Site RSS Feed
Foreword
It has been said that liturgy, music and the words we use
in worship shape us, or influence us more than sermons. If
this is true then liturgical activity calls from us great
care, great preparation and great sensitivity. The context,
the people, and the shape of the liturgy require great
prayer, thought and spiritual discernment.
"Celebrating Eucharist" provides a careful, thoughtful, and
well researched resource for those who know the need for
indepth preparation when shaping a Eucharist. Distilled in
this resource is the experience and wisdom of many
centuries of liturgical thinkers, as well as a very aware
appreciation of the contemporary scene. There is probably
nowhere else where this combination of insights is
available, particularly as they apply to the Anglican
Eucharist in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Bosco is a liturgical scholar, and a parish priest. This is
an important synthesis of heritage and practice. I know
those who read these papers will be informed, stimulated
and challenged. Readers will bring their own experience and
interpretation of the tradition to what Bosco shares. Out
of that engagement I know there will be new enrichment and
creativity in the celebration of the Eucharist.
+ David
Bishop of
Waikato
Preface
The Eucharist lies at the heart of the church. Over a
period of twenty-five years a lot of energy was expended in
producing the eucharistic texts in A New
Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o
Aotearoa. Alongside
this textual revision there has been, and for an even
longer period, renewal of the way we celebrate the
Eucharist. Such renewal needs to be built on a particular
community's style but relate to wider understandings and
clear theology. This book is one attempt to help this
ongoing process.
This book has evolved over a number of years. Four years
ago I was invited to produce monthly "Worship Notes" for
the clergy of the Christchurch Diocese. These included
suggestions and rationales for services as well as
supplementary material I had been collecting and producing.
There was a lot of demand to collect the Notes together in
a more permanent form. There were also helpful suggestions
and critiques and after much revision the present book was
produced. It is offered to complement the perceptions of
worshippers and worship leaders in their understanding and
celebration of the Eucharist.
This book is based on contemporary scholarship. I am
indebted to the authors of many books. A list of the books
I found most helpful is included at the back of this book.
I acknowledge with thankfulness that some supplementary
material in this book took as a starting point
The Book of
Common Prayer and
The Book of
Occasional Services of the
Episcopal Church U.S.A. If anything has been reproduced
from any other sources without acknowledgment this will be
remedied in future printings.
The material provided in this book may be reproduced
provided that reproduction is not for commercial purposes.
In any reproduction it would be appreciated if the
following was added: "Reproduced from Celebrating
Eucharist, DEFT, © Bosco
Peters 1995."
In general, however, supplementary material has been
designed to be used without the need for the congregation
to have full texts, and responses are usually the well
known ones from the Prayer Book.
Numerous people and worshipping communities have
contributed in a variety of ways to the production of this
book. I would particularly like to thank Bishop David Moxon
and the Reverend Peter Williams for their advice and
encouragement, Mrs. Caroline Hawkins for her line drawings,
Miss Nadine Walker for her help with word processing, and
the Reverend Paul Dyer for producing discussion questions
for each chapter and for seeing the manuscript through to
publication.
Above all I thank Helen, my spouse, for her enthusiastic
support, and Catherine and Jonathan for being tolerant when
this book has taken up family time. It is to them that I
dedicate it.
May this book be another step in the renewal of worship.
Bosco Peters
Maundy Thursday, 1995
