, hence the Harper Collins edition of 1997 must count as one of the Anglican Communion’s ugliest prayer books, as it is essentially a bound black-and-white photocopy.
This was part of the New Zealand church losing possession of the full copyright of the text and why unlike other Anglican provinces, it cannot place the text online – much to the chagrin of many readers here.

This site already has much on this Prayer Book. I wrote a series using the model of language to illustrate liturgy – this has
Kiwi Anglican liturgy history part 1 (= liturgy as language 2)
Kiwi Anglican liturgy history part 2 (= liturgy as language 3)
as well as liturgy as language 1; liturgy as language 4; liturgy as language 5

Celebrating Eucharist my free online book accompanying the NZ Eucharistic text – hopefully of use in other contexts also.

The Archbishops’ message on the Prayer Book’s anniversary.

NZ Prayer Book 20 years anniversary

Published on November 21, 2009 in liturgy. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

It is nearly twenty years since the publication of A New Zealand Prayer Book, He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa. The three archbishops have issued the following statement.

Dear friends,

Grace and peace to you from God.

Sunday the 29th November this year sees the 20th anniversary of A New Zealand Prayer Book, He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa.

The prayer book has become a Taonga of this church but has also enriched the lives of Anglicans around the world. It is appropriate to give thanks for this treasure on the last Sunday in November this year. Valuing how many people have been supported, resourced and strengthened by over 900 pages of text, prose, poetry and theology. It is truly said that what we orate in prayer we believe, in what we believe we do (lex orandi, lex credendi, lex labore). This is the Anglican experience of common prayer shaped by widely shared liturgical texts and all the faith based words we use in prayer, contemplation, and Eucharist. On this anniversary, we can be reminded of the words at the beginning of the book

The Lord’s song has been sung in this twice-discovered land since before Samuel Marsden first preached the Gospel on that Christmas Day in 1814 in Oihi Bay.

With the publication of A New Zealand Prayer Book, He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa the song is continued, the task of the Provincial Commission on Prayer Book Revision is completed, and new voices begin to be heard.

It is our hope that the use of these services will enable us to worship God in our authentic voice, and to affirm our identity as the people of God in Aotearoa – New Zealand.

Please encourage the celebration of this treasure on the last Sunday in November in what ever way you feel moved to do so.  The prayer book itself will be your inspiration.

++ David
++ Jabez
++Brown

This site already has much on this Prayer Book. I will put up another post soon. Meanwhile there was a series I wrote using the model of language to illustrate liturgy – this has
Kiwi Anglican liturgy history part 1 (= liturgy as language 2)
Kiwi Anglican liturgy history part 2 (= liturgy as language 3)
as well as liturgy as language 1; liturgy as language 4; liturgy as language 5

Luke – red or white?

Published on October 18, 2009 in liturgy. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

The New Zealand Anglican Lectionary, an annual publication, has a habit of changing things without any explanation or introduction. This year, one of the changes is that the 2008 year Western tradition (well give or take a bit) of celebrating St Luke in Red has in this 2009th year been changed to White. No explanation. No introduction.

A priest friend rang me up about it last night, asking my explanation. He says one of our bishops read an article suggesting this – and we are now leading the world in this new development!

Colours are not mandatory in NZ Anglicanism. In fact this same Lectionary 2009 states “[Colours] are not mandatory but reflect common practice in most parishes.” Well, in this case: Yeah Right! If colours are descriptive not prescriptive, then the colour for Luke would be,…. should be,… Red. Because until this year – that is what EVERYBODY used.

When our 1989 Prayer Book was produced, Luke’s feast day took precedence over the Sunday propers. In other churches the Sunday takes precedence over the feast of St Luke, unless of course that is your patronal feast. Recent alterations, as is normal in our church, have increased flexibility. You can now choose yourself. So today you can wear Green (the Sunday), White (the suggested colour in the lectionary), or Red (as a liturgical rebel like me will do – following the 2008 or so years of Western tradition!). You are, in NZ, of course, permitted to wear Violet – particularly if it matches and enhances your complexion.

ps. Matthew and Mark’s colours have similarly been changed in the NZ Lectionary from Red to White.
pps. Luke’s martyrdom is disputed. Only John is traditionally White amongst the evangelists because of the four of them, his non-martyrdom is not disputed.

