Saturday, October 26, 2013

My "Authentic Christian Worship" Video

During the General Assembly of the international Church of the Nazarene held last June in Indianapolis, I had the opportunity to present a workshop on "Authentic Christian Worship Using John Wesley's Criteria."  -  I have to say, I had a great time, and I am thankful to have had this opportunity.  I am also thankful for all of the positive feedback I received from a number of those who attended the "packed-out" workshop.

The workshop, itself, led to the opportunity to participate in a video interview for Grace & Peace Magazine.  I have added a link to the video on my sidebar.  But, for those not wanting to take the time to click on the link . . . here is the video:




Todd Stepp - Authentic Christian Worship from John Wesley's Perspective from Church of the Nazarene on Vimeo.

Grace & Peace Magazine has provided a host of videos on the topic of worship (as well as other topics.)  Some of the videos fit better with a Wesleyan/Anglican understanding of liturgy & the sacraments than do other videos, but the page is definitely worth taking a look at, especially for those interested in the thoughts of folks in the Church of the Nazarene.  The video page can be viewed, here.

A special thanks goes out to Bryon McLaughlin & all the folks at Grace & Peace Magazine!

(Any district or local church that may be interested in my presenting a workshop along these lines can feel free to contact me!  If it works with my schedule, I would love to present on this topic!)

Common Prayer Texts Finally Available!

 http://www.anglicanchurch.net/img/acna-header-logo.png




This past week the Anglican Church in North America finally made public their Texts for Common Prayer in downloadable format.  (I would have posted this earlier, but I am having some serious issues with my laptop!)  -  The texts include Morning and Evening Prayer, the Holy Eucharist, and the Ordinal. 

This is such exciting news for many of us who have been waiting for the ACNA to produce a Book of Common Prayer; something that is closer to the 1662 version (and, thus, closer to Wesley's version), but which is more "user friendly," i.e., in contemporary English.  It is hoped that it does include some of the good moves that the '79 Prayer Book made (e.g., the recovery of the Passing of the Peace), without making all of the theological shifts made there and without diverging so drastically from the common prayer tradition.

Also exciting is the statement made on the download site that says, "Although Texts for Common Prayer is copyrighted, many of the texts herein are in the public domain. Nothing in the copyright is designed to prohibit congregations from the free use of the texts in the form published."

It has been my hope that the ACNA would publish a form that could simply be taken over and utilized in a Wesleyan/Anglican worship setting.  With the downloadable option, it is likely that, if there are parts that stray from a Wesleyan understanding, they could be edited for use in a Wesleyan setting (though, I am hopeful that such will not be necessary!).


I should note (as does the article) that these are all still "working" texts.  That means that they are not necessarily in final form.  However, they are the approved texts for the Province.  It is hoped that a book form of these texts will be available by January 1, 2014. -  Until then, the texts, themselves, can be downloaded, here.  I have also included a link to them on my sidebar in the Books of Common Prayer section.

For more information about the liturgy project and the Texts for Common Prayer, click, here.

I look forward to praying these forms of the Daily Office, and I look forward to looking more closely at the service for Holy communion.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Praying the Litany

One of the spiritual disciplines that members of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society are encouraged to take on is the praying of the Litany each Wednesday and Friday.  -  The Litany is found in the Book of Common Prayer (in its various forms).  In the 1662 BCP of the Church of England, this "General Supplication" was said to be sung or said after Morning Prayer upon Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

John Wesley passed the Litany on to "the people called Methodists" in his conservative revision of the Prayer Book, which he titled, The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America.  The instruction that Wesley gives in The Sunday Service is that it should be prayed on Wednesdays and Fridays.

One of my colleagues and fellow WAS member, the Rev'd. Daniel McLain Hixon, has given a rendering of the Litany in modern language based on Wesley's version and compared with the 1662 & 1979 Books of Common Prayer.  He has posted this version on his blog, Gloria Deo.  -  I prayed this version, yesterday, and commend it for your consideration.

Friday, October 18, 2013

A Change on the Journey

It has been a long time since I last posted!  -  I have simply been very busy.  Oh, I have had lots of ideas, but have not gotten around to posting them.  -  I hope to get back into a regular habit of posting.

Although this may not be the most positive post to make for my "come back," it seems that today is the most appropriate time to make it, because today is the celebration of the Feast of Saint Luke. 
As such, this is the day that all of the members of the Order of Saint Luke renew their vows and commitments to the Order.  However, for the first time in since 2000, I will not be making those vows.

