Forcing priests to wear robes

The Telegraph reports on one British theologian, the Rev. Andrew Atherstone, who says that traditional vestments in worship are a hindrance rather than a help,

Garments such as the cassock and surplice are a form of "power dressing" which reinforce class divisions and prevent the wearer getting the Lord's message across.

The article is based on the publication of a report titled "Clergy Robes and Mission Priorities" which seeks to challenge canon laws (church rules) which date back in England to 1604. Atherstone goes on to say,

The existing law, which makes robes obligatory for all, belongs to a bygone world. In the 21st century Anglican ministers must at last be given the freedom to decide their own clothing, in consultation with their congregations, based on their local setting.

He also says that "robes can be a form of power dressing—they can reinforce the divisions of a stratified society, where deference to rank and authority is key."

We do have that flexibility in The Episcopal Church. Church of the Spirit (pictured at left), a church I helped plant while in seminary, does not use vestments in worship for their main Sunday service for the very sort of reasons Atherstone points out. I have a friend from seminary, Jimmy Bartz, whose new church start, St. Thad's is an Episcopal Church with a a laid back feel that meets at The Jazz Bakery in Culver City, California. Their website notes,

Sunday mornings at Thad’s are very informal. We wear clothes that we are comfortable in, we play music that we like, we do our best to create a place that people feel welcome and at home.

By design, King of Peace is informal, but does have ways of worshipping that seem very formal compared to my Pentecostal upbringing. Yes, the clothes we wear in leading worship are different from our day-to-day wear. That helps show outwardly, what we know inwardly, that we are entering holy space for a holy task. The various vestments are for the various roles in the service. When I am not the celebrant, I don't wear the celebrants vestments or sit in the presider's chair. I see this as more about worshipping decently and in good order than visble signs of an archaic hierarchy.

I know that St. Thad's is entering holy space for a holy time in their own way and I am not knocking their practice, which fits their setting and the group they are hoping to gather as they grow. This means that both King of Peace and St. Thad's are now living into the sort of future Atherstone pictures in the report. We already have the flexibility to tailor the clothes to fit the Church, rather than being straightjacketed by canon law. It does make sense to leave room for church's to select ways of worshipping that feel worshipful to the gathered community. That's my take. What do you think?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

PS: Though I am still away at a meeting in New Orleans, we will have worship tonight at King of Peace. The Rev. John Pearce, who is serving St. Mark's in Woodbine, will be the celebrant and preacher and I bet he'll wear robes. The service is at 6:15 p.m. No Bible study follows this week, we will pick up with Mark 13 next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Worship Prayer

Holy God—in this precious hour, we pause and gather to hear your word– to do so, we break from our work responsibilities and from our play fantasies; we move from our fears that overwhelm and from our ambitions that are too strong, Free us in these moments from every distraction, that we may focus to listen, that we may hear, that we may change. Amen

—Walter Brueggemann, from Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth

Worship

Happy are those who hear
the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk
in the light of your presence, LORD.
—Psalms 89:15

But the time is coming and is already here
when true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and in truth.
The Father is looking for anyone
who will worship him that way.
—Jesus in John 4:23 (New Living Translation)

No one else holds or has held
the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds.
Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped;
no other man has been so devoutly loved.
—John Knox (1510-1572)

I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Jesus calls us from the worship,
Of the vain world's golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, "Christian, love Me more!"
-Cecil F. Alexander (1818-1895)

The highest form of worship
is the worship of unselfish Christian service.
—Billy Graham (1918- )

Some go to church to see and be seen,
Some go there to say they have been,
Some go there to sleep and nod,
But few go there to worship God
—Anonymous

Silence!

We are commanded to stop (literally)... rest, relax, let go, and make time for Him. The scene is one of stillness and quietness, listening and waiting before Him. Such foreign business in these busy times!

Nevertheless, knowing God deeply and intimately requires such discipline. Silence is indispensable if we hope to add depth to our spiritual life.

