I'd like to start this post with a joke.
Q: How
many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Change!?! Why should we change? We like the old light bulb. The Edison family donated it in 1886. See the wall plaque beneath the old bulb?
A: Change!?! Why should we change? We like the old light bulb. The Edison family donated it in 1886. See the wall plaque beneath the old bulb?
This
little humor is to prepare you for the reality that we do the liturgy
a little differently at Southside
Abbey.
Having said that, there is much about our liturgy that will be
familiar, even to those who are change-phobic. We follow the
four-fold shape of Gathering, Word, Table, and Sending, but we change
it up just a little bit.
One of the great gifts we
have been given as followers of Jesus is this sacred meal where
Christ has promised to be present in, through, and with us. We
celebrate this reality with bread, wine, and a meal, but in the
Church we have so stylized that meal that many of our guests and
sojourners can scarcely recognize the meal aspect of it.
At Southside Abbey, we are
trying to reclaim that sense of a true meal in a very real way.
We begin with the
Gathering time, which includes conversation, call to worship,
collect, prayers of the people, confession, absolution, and the
peace. Then we jump right in to the Table where we celebrate
communion of the bread. Then . . . we hit the pause button.
During this liturgical
pause, we go to the kitchen where everyone gets a plate of whatever
we are having for dinner that evening. Sometimes our meal is potluck
(that's Southern for “covered-dish”), sometimes it is
wonderfully homemade by those in our community, and sometimes it is
pizza, sandwiches, or soup. We feed lots of folks in lots of
different ways. What might not be my favorite choice might deeply
resonate with someone else and vice versa.
After returning to the
table with our full plates, we hear the Holy Scriptures. Following
the readings, the preacher asks a few questions that catalyze
conversation in small groups. Then he or she preaches a capstone
“homilette.” From there we are Sent into the world with
post-communion prayer, announcements, Nunc
Dimittis announcements, blessing, and dismissal.
Aside
from the meal and resulting changes in the ministries of Word and
Table, this doesn't seem so different, does it? Our Ordo is
actually pretty similar to the form for Holy Eucharist from the
BCP 1928 or the Penitential Order from the BCP 1979 – who would
have thought that?
I know that “change”
can be a four-letter word for many of us in the Church, but the
Episcopal Church is one that has at our core the idea of local
adaptation, overseen by our bishops. Southside Abbey is locally
adapting in ways that are as inviting to those without other church
homes as they are comfortable to Episcopalians.
As we approach the changes
in liturgical season and church and calendar year, I invite you to
think about this idea that my former rector, Donald Fishburne,
shared with me . . . Think back on your life to everything you would
call a blessing. Maybe this was falling in love, the birth of
children or grandchildren, reconciliation of a broken relationship,
or just anything you can think of that you would call a blessing,
even a hard blessing like the death of a loved one who has suffered
for far too long. Now, did not all of these blessings carry with
them some aspect of change? I'm not saying that all changes are
blessings, but . . . if we resist change, we also resist blessings.
I
close by wishing, “Blessings,” upon those who read this post -
especially if you have made it this far. If you are maybe interested
in some change too, Southside Abbey freely shares all of the
liturgies we develop on our website under
the “Open Source” tab.
This post was originally published on the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Practices Vital Posts blog on October 30, 2014. It has been reprinted here with permission.