It is not that I have changed my position concerning the content of the vows, themselves.  They are still very much a part of who I am.  I still "Affirm the Apostolic Hope; Live for the Church of Jesus Christ; Magnify the Sacraments; Seek the Sacramental Life; Promote the Corporate Worship of the Church; Accept the call to Service as put forth by the discipline of the Church and (much of) the Practice of the Order; and, by and large Abide by the Rules of the Order and Indicate that Commitment by Study, Service, Gifts and Practice."  Except, of course, for those things that are specific to membership in the Order, I hold all of these, still.

The problem that I have wrestled with over the years has been the tolerance for such theological and social liberalness (or whatever term you want to use).  It has amazed me, over the years, how many people who are so "conservative" liturgically are so "liberal" theologically, and how many who are so "conservative" theologically are so "liberal" liturgically.  (And, yes, I recognize that those labels are ambiguous and not tremendously helpful.)  Those are just general observations.  It is not to say that all in the OSL fit the former category.  Far from it.  But there is certainly an openness to those who do.

I have had debates with folks in the cyber-chapter of the OSL a number of times over the years.  Those debates were wearisome, and at times even became heated for some in the group.  (In at least one case, maybe a couple of cases, I don't recall, it led to person/s being removed, or their removing themselves.)  Yet, I stuck with the group, because those issues were not at the heart of what the group was supposed to be about.  And, also, because the group was officially tied to the United Methodist Church, and therefore, officially lived under the UMC's social standards.

Those ties are no longer there.  And, while the Order is not likely to actually take an official stand on various social issues, much of what held the Order in check, in this regard, (as I see it) has been removed.

I finally came to the place where I simply did not read the posts on the cyber-chapter, because they could become such an emotional drain for me and a distraction.  Now, that it is time to make my renewal of vows, I have decided not to do so.

Oh, there is still much value in the Order.  I am quite thankful for their publications.  I am sure I will continue to purchase interesting books from them.  And I am very thankful for the Order providing me an opportunity for a liturgical outlet, for conversations, opportunities for learning, a recognition that I am not "alone," and for an introduction to colleagues who have also walked on the "Canterbury Trail."  I thank God for the place that the Order has had in my journey, and for their continued work in worship renewal.  And I pray that God will guide them into the future.

Yet, for me, the newly formed/forming Wesleyan-Anglican Society has filled the void of the Order.  There are, of course, those who hold dual membership.  The Society is not quite the same thing as the Order, and it has not sought to duplicate it.  However, in some ways, it does correspond.  There is the same deep commitment to liturgical & sacramental worship and living.  One difference, however, is that the theological, liturgical, and sacramental emphasis in the Society is more specifically Wesleyan & Anglican, while the Order is much more broad in scope.  The Society seeks to remain consistent within the classical Wesleyan (and, thus, orthodox) theological camp.  Again, the Order is much more broad.  So, in this sense, the Society could be seen as a more conservatively Wesleyan, orthodox alternative to the Order.

The vision of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society is as follows: 
The Wesleyan-Anglican Society is an association of Methodist[1] Christians from various Wesleyan and Anglican denominations who understand themselves to be classically Wesleyan in theology and who embrace a classically Wesleyan-Anglican view of liturgy and the sacraments.
 
And the purpose of the Society is as follows:
The Wesleyan-Anglican Society seeks:
  1. To provide a means of support, encouragement, and fellowship for those who seek to live out a fully Wesleyan understanding of the Christian faith, especially (but not exclusively) in connection with the liturgy of the Church of England as received by the various Wesleyan and Anglican denominations and the sacraments of the church catholic as understood by the same.
  2. To provide a means for Wesleyans and Anglicans all over the world to exchange ideas, experiences, and fellowship as it relates to the reclamation of a Wesleyan theological understanding of the Christian faith, a Wesleyan way of life, and a Wesleyan-Anglican expression of worship.
  3. To be a resource for the promotion of a more holistic Wesleyan understanding of the Christian faith for the churches and denominations within the Wesleyan-Anglican family; especially the promotion of a Wesleyan-Anglican expression of Christian worship.
While the website for the Society can be found, here, it is still in process of development.  The best way to connect with the Society is through the Wesleyan/Anglican Facebook page, here.  One can find access to the WAS constitution in the files section of the Facebook group.

[1] The term Methodist is not intended as a reference to the United Methodist Church or any other particular World Methodist Council denomination (e.g., AME, AMEZ, Church of the Nazarene, CME, Free Methodist Church, or The Wesleyan Church).  Rather, it is being used as a synonym for Wesleyan and refers to those who seek to be Wesleyan in theology as well as live according to the General Rules of Methodism as expressed in the various Wesleyan/Methodist denominations.  Thus, the term is inclusive of individuals across a range of Wesleyan and Anglican denominations as well as other denominations.  The term Methodist was chosen over Wesleyan in order to make the clear connection with those writings of John Wesley which refer to “the people called Methodists.”