-Chuck Swindoll

They should lash us to our pews

Why do people in church seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute?...Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it?

The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us to where we can never return.

—Annie Dillard, (1945 - ) from her book Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

Citizens of Heaven

We are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven; we are citizens of heaven trying to make our way through this world. Tha radical Christian insight can be life-changing. We are not to live so as to earn God’s love, inherit heaven, and purchase our salvation. All those are given to us as gifts; gifts bought by Jesus on the cross and handed over to you.

We are to live as God’s redeemed, as heirs of heaven, and as citizens of another land: the Kingdom of God. We live as though we are on a journey home: a home we know will have the lights on and the door open and our Father waiting for us when we arrive. That means in all adversity our worship of God is joyful, our life is hopeful, our future is secure. There is nothing we can lose on earth that can rob us of the treasures God has given and will give us.

—The Landisfarne (via the Anglican Digest)

In the archives, is the sermon Citizen Paul.

Transcendence

Transcendence refers to things that lie beyond the ordinary range of perception or are beyond human experience, at least in any usual sense. At its best, a worship service is transcendent in that it speaks directly to the heart in ways beyonds words. Garrison Keillor wrote of this in a recent essay on the experience of an Anglo-catholic high mass that he attended with a small congregation:

It was formal high Mass, none of that "hi and how are we all doing this morning" chumminess, and the homily only summarized the scripture texts about healing, it didn't turn into an essay on healthcare. Ten voices strong and true in the choir and positioned as they were under the great arch of the chancel, their tender polyphonic Kyrie and Gloria infused the whole building with pure kindness.

The singing was O my God just heartbreakingly good. There were less than 30 of us in the pews, fewer than the names on the prayer list, and to hear "Behold, how good and joyful it is; brethren, to dwell together in unity" sung so eloquently as the priests swung to their tasks was to be present in a moment of extravagant grace that does not depend on numbers or any other measure of success for its meaning, just as the Grand Canyon does not depend on busloads of tourists to be magnificent. Most of our brethren, bless them, are off enjoying brunch or reading the funnies or lifting weights at the gym, and our faithfulness does not make us better people. We simply happened to walk by and see this vast canyon of God's love and stand looking into it....

But here in an old brownstone church at an ancient ceremony, there is a moment of separation from all the griefs of this world. Ten men and women are singing a cappella, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name," and their voices drench us fugitive worshippers kneeling, naked, trembling, needy, in the knowledge of grace, and when we arise and go out into Baltimore, the blessing follows us.

The full essay from which this excerpted is online at Slate.com here Sunday morning coming down.

I have to acknowledge that King of Peace is probably more of the "hi and how are we all doing this morning" worship experience than of the nature of the transcendence of an Anglo-Catholic High Mass. I do know that in both styles of worship one meets God who does transcend our experience. But I sometimes have said that low church folks anticipate heaven more than high church folks, but that is probably because those in a high church tradition worship there each time they gather.

I think the trick for me is to open myself up to that experience of the God beyond experience when I come to worship. It's easy to get caught up in the who is there and what is going on, but also important to allow oneself to be present to the One who is there whose presence we can miss if we allow ourselves to be too busy to hear the still small voice of the divine.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

The highest act

Worship is the highest act of which man is capable.
It not only stretches him
beyond all the limits of his finite self
to affirm the divine depth of mystery and holiness
in the living and eternal God,
but it opens him at the deepest level of his being
to an act which unites him most realistically with his fellow man.
-Samuel H. Miller (1935-1978)

Creation Work

Creation rhythms get inside us through the act of worship in place and time. Worship is the primary means by which we immerse ourselves in the rhythms and stories of God’s work, get a feel for proper work, creation work....

When we walk out of the place of worship we walk with fresh, recognizing eyes and a re-created, obedient heart into the world in which we are God’s image participating in God’s creation work.

-Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

Why Bother with Church?

