I'm joining The Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission (APLM)--it's an organization that promotes good worship, basically. For them (and me) in the Anglican/Episcopal context that means promoting the role of baptism in defining Christian Mission and Eucharist as the principle act of Christian worship. I know, these ideas are no longer considered as radical as they once were, but there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of their proper application. For instance, the implications for how baptismal preparation should be done are profound. Baptismal prep ought to be more than just an hour on the Saturday before the big day! So the APLM is a way to engage with the community of people who are doing interesting, progressive, and Spirit-led things with liturgy in the church.
We had our staff lunch at the Pour House today. It's a cold and rainy day, so I went with the Steak and Guinness Pie and a pint of Ale. When you're in a pub you should eat pub food, IMHO.
A few weeks ago I dropped off some historic architectural drawings from the construction of the church for framing. I picked them up today from the Tanglewood Gallery and was impressed with the results. I chose to have them "floating" on the matte, so you can see the frayed and burned edges. It really says something about the parish to have these beautiful yet battle-worn drawings properly mounted and displayed. My next parish identity project is going to be to assemble a gallery of the previous Rectors of the parish. No doubt that will take some time, but we'll see how far I get before we do the Parish History-Taking workshop of December 8th. On that day, we'll spend a few hours as a parish talking about the past glories of the place. Sometime in the new year we'll do a similar workshop focusing on our current mission context. Then a few months later we'll come up with plans and priorities for the next few years.
In the mean time, I've got plenty of brands in the fire! I still haven't heard about that grant I wrote a few weeks back, apparently they had more applications than usual and are behind schedule. Sigh.
-t
4 comments:
Associated Parishes has repeatedly called for the abolition of the transitional diaconate, the bedrock on which all presbyteral ministry rests. They have stated "that Holy Baptism effects the fullness of Christian Initiation" despite the fact that the early church considered baptism and confirmation one unified rite. They have opposed the use of wafer bread in the Eucharist, one of the "six points" of the Catholic Revival.
I'm just sayin'. =P
Honestly, the Transitional Deaconate is one of those traditions in search of a theology. Those 6 months I had to wait between being made Deacon and being made Priest reminded me of the waiting period you have to pass before buying a gun! "Yes, yes, you are priest forever after the Order of Melchizedek, but we want you to wait six more months so that you can learn about service to the poor." As though I hadn't been doing that all through seminary and before. The best arrangement I've seen is when Bishop's Ordain people to the Trans. Deaconate during their last year in seminary--then you can actually function as a Deacon. For most of us, however, the Transitional Deaconate is a pretty confused experience. You basically end up functioning like a priest who's not allowed to celebrate the Eucharist.
Confirmation is another one of those problematic traditions, I think it should either be developed into a rite of passage into adulthood or rolled back into Baptism. Certainly it should not be a prerequisite for communion, since reception comes by faith, not understanding.
As for the bread.... Well, those wafers are good for smoked oysters, but they hardly resemble bread, do they? Anyway, I like them okay for some masses, but other times I prefer actual bread (and actual wine) as they bring us closer to Eucharistic reenactment.
I'm just sayin!
-t
I agree that the transitional diaconate is handled badly. I think it needs to be emphasised as the foundation for all ordained ministry - i.e. not ending once you're priested.
Personally, I am in favour of administering baptism, confirmation, and first communion all at once, Eastern-style. I agree that confirmation should not be a prerequisite for Communion and insofar as this position is a backlash against the old days, I can appreciate it.
I know there are good theological arguments for using a loaf of bread. From a purely personal perspective, I find that "my senses fail me" more often when I am faced with bread that looks like bread. "Lord, I believe! Help thou my unbelief!"
On the bread question, I think a lot depends on what you did at the church where your eucharistic piety was formed--for me that two Episcopal Churches in Kansas, both of which used real bread. As with many liturgical things, I tend to support the idea of a diversity of possible expressions, each of which tends to attract and form certain kinds of Christians. So I'm happy to use real bread for a homey place like COTM, and wafer at a place like SMM that goes for the Grand style.
-t
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