Liturgy

I recently read an article titled "Have Confidence that Liturgy is Missional" written by The Rev. Daniel Sandham, published by the Church Times. I thought about just using the article as the Priestly Pondering, however, there are too many little ideas that I would want to qualify. So, instead, I figured I would use this opportunity to engage it.

     The article begins by claiming that many traditional churches have fallen into the trap of thinking traditional worship and a prayerbook liturgy are things of yesteryear. In fact, many churches go so far as to pit evangelism and traditional worship against each other. People think we need to look to the new and creative to try to bring people into the church. The problem with this idea is the move to thinking that worship is an exercise in attracting people. I would suggest it also results in a loss of identity.

      To reorient the church the author engages Evelyn Underhill who defined worship as “the response of the creature to the Eternal." He continues, "The worship of the Church on earth is a reflection and a fragment of the worship that God is offered in heaven. Underhill says that it is 'the ceaseless self-offering of the Church, in and with Christ her head, to the increase of the glory of God'. Richard Giles writes, almost a century later, that worship is where 'we stand at the gate of heaven, handling holy things, and touching the eternal mystery'. Worship must start, then, with God. The question that we should be asking is 'How does this liturgy, in this particular context, give God glory?'"

     This doesn't mean that new ideas of reaching out to people are bad. They are necessary to engage our changing world. Door-to-door, street preaching, or other ways of past evangelism do not work like they once used to. We are entering into a time where evangelism is going to be extremely relational. However, this doesn't stop outside of the church, we are to bring people into the richness of the Anglican tradition.

     The author elaborates on this point by saying —and forgive me for quoting at length— "I worry, however, that too many “new ways” are divorced from the Church’s inherited traditions. [...] The answer might be found in the reclaiming of our inherited traditions. What I find most grating about the statement with which I began is the implication that traditional worship and young people are mutually exclusive. Notwithstanding the distinction that I have made between worship and evangelism, worship that starts with God can be — indeed, by its very nature, is — missional. Liturgy that is celebrated confidently, competently, and authentically, with a deep sense of being in the presence of God, is profoundly attractive.

     Moreover, traditional worship contains much that can invite and attract children. […] In too many churches, the very young occupy a “children’s corner” where, with no sightlines to the liturgical action, it is no wonder that they become a distraction..."

     The emphasis on reclaiming inherited traditions is key to reaching today's youth and young families. Most people are coming to Anglicanism because they want to belong to something greater than themselves, a tradition with deep roots, and a church that doesn't pander to them by becoming something they are not. Evangelism outside of the Mass will happen through celebrating feast days, doing processionals for Rogation Day, and living according to the Anglican traditions, which many of us have forgotten or never experienced but are saturated in Anglican tradition and history. But the historic liturgy must stay the same otherwise we are chipping away at the foundation on which everything else rests.

     The article finishes by saying, "The liturgy of the Church, shaped over two millennia, is a precious and sacred gift from God, by which we give him glory and enter into the mystery of salvation. Too often, we treat it like the awkward uncle at a wedding. Instead, we have an opportunity to invite those who already come to our churches, and those who do not, to step onto the threshold of eternity and to linger there in a spirit of adoration.

     Orientating our worship to God, rediscovering our confidence in the liturgy, and understanding the liturgy’s appeal to young and old alike, we may just find that the old ways are the best."

     The traditions outside of the Liturgy are fun, historically rooted, and most importantly relational. However, if we take away from Liturgy then we have lost our identity and more importantly we have lost the one thing we have to offer others, an encounter with God, in the worship of our Lord in the beauty of holiness. The Liturgy is missional as it captivates the minds of children and allows the worshipper to ascend to God in his descent to us. 

God's Peace,

Fr. Aaron