Diocesan Synod calls for psalter revision

Published on September 7, 2009 in liturgy. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , .

On Saturday the Christchurch diocesan synod passed the following motion:

That the Common Life Liturgical Commission be asked to provide the text of the verses in the Psalter which have been omitted from the Psalms for Worship in A New Zealand Prayer Book/ He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, and restore “Israel” and “Zion” where they have been altered, as nearly as possible in the same style.

The word “Israel” occurs about 60 times and the word “Zion” occurs about 40 times in the original Psalter. An example of the NZ version: “O that deliverance for God’s people (original “Israel”) would come forth from Jerusalem (”Zion”)” (Psalm 14:8).

Explanation for the way the psalter is found in the prayer book is given on page 195 of the prayer book: “Some omissions have been made on the grounds that we are not making a new translation of the Book of Psalms, but providing psalms suitable for Christian worship.” When this version was produced in the 1980s there was some concern that references to “Israel” and “Zion” would be interpreted in a particular political way into the contemporary situation in the Middle East. No consistent position was formulated however (”Israel” is removed from the Benedictus p.39 etc. and included in the Nunc Dimittis p.47 etc.). There was outrage and hurt in the Jewish community, both in New Zealand and internationally, at the reworking of the psalter in this manner. The Auckland Diocese requested a text with “Israel” and “Zion” restored. I would be happy to host a digital version of that on this site. Now the Christchurch Diocese has added its voice to that. And also to making the imprecatory material available.

The New Zealand version was one of the first to take care that language be inclusive both for God and for humans. It uses the masculine “Lord,” however, for the Hebrew יהוה (YHWH – Yahweh) and does not distinguish this from אֲדֹנָי (Adonai). I would hope that in any future versions we can have a deep discussion which respects the inherited taonga (treasure) fully, is as inclusive as possible both in relation to humans and to God, and works harder at translating יהוה, all the while retaining the ability to continue our great chanting tradition.

collect vandalism

Published on September 4, 2009 in liturgy. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

In my opinion, one of the great treasures of Western Christianity is the collect. We have a treasury of collects that goes back fifteen centuries and further. A collect, like a haiku or a sonnet, has a particular, tight literary structure. It is memorable, general, and regularly expresses a profound Christian truth in a short compass. Anglicans inherit Cranmer’s magnificent translations from the crisp Latin. Roman Catholics are working on new translations of the collects (opening prayers) which will make them look a lot more like their Anglican equivalents. Many will remember memorising the great collects in Sunday School. On many occasions Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and others pray the same collect. New Zealand Anglicans, with a culture of flexibility, choose a collect from any source they like. Each week this site has provided a commentary on at least one of the great collects. Recently all NZ Anglican clergy and worship leaders were sent a new resource cutting options to one collect provided for each celebration. Whilst I energetically agree with the principle of common prayer, I even more energetically protest the vandalism that this resource does to our wonderful inherited collect taonga (treasure).

Collects for Season and Sundays (PDF)
Collects for Other Feasts and Holy Days (PDF)

A collect concludes and completes the Gathering of the Community. Individuals gather, sing (one of the most unifying human experiences), and finally (1) are invited by the presider to (2) deep silent prayer which is (3) collected by the presider praying the collect which (4) is affirmed by the community’s Amen. After this we are gathered from being individuals to being a community ready together to hear what the Spirit is saying to us as the gathered church.

The collect (like haiku or sonnet) has its own particular, recognisable structure. In the five-fold structure, three parts are always present (marked *):

*You– Address
Who – Amplification (& motive)
*Do – Petition
To – Purpose (& motive)
*Through Jesus Christ…

An example of a collect that reaches back at least one and a half millennia and is prayed by Anglicans, Roman Catholics and others:

Let us pray (in silence) that we may love God in all things and above all things

pause for deep silent prayer

Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding;
pour into our hearts such love towards you
that, loving you above all else,
we may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
who is alive with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.

Now compare this with the first “collect” in this new resource:

Praise to you, Christ our Redeemer
for you were circumcised this day
and given Jesus as your name.
Praise to you, Jesus, well are you named
for you save us from our sins.
Hear this prayer for your name’s sake.
Amen

This is not a collect. In this new resource, any person of the Trinity can be addressed at random rather than the great liturgical tradition of praying to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. It is a lovely little prayer that so easily gets lost in the re-cluttered vestibule of the gathering rite of those who do not understand the grammar of liturgy.

