BCP - penitential, eyes downcast, you and God. sinner and absolving Creator.
CW - how do you like it?
Family meal which speaks of belonging, or
Proclamation of the now, the was and the 'is to be'?
Is it KJVspeak or modern language?
Does it have to be done every Sunday or once a month?
Flying Saucer paper (without the sherbet) or proper bread (White, brown or wholegrain)?
Sherry, port (we use a nice regimental tawny port) or non-alcoholic?
How do you like yours, and why (is there a theological reason or us it just because it is)?
Who do you do yours for?
Pax
5 comments:
We usually have a BCP HC at 8am every sunday, which rotates around each church in the benefice.
We also have BCP Matins and Evensong twice a month each at different churches.
Most services are CW either Order 1 or Order 2 (Traditional Language) depending which church it is held in. Two of these are Sung.
We do CW Morning and Evening prayer, daily Monday to Thursday.
We also have Service of the Word or Family Services interspersed mainly run by Lay Ministers.
I love both forms of worship, although I know that some prefer one or the other.
The BCP HC has increased in popularity in the past few months average attendance rising from 6 or 8 to between 12 and 20 on several occasions. Perhaps the year of the KJV has re-awakened interest in traditional language services.
The diversity of worship that is available to us is great, there is something for everyone, although you might have to make the effort to move from church to church to attend it.
Our fallback is Canterbury Cathedral, where you can go for all forms of service, particularly on Sundays. Sung Matins and Sung Evensong (traditional) are particularly noteworthy.
Perhaps my late arrival in the CofE has something to do with my taste for different forms of worship, I was not brought up with it, so have no particular bias or view as to what is 'proper'. My spouse, on the other hand, was brought up, High Church Anglican and thinks that anything else is OK, but not the same as her experience and love of worship.
Not sure what box you will put me in, but it will need open ends.
Across 5 churches in a four-week month:
3 BCP communions (one said) in two churches;
6 CW Order 1 contemporary language communions (one said) in all 5 churches.
We use wafers regularly in one church, ordinary bread in the others (though I keep a supply of gluten-free wafers for coeliacs).
Wine is a red communion wine from CPS or our local Christian Resources shop, but I don't have to launder the linen!
My personal preference is for the theology, structure, language and ethos of CW, but many in two of my churches prefer BCP, and I have no problems with including it within a range of services. I would find it difficult if communions were exclusively BCP though. Itry, as far as possible to provide at least one communion service within the benefice each Sunday (as per canon law) but this can sometimes be difficult given the range of ecumenical services and commitments across the benefice.
Non-Eucharistic services include a number of All-Age or other informal Services of the Word, CW morning and evening prayer and BCP evensong.
BCP at 8
CW at 10am, liberal catholic, accessible. For my part, I am someones who is very expressive and free within the liturgy so I ad-lib a little. We use the sherbet paper wafers that you describe (Levitical unleavened, if you like). We use amber fortified wine because it doesn't knacker the linen.
The Eucharist in my tradition (and in my personal preference too) is the staple act of worship. It is the starting point, not a luxury occasional flourish. We regard it at nourishment for the spiritual journey of life, and a way of sharing with Christ in his great sacrifice. It is our act of remembrance as commanded.
As an act or worship it comprises all. It has prayer ministry, healing and reconciliation, bread and wine (of course), preaching, Scripture, good hymnody and an act of sharing and joint witness.
Sadly, I only do BCP when covering some of the other churches as we don't do it where I am :(
Mind you, did it twice in May and have same lined up for June, so do get to still fo it :)
CW communion every week - bread (usually specially baked) and Tawny Port (cheaper, nicer and easier on the linen ). We also do a very informal midweek communion which uses wafers and has the people writing the sermon as we go.
Sunday early service communion is said, other morning communions have musicians attached.
One of the features I have made a part is that of not putting cassock alb on until I get into sanctuary to preside (for the people of God celebrate and I preside as I understand it) and removing it at the end as I return to the people for the last song. After all, we cone from the people and return to them as laos, don't we?
We also do evening communions which are healing, Taizê or some other reflective or theological focussed service - so many weeks we do two communions!
Theology is evangelical with a dash of charismata and heavy on the anamnesis.
That's basically us,
V
Since joining the C of S, find they mostly do it VS, very seldom. In some churches November and April. Very solemn ,elders wear black. Bit of a shock. My brave other half is trying to introduce it more often and more of a celebration. Biggest shock when sipping from the cup was to get a mouthful of fizzy pop!
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