Anglimergent Liturgy: New and Renewed

[Karen Ward]

Anglimergent liturgy is a forum to 'talk shop' about 'the source and summit' of our communal life (liturgy), sharing practical ideas and resources, posing questions, exploring possibilities... re: how new and renewed forms of liturgy both inform and speak into postmodern culture.

[Bob Carlton]

On a personal basis, I have started using a breviary that Paraclete Press just published called THE ST. FRANCIS PRAYERBOOK (here's the book site: http://www.paracletepress.com/the-st-francis-prayer-book-a-guide-to... and some excerpts: http://jonmsweeney.wordpress.com/).

In a communal setting, this past Fall we found it really moving to use local sand and clay as part of a physical worship experience - Austin has a unique geology that folks connect with, in ways that words or images can not quite convey.

[Jason Wells]

For personal offices, I've just been starting with the Thomas Merton Book of Hours, recently published by Sorin Books. I've bounced around on many many daily devotional books over the years, just to keep things fresh.

I like the idea of sand and clay. Here in New Hampshire though we'd have to go out into the snow for physical worship! It's too bad that Isaiah didn't live up north: the grass whithers, the flower fades, the snow melts...

[The Rev. David Marshall]

Forward Movement publishes a very nice book called Hour by Hour. They have taken morning, noon, evening and compline from the BCP and simplified them. The book is formatted with prayers, psalms and collects for each prayer hour Sunday through Saturday. I think this book would make a great tool to teach and encourage praying the hours in a church community. I plan to teach a class using the book and encourage people to get their own copy. I also like the idea of using a variety of daily devotional books. I think different approaches will work for different people.

[Shane Hubner]

I very interested in this topic. I have a particular need to look at 'what we have' in the way of Anglican liturgies and see what can be done to 'sharpen' their focus

[Kit Wang]

Yes! While I do love some of the "outside the book" resources, there are lots of things that are in the book that never get used, which is a great loss, I think--for me, the challenge is to use those resources in a way that's fresh and speaks to people in new ways.

[Karen Ward]

We often use 'the book' in creative ways. For our 3rd Sunday, 8 pm Sanctorum Mass we use texts from the 1662 book along with electronics, chant, hand candles, vj, smells and bells.

[Kit Wang]

Yeah, just what I had in mind.

[Carol Bradsen]

In Arizona Join the Living is planning an all-night Easter Vigil in the desert.

Using the liturgy from the prayer book we are also exploring possibilities for inviting various artists, improve theater folks, poets, and storytellers to then riff off of the themes in the scripture. Meanwhile around the bonfire will be various tents for ongoing meditation, art making and the like. We are collaborating with Episcopalians and also a UCC pastor and some emerging church guys. It's sort of a hard sell to get the non-Episcopalians to want to use the prayer book as more than inspiration. I'm trying to get them to see that there are wonderful gifts in using the script. And then also using it's ancient solidness as a way to invite modern stories and art and improv into creative discussion with it.

It's funny being caught between Episco traditionalists (Why would you want to have fire dancers at the lighting of the Paschal candle?) and being a little too liturgical for emerging folks.

If anyone wants to brainstorm ideas on bringing the Easter Vigil from "the book" even more alive we'd welcome you to the creative mix. Or perhaps others have already done something like this. I know, Karen, you guys did "Rise" with a dj and artists in an old school house. We are glad to share more as the planning comes together if anyone is interested.

[Kit Wang]

In one parish, we used the "telling stories around the fire" format for the salvation tories that are part of the Vigil. I had envisioned something more creative than actually happened--people actually TELLING the stories, as opposed to reading the words. I envision this as an amazing possibility--using some "forms" for the stories, like a Godly Play version or two, as well as some recountings of the stories that appear in particular cultures, dance, whatever. As well as some phenomenal transition from Meal to meal, or Table to table, as St. Gregory of Nyssa/SF describes??

[Sara Miles]

Carol, here's a short video of the Vigil last year at St. Gregory of Nyssa: singing, dancing, chanting, feasting, processing around the building at night with drums and torches, praising God.
You can also download scripts for all our liturgies and some music clips.
We keep tweaking all Holy Week services (including our Maundy Didache Eucharist, under a homemade tent, with footwashing; a Good Friday service where we lay flowers on an icon of Jesus)...look forward to hearing what you do. Check on the website for updates, or contact me or Paul Fromberg for more information.

[Carol Bradsen]

Thank you Sara and Daniel!

It is encouraging to receive your replies. Thanks for all the creativity coming out of St. Gregory's and for supporting it in others. I have seen the scripts. 75 pages! Really something.

We are starting small. This is a service that we want to continue to offer each year as our main public offering. This year it is more about gathering some friends together to live out the Easter Vigil as creatively as we can. It is most certainly a long-term and growing project for us. And something I would love to talk over with y'all at All Saints Company. Our planning for this year is limited by time and money. But I think whatever grows from this year and continues to evolve could be of interest and inspiration to other churches as well. And we would love the chance to collaborate creatively as it evolves and to learn from St. Gregory's journey.

Thank you. I look forward to talking with you more soon. I will call as soon as I get over the flu.

Many blessings,

Carol

[Frank Logue]

One idea...In lighting new fire at King of Peace, we use the following trick which is easy to do and very effective for the Easter Vigil. The fire is lit in a copper fire pan (see photo) outside the church right in front of the front doors. We are in South Georgia and have never had any problems with beginnning outside as the weather is usually quite pleasant. The fire is set with good hard wood that has been soaked in lamp oil, but sits dry, stacked together with smaller pieces of kindling underneath. Under that kindling is a wad of steel wool. One side of the teepee shaped fire is open to allow the celebrant access. At the right time I lean down and, using a 9-volt battery I have palmed in my hand, that is not visible to the congregation, I touch the contacts of the battery to the steel wool and withdraw my hand in a smooth motion so that I reach in, touch the heart of the fire, pull my hand out and the fire begins to spark, then flame. In a couple of minutes we have a blazing new fire. One long thin piece of hard wood has only a tip soaked in lamp oil. I take this from the fire and use the burning wood to light the Paschal candle. Most everyone knows how this trick is done and anyone who asks is told, but beyond the trick of it, the ease of lighting a fire like this makes it very effective.

We then move into the narthex for the next part of the liturgy and by candlelight tell stories, and baptize or reaffirm the baptismal covenant. Then when we make the move to Easter in the liturgy, we enter the nave, turn on the lights and everything is ready for Easter with lilies and other spring flowers, white and gold on the altar, etc.