The “collects” of this new resource were sent with the information that “The Common Life Liturgical Commission has been working on developing replacement pages for pages 550 – 723 of our Prayerbook.” Many leaders in our church, not being clear about our processes, have taken this at face value and now think that those pages have been formally replaced. But those pages of our Prayer Book are binding formularies of our church. They can only be replaced by (1) a vote resulting in agreement in all houses and tikanga of our General Synod, (2) assent by a majority of our diocesan synods and Hui Amorangi, (3) another vote in a newly elected General Synod, followed by (4) a year’s wait before they become such a replacement. This “collect” resource has not even been presented to General Synod (step 1). If and when it reaches stage 2 I will be voting against these becoming formularies, against their replacing our current pages. Those pages of course need replacing – but not in this manner. Those of us committed to orthodoxy (which means “right worship”) currently have a choice in which collect we use and can continue to use either a classic or more recent collect (in the style and usage given above).

Furthermore, the material is presented with the claim that “the endings are now consistent throughout” – this is clearly false. Sometimes each year is presented with the same collect at the expense of our inherited, shared collect (eg. Epiphany). Sometimes, it seems there has not even been the slightest attempt to read the collect aloud, eg. “… help us to see to see…” (Lent 3 Year B).

The typos in the text indicate this is not a quick drawing from a digital version, someone has put a lot of energy into typing up this text. Apologies to the person(s) who has(/have) put such effort into this resource that I am so under-whelmed by its usefulness and appropriateness.

Further reading on collects
If you are interested, there is more on this approach to the use of the collect in Chapter 6 of Celebrating Eucharist.

Marion Hatchett RIP

Published on August 9, 2009 in liturgy. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .


Marion Josiah Hatchett

1927 – 2009

No liturgical bookshelf would be complete without some work by Rev. Dr. Marion Hatchett who died August 7. He was central in the development of the 1979 Prayer book and the 1982 Hymnal for The Episcopal Church (USA).

His writings include:

Sanctifying Life, Time and Space: An Introduction to Liturgical Study (1976)
A Manual for Clergy and Church Musicians (1980)
Commentary on the American Prayer Book (1981), and
The Making of the First American Book of Common Prayer (1982).

About leading worship he regularly asked the question “Is that particular action edifying to the people?” Ask that question before you do something you like, or think is nice, or have seen someone else do. Look at the tradition and ask, “Will this edify the people?”

Here are a couple of quotes from Hatchett that I can really identify with (to be read aloud slowly with a Carolina drawl):

The prayer book committee had operated on the assumption, apparently mistaken, that clergy, lay leaders and church musicians could read italics.

The word ‘may’ indicates that something is not normative. I once attended a rite two liturgy where all three opening sentences were said, followed by the Collect for Purity, followed by the Gloria, followed by the Kyrie in English, followed by the Kyrie in Greek, followed by the Trisagian. I was just glad that all six forms of the prayers of the people were not printed in the same place as the eucharistic liturgy and that they did not opt for all four forms of the eucharistic prayer.

I had just been organising to contact him to ask if he could provide an explanation for the pattern of Episcopalians and Roman Catholics praying the same opening prayer/collect. More on Marion Hatchett here.

Most recently he was in the news for a speech he gave recently at General Theological Seminary:

The American Church jumped way out ahead of the Church of England and other sister churches in a number of respects. One was in giving voice to priests and deacons and to laity (as well as bishops and secular government officials) in the governance of the national church and of dioceses and of parishes. The early American Church revised the Prayer Book in a way that went far beyond revisions necessitated by the new independence of the states.

At its beginning the American Church legalized the use of hymnody along with metrical psalmody more than a generation before use of ‘hymns of human composure’ became legal in the Church of England. At an early stage the American Church gave recognition to critical biblical scholarship.

The American Church eventually gave a place to women in various aspects of the life of the church including its ordained ministry. The American Church began to speak out against discrimination against those of same-sex orientation, and the American Church began to make moves in establishing full communion with other branches of Christendom.

Historically the American Church has been the flag-ship in the Anglican armada. It has been first among the provinces of the Anglican Communion to take forward steps on issue after issue, and on some of those issues other provinces of Anglicanism have eventually fallen in line behind the American Church. My prayer is that the American Church will be able to retain its self-esteem and to stand firm and resist some current movements which seem to me to be contrary to the principles of historic Anglicanism and to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.