Episcopal worship service on the beach
If you live in Asbury Park, New Jersey it's not an either or choice between beach and church. You can have your prayer book and sand between your toes too. The New York Times reports,

The altar is a tray for serving breakfast in bed. The pews are large towels or striped beach chairs. And instead of doodling on the program, distracted children can play with a bucket or bury a parent’s feet in the sand. On Saturdays in the summer, Trinity Church, an Episcopal congregation here, celebrates a beach Mass at 6 p.m., attracting up to 75 people...

The full story is online here: Sea, Sand, Sky and an Invitation to Worship.

In the sermon Why Are We Here? I told that our competition is not other churches, unless you are thinking of "Box Springs Baptist, Mattress Methodist, Pillow Presbyterian and my personal favorite, the Church of the Holy Comforter" which are ways to describe sleeping in on Sunday.

Father Steve offers a new video on why we should get out of bed on Sunday morning. It's a really well done look at the reasons not to attend Box Springs Baptist and the like:



In the same sermon referenced above, I said,

Sure, you can be a Christian without going to church. But you can just barely be a Christian, and not very well. I know that sounds harsh, but Christianity is not about loving God alone. Jesus simplified all his teaching to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.” God and neighbor. They go together. And so there is no better way to worship than with your neighbor. We need each other. We need each other to bear one another’s burdens and share one another’s joys. We need each other, because it is so difficult to make any progress on your spiritual journey when you are out there on your own.

If that isn't inspiring enough, there is the religion column The dollar value of attending church or the one Why a non-believer may want a church.

We'll be worshipping tonight at 6:15 p.m. Not convenient? Try Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 8:30 or 10 a.m.

What do you think? Why do you bother to go to church? Or if you don't, why do you skip the experience?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

How to Worship God

But an hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
—John 4:23


In our own ways, we often tell people of other denominations, "You worship God in your way and I will worship God in His."

In writing about people arguing over differing styles of worship, Joshua at his blog, Quaerite Dominum, shares how it bothers him for those who prefer high Anglo-Catholic worship (as he does) to make fun of those who like Contemporary Christian Music and praise bands. He writes the following parable,

Let’s say a little girl brought to her father a chicken-scratched picture she made at school. The picture, which is supposed to look like her father, is a bit lop-sided and she scribbled in the colours with crayon. She goes up to her father, climbs into his lap, and shows him the picture, saying, “Daddy, I made this for you! I love you, Daddy.”

Then big brother, who is a professional painter, enters the room and takes one look at the picture, then snatches it and rips it up, saying, “I could paint Father better. Your drawing is nasty.” Little sister begins to bawl and cry. Do you honestly think the Father would have been pleased? Oh no, he wouldn’t!

His full post is online here: Behold the Monstrous Regiment of Liturgical Divas.

From a humorous perspective, there is the earlier post here of Praise Music from a Hymn Perspective (and vice versa).

More than a feeling

The most common mistake Christians make in worship today is seeking an experience, rather than seeking God. They look for a feeling, and if it happens, they conclude that they have worshipped. Wrong. In fact, God often removes our feelings so we won't depend on them.

Seeking a feeling, even the feeling of closeness to Christ, is not worship.

—Rick Warren (1954- )

Counter-Cultural Worship

Methodist Bishop and noted preached William Willimon recently wrote,

The modern world teaches us to ask, of every event and relationship, “Now what good will this do me?” The modern world teaches us to make ourselves the center of the world. We have no more important project than ourselves.

Christian worship is counter-cultural to all this. We do it, not primarily to “get something out of it,” but to give something to it. We do it because we are in love.

Try this example. You are walking hand-in-hand in the park on a beautiful spring day. At some point, you lean over and kiss the one with whom you are in love.

Now, if someone asks you, “Now what good does that do you? What good do you get out of it?” It would be stupid question to ask. Gestures like kissing, hugging, are the actions of lovers. We do it out of love. We do it, not “to get something out of it,” but rather to offer something to the one with whom we are in love. Christian worship is a lot like that.

The full text is posted at his blog here: Meeting and Being Met by God.