Revision of our Contemporary Liturgical Resources

[Richard Geoffrey Leggett]

Dear Colleagues,

As a member of Faith, Worship and Ministry, I am part of the Working Group charged with developing principles and an agenda for the revision of our contemporary liturgical resources, i.e., the BAS. I would value any and all comments you may have as to what you see as needed for our future.

Richard

[Chris Miller]

I'm not sure whether text revision or a change of practice is the right way to go about this idea: I believe that we must re-emphasize the link between Baptism and Eucharist and find a more prominent role for the Baptismal Covenant in our liturgy. In my experience the Baptismal Covenant is only said at baptism, confirmation/reception, and Easter -- certainly not enough.

Would it be appropriate to use the Baptismal Covenant in the place of the Creed in the Eucharistic liturgy? After all, the Baptismal Covenant is the Apostle's Creed with the five 'life-action clauses'. The regular recitation of the Creed, as a confession of the faith, without the action clauses found in the baptismal covenant has the subliminal effect of turning faith into a mere intellectual activity. To incorporate the covenental promises of baptism into the Eucharistic liturgy may help remind people that ministry is the work of all the baptized and that faith is much more than an intellectual exercise.

Chris

[Richard Geoffrey Leggett]

Dear Chris,

I know of the use of the baptismal covenant in ordination rites in several dioceses. This use is understood as a way of holding up the place of the ordained within the baptismal community.

I think that it is appropriate to use the baptismal covenant --- but not every Sunday. The danger is that the covenant becomes so frequently used that it loses some of its impact. So, I think that it is important to identify occasions when the covenant would be appropriate --- baptisms for sure, but other times such as when the propers lend themselves to a baptismal focus in the preaching or stewardship Sunday or the like.

What you are suggesting is that the rubric on the Creed in the eucharist be expanded to include some reference to the baptismal covenant and some suggestions as to appropriate occasions.

Thank you.

Richard

[John Seib]

High Time!
Though I wonder if it isn't even too late... I have given up on many of the collects in favour of Lutheran and other resources. While I do appreciate our need for a 'central' publication, the internet has made it much easier to source well-crafted materials for worship.
There's also a real problem when worship books get too big... page-flipping (the Anglican curse) gets worse making our worships even less accessible and many of our seniors simply can't hold the weight. In my last parish, we developed a system of small binders with inserted liturgies, special music, parish info, etc... The liturgies were downloaded from the Book Centre's disc. This works very well but can be labour intensive or run the risk of boring should you decide to stick with only one liturgy (and Eucharistic Prayer) for long periods. Currently, I'm printing the whole service every week. The congregation loves it and I can easily do over-sized copies.
I agree completely that we need leaders that know how to craft liturgical rites... unfortunately, this is not a gift that is bestowed on all seminarians and (in my experience) it scares the proverbial out of many others.
Please pardon my fragmented responses!
John

[Richard Geoffrey Leggett]

Dear John,

Thank you for your note. I do not think that it is too late, but I do think that it is important to maintain some momentum as we approach General Synod 2010.

One of my concerns is that the internet has the potential to affect our tradition of 'common' prayer, that is to say, a liturgical community that shares both liturgical structures and texts. Without a 'central' publication, many people are left to the mercy of the 'taste' of the presider or whoever is responsible for the planning of liturgical rites. It has the potential to become a new and perhaps invidious form of 'clericalism'.

Just an initial response.

Richard