Here is the full text which includes several chuckles.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Marion. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer (TEC) page 465

Thanks to @seanferrell for letting me know

Liturgy as language (part 4)

Published on August 8, 2009 in liturgy. 9 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

If you have skipped the last couple of posts in this series because they have had a particularly Kiwi Anglican focus, do not skip this one. This post is what the series has been leading up to and why the series has the title “Liturgy as language”.

(Series so far: Introductory post; Kiwi Anglican history 1, Kiwi Anglican history 2)

Language as a model for liturgy

Language is picked up naturally during our formative years by participating in a community that uses that language fluently and creatively. As we grow up we also normally complement this formation by receiving some instruction in how to use this language from those who have studied the way the language functions well. Historically there may be moments when language makes a significant change. Shakespeare was such a change within the English language. In the sixteenth century the English language became acceptable whereas previously in England French and Latin had dominance as the respectable languages. Some have credited Shakespeare with introducing 10,000 new words into the language. This is most probably an exaggeration – but it is still likely that he introduced at least a sixth of this sum into English literature.

The “rules” of grammar and the explanation of the meaning of words are hence descriptive – they describe the way that native speakers use the language. If you are not a native speaker, or struggle with the language, then the rules of grammar and dictionary can also be prescriptive – prescribing, stipulating, how to use the language.

A living language is only ever one generation away from vanishing. Once a language has been lost it is possible to revive it. Dictionaries and rules of grammar will then, of course, no longer be descriptive – as there is no living language that one is describing. If the language is being recovered, the attitude to dictionaries and grammar rules will be primarily a regarding of them as prescriptive.

Applying the model of language to liturgy

This series began as a response to an assertion that NZ Anglicanism was not using liturgical prayer fruitfully – and that this struggling to use liturgical prayer has been happening for the last twenty, to twenty-five years – a full generation. I then summarised how this generation lost the liturgical facility (in this post followed by this post).

I want to use the model of language I have developed above to reflect on this. There is a danger in my using language as a model for liturgy. The danger is that people will think I am primarily focusing on the words used in liturgy. In fact I think of gesture and vesture, worship environment, music, and so on, as all part of the “language of liturgy” as well as the words used in liturgy.

Liturgy is picked up naturally during our formative years by participating in a community that uses liturgy fluently and creatively. As we grow we also normally complement this formation by receiving some instruction in how to use liturgy from those who have studied the way liturgy functions well. Historically there may be moments when liturgy makes a significant change. From the 1960s was such a change within liturgy.

The “rules” of liturgy are hence descriptive – they describe the way that well-formed communities use liturgy. If you are not part of a well-formed community, or struggle with liturgy, then the rules of liturgy can also be prescriptive – prescribing, stipulating, how to use liturgy.

If living liturgy vanishes it is possible to revive it. Rubrics and responses will then, of course, no longer be descriptive – as there is no living liturgical life that one is describing. If liturgy is being recovered, the attitude to rubrics, responses, and so on will be primarily a regarding of them as prescriptive.

When a presider at worship stands in front of the gathered community, opens arms wide and says “The Lord be with you” (from memory/by heart), and the community responds enthusiastically from memory/by heart – then this is a sign that this community is using liturgy as a “living language”.

When, on the other hand, a presider at worship stands in front of the gathered community gripping a book, reading the statement from the book, and even addressing the book – and the community responds by reading from the book or from a screen or sheet – then this is a sign that the “language of liturgy” has died. In this second scenario, in which liturgical life has been lost, when a community still follows a prayer book, there will be a much greater emphasis on doing the liturgy in the way the book says only because “that is what is required”. The book, for them, becomes more prescriptive than descriptive. The greeting from the liturgical book is no longer a real greeting – but used mostly (or even solely) because it is prescribed. In such a community the liturgy from the prayer book becomes increasingly “unreal”, disconnected from the real life of the community, even false. It is understandable that such a community increasingly abandons liturgical life in a spiralling circle. In such a service when the presider shifts from using liturgical responses to addressing the gathering “normally” s/he appears to peek out from behind the fixed liturgical pieces and then withdraw again to the prescribed material. The greetings of the liturgy are not experienced as real greetings. Inevitably the prayers are not experienced as real prayers. And the promises are not experienced as real promises.

This is not to suggest, of course, that in a well-formed liturgical community there is no place for following texts. Quite the opposite. In a well-formed liturgical community hymns will still be sung from books just as readings will be read from books and prayers and other texts will be read from books. But such a community will be agile in when we address each other (from memory/by heart), when God, and so on.

Languages have been revived from nearly having died – but it takes significant passion and commitment. The same, let us hope, may also be true for liturgy.

Year for Priests – St John Vianney

Published on August 3, 2009 in liturgy. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

st-jean-vianneyAs well as the Roman Catholic Church, many Anglican churches celebrate St John Vianney on August 4. This year it is 150 years since the death of the priest who is known more commonly by his title “Curé d’Ars” (the parish priest of the village of Ars-sur-Formans). He is the patron saint of parish priests, and the Pope has announced this year as a Year for Priests in honour of “the 150th anniversary of the death of the Holy Curé d’Ars, Jean-Marie Vianney, a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ’s flock”.

Some points worth reflecting on:

  • the concept of vocation – so quickly (too quickly in my opinion) the word vocation is applied to priesthood and “religious life”. Should not vocation be primarily applied to our baptismal calling to holiness and after that to discernment of our particular way of living out our baptismal vocation to love?
  • the understanding of God’s will – the impression is too quickly given in my opinion that God has a particular pathway planned out for us and should we deviate from this in any way our present happiness, let alone our eternal salvation, is in jeopardy unless and until we return to where we branched off God’s determined pathway and get back onto the correct path. This would have God intending you to marry Sarah and should you marry Martha instead, then you will be unhappy in this life not to mention the next… God intended you to be a Franciscan, but you misheard the call and became a Dominican – not until you leave the Dominicans and join the Franciscans will you be following God’s will for this life (and the next)… Possibly God’s will is more general than that – possibly it is more about searching out the deepest God-given yearnings of our God-given heart?
  • Priesthood as primarily a call to enable the baptismal life of the Christian community. The NZ Prayer Book ordinal says it well, in my opinion,

By the Holy Spirit all who believe and are baptised
receive a ministry to proclaim Jesus as Saviour and Lord,
and to love and serve the people with whom they live and work.
In Christ they are to bring redemption,
to reconcile and to make whole
They are to be salt for the earth; they are to be light to the world.

After his resurrection and ascension
Christ gave gifts abundantly to the Church
Some he made apostles, some prophets. some evangelists.
some pastors and teachers; to equip God’s people
for their work of ministry and to build up the body of Christ.

We stand within a tradition
in which there are deacons priests and bishops
They are called and empowered to fulfil an ordained ministry
and to enable the whole mission of the Church.

  • This might also be a year in which we can discuss more deeply what priesthood means, what diaconate, and laity, and episcopate means, and whether people should be ordained directly to the order to which God calls them (per saltum)?

John Vianney lived and ministered in the aftermath of the French Revolution. He struggled with the academic formation required for priesthood. He greatly stressed the love and mercy of God and also the value of personal discipline. His popularity grew so that Lyons railway station had a separate booking office for trains to Ars. Close to 100,000 individuals came to hear him preach in the last year of his life.

Once, when he was arguing with a Protestant peasant woman in his village, he asked her, “Where was your Church before the Reformation?” She promptly replied, “In the hearts of people like you.”

Heavenly Father,
Shepherd of your people,
we thank you for your Servant John,
who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock;
and we pray that,
following his example and the teaching of his holy life,
we may by your grace grow into the stature of the fullness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Everliving God,
you gave to your servant John Vianney
 gifts of discernment and wise counsel;
grant to all pastors 
a full measure of your wisdom and your love,
that through their ministry 
your truth may be revealed;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Good shepherd,
yours was the strength which kept Jean, Curé d’Ars,
praying and reconciling year after year;
protect us too, we pray,
from fatigue which shrivels up compassion;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Prayer Book is a girl’s best friend

Published on June 25, 2009 in liturgy. 2 Comments Tags: .

Stolen from the Rev. Suzanne Guthrie’s At the Edge of the Enclosure Canterbury cap tip to @pmelfi

Corpus Christi

Published on June 11, 2009 in liturgy. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Today is the feast of Corpus Christi

From the New Zealand Prayer Book page 541:

Praise and glory to you creator Spirit of God;
you make our bread Christ’s body
to heal and reconcile
and to make us the body of Christ.
You make our wine Christ’s living sacrificial blood
to redeem the world.
You are truth.
You come like the wind of heaven, unseen, unbidden.
Like the dawn
you illuminate the world around us;
you grant us a new beginning every day.
You warm and comfort us.
You give us courage and fir
and strength beyond our every day resources.
Be with us Holy Spirit in all we say or think,
in all we do this and every day.
Amen.

Further reflection for Corpus Christi

stand up for your rites

Published on May 29, 2009 in liturgy. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
orans position - Catacombs of Priscilla, 3rd century AD

orans posture - Catacombs of Priscilla, 3rd century AD

“New Zealand’s [Roman Catholic] bishops are no longer seeking approval that kneeling be the posture for the faithful during the Eucharistic Prayer at Masses, reversing an earlier decision,” Michael Otto reports on front-page news of the fortnightly NZ Catholic (#317). Last November the bishops had voted, not unanimously, to kneel from the end of the Sanctus/Benedictus until after the Great Amen. Luckily, now that the bishops have changed their minds, that request was lost in the Vatican’s in-trays. The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship has apologised for losing it. The article is unclear if kneeling will be required for what it terms the “consecration” (presumably the Last Supper story found in all of New Zealand’s RC Eucharistic Prayers). Or if standing throughout will be an option. Or if people can choose individually when to kneel or stand (I can already visualise the video of of the – how many variations can you think of, Mathematicians? – people bobbing up and down at different points within the same shared prayer… :-( )

[Aside: Not all Roman Catholic Eucharistic Prayers have a "consecration" (in the sense of Last Supper story). The Roman Catholic Church recognises the Eucharistic Prayer of Addai and Mari as a valid, consecrating eucharistic prayer even though it does not even contain the Last Supper story, nor the words “this is my body”, nor "this is my blood." These last two quotes from the Last Supper at that event were words, not of consecration, but of administration/distribution.]

The article NZ Catholic highlights the Vatican’s General Instruction of the Roman Missal has “they should kneel at the consecration, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason.” Even there, however, this appears in the Errata of that document. The article goes on to point to Cardinal Ratzinger’s (aka Pope Benedict XVI) writing on kneeling in The Spirit of the Liturgy.

The bishops at the first ecumenical council of Nicaea (325) were horrified to discover that Christians were kneeling on Sundays and in the Great Easter Season of 50 days (which they termed Pentecost) and ruled in canon 20:

Since there are some who kneel on Sunday and during the season of Pentecost, this holy synod decrees that, so that the same observances may be maintained in every diocese, one should offer one’s prayers to the Lord standing.

Bishop Cullinane in the NZ Catholic article highlights that “the ancient tradition regarded standing as the posture of the Easter people.”

Other denominations may not have a moment-of-consecration theology, and wonder what the rationale for the rest of the Eucharistic Prayer is if its purpose is effected by a small section within it. These may see the whole Eucharistic Prayer as consecrating – or in fact the whole eucharistic action (from taking bread and wine, giving thanks, breaking bread and distributing bread and wine) as consecrating. Anglican eucharistic theology was sent off on a tangent after the discontinuity of the Commonwealth Period when the 1662 Book of Common Prayer added an “Amen” after the Last Supper story, put the fraction (breaking of the bread) as an action into the Last Supper story, and referred to what followed the Sanctus as the “consecration” – implying that the preface was not part of the “consecration”.

As with the NZ Catholic article, in which the new National Liturgy Advisory Group are reported as asking the bishops to review their decision and be stronger for standing, so the NZ Prayer Book commission presented to the Anglican General Synod (1987) a rubric at the start of the Eucharistic Prayer:

It is recommended that the people stand throughout the following prayer.

This not only preserves the unity of the Eucharistic Prayer, but also has the same posture for the presiding priest as well as all others participating. I well remember the debate about this in General Synod as some misunderstood the meaning of the word “recommend” and argued that the “traditional” posture of kneeling be added, so that the rubric now reads “It is recommended that the people stand or kneel throughout the following prayer.” (Note the posture does not change from “The Lord is here…” to the Great Amen). There was much muttering of “what about people in a hospital bed… wheelchair…” I note that the Book of Worship of the United Church of Christ precedes every rubric with “All who are able may…” Each of their Eucharistic Prayers (called there “Communion Prayer”) has the rubric, “All who are able may stand.”

1549 BCP 460 years on

Published on May 28, 2009 in liturgy. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

bcp_1549I know that this Sunday, the Day of Pentecost, some communities will celebrate using the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. They are doing this to commemorate the anniversary of its introduction. It was a very catholic prayer book. In 1552 a more reformed prayer book ensued, but this did not come into use because, on the death of Edward VI, his half-sister Mary I re-introduced Latin worship, re-establishing the link with Rome. Contemporary prayer book reforms have moved from the revised 1552 position (1559, 1662) in the direction of 1549 – from Lambeth east, beyond Geneva, and even further Eastwards than Rome, drawing on Eastern Orthodox liturgical insights and traditions in contemporary Anglican liturgy.

There had been a month of debate in the English parliament about this Prayer Book. Then on 21 January 1549 they passed the first Act of Uniformity. This included a draft of a new “convenient and meet order, rite, and fashion of common and open prayer and administration of the sacraments.” It had been prepared by a committee of “the most learned and discreet bishops, and other learned men of this realm.” On the Day of Pentecost (called “Whitsunday”) of 1549 (June 9), all clergy were required to follow this Prayer Book. If you used something else, or didn’t use this, or disparaged the Prayer Book there were penalties from £10 to life imprisonment and losing all your property.

And where heretofore, there hath been great diversitie in saying and synging in churches within this realme: some folowyng Salsbury use, some Herford use, same the use of Bangor, some of Yorke, and some of Lincolne: Now from hencefurth, all the whole realme shall have but one use. And if any would judge this waye more painfull, because that all thynges must be read upon the boke, whereas before, by the reason of so often repeticion, they could saye many thinges by heart: if those men will waye their labor, with the profite in knowlege, whiche dayely they shal obtein by readyng upon the boke, they will not refuse the payn, in consideracion of the greate profite that shall ensue therof.

Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 24

Published on May 20, 2009 in liturgy. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Here is a link to is a reflection on the collect/opening prayer for the seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24.

Here is a link to is a reflection on the collect/opening prayer from BCP (TEC) Common Worship etc. for the seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24.

Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 17

Published on May 11, 2009 in liturgy. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Here is a link to is a reflection on the collect/opening prayer for the sixth Sunday of Easter, May 17.
[Whilst the formulary, the NZPrayer Book p704 surprisingly has the "Stir up..." collect we usually associate with the Sunday before Advent, the 2009 lectionary points to the above collect instead]

Here is a link to is a reflection on the collect/opening prayer vrom BCP (TEC) for the sixth Sunday of Easter, May 17.

Anglicans add Roman Catholic saints to calendar

Published on March 6, 2009 in liturgy and spirituality. 14 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The latest edition of the newspaper The New Zealand Catholic has the following story:

CHRISTCHURCH – Blessed Mary MacKillop and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta could soon feature in Anglican liturgies in New Zealand.

In 2006, the Rev. Bosco Peters, Christ’s College chaplain and webmaster of the ecumenical liturgy site www.liturgy.co.nz, proposed a motion to that end at the Christchurch diocesan synod.

If the formal approval process is completed, these names would join other post-reformation Catholics in New Zealand’s Anglican calendar.

A New Zealand Prayer Book – He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, published in 1989, has Sts John Vianney, Maximillian Kolbe, Rose of Lima, Teresa of Avila, Martin de Porres and Francis Xavier in its calendar, as well as Mother Suzanne Aubert, founder of New Zealand’s only religious order – the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion.

“There is no thought that holiness is limited to Anglicanism,” Rev. Peters said.

He also proposed C.S. Lewis and Taizé’s Br Roger be added to the calendar.

New Zealand’s Anglican church produced its first revised calendar in 1972, including post-Reformation Catholics.

Before then it used material from older Church of England calendars, which included pre-Reformation saints, but not the later Catholic figures.

The formal process for approval requires passing a bill at General Synod, positive votes at diocesan synods and equivalents, a confirmation by a newly-elected General Synod and a year’s wait to see if there are any appeals.

“After this is becomes part of our binding shared liturgical life,” he said.

The move has yet to go through General Synod a second time, but Rev. Peters said it is uncontroversial.

Readings and prayers for the relevant days are being prepared for the celebration of the Eucharist, he said.

by MICHAEL OTTO