All Saints' Day

Today, November 1, is All Saints' Day!  Many Protestant churches transfer All Saints' Day to the following Sunday and observe All Saints' on Sunday.  We will be doing that in our congregation, as well.  However, I wanted to make sure that I published a post, today.  

As The United Methodist Book of Worship reminds us, "All Saints (November 1 or the first Sunday in November) is a day of remembrance for the saints, with the New Testament meaning of all Christian people of every time and place.  We celebrate the communion of saints as we remember the dead, both of the Church universal and of our local congregations.  For this reason, the names of persons in the congregation who have died during the past year may be solemnly read as a Response to the Word."

Since, All Saints' is not only a recognition of death, but also a celebration of life through the Resurrection, all of the paraments, banners & stoles are white, which is the joyful and festive color used at Christmas and Easter.

All Saints' was a favorite of John Wesley's.  He mentioned it four times in his journal.  On All Saints' in 1748, Wesley said, "Being All-Saints' day, we had a solemn assembly at the chapel; as I cannot but observe, we have had on this very day, for several years.  Surely, 'right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints!'"  In 1756 Wesley says, "November 1, was a day of triumphant joy, as All-Saints' Day generally is.  How superstitious are they who scruple giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints!"  In 1767, he included in his journal the following comments: "Being All-Saints' Day, (a festival I dearly love,) I could not but observe the admirable propriety with which the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for the day are suited to each other." 

The Collect for the day from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (which would be the Prayer Book Wesley used) reads as follows (and I would encourage all to pray):

O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

 

The Epistle was Revelation 7:2-12.  The Gospel was Matthew 5:1-12.  -  I would encourage you to read these Scripture lessons.

 

The year prior to this entry, Wesley wrote, "'God, who hath knit together his elect in one communion and fellowship,' gave us a solemn season at West-Street (as usual) in praising him for all his Saints.  On this day in particular, I commonly find the truth of these words:

 

The Church triumphant in his love,

Their mighty joys we know;

They praise the Lamb in hymns above,

And we in hymns below."

 

 

That is the second verse of Charles Wesley's "Happy the Souls to Jesus Joined."  Unfortunately, that hymn is not found in either The United Methodist Hymnal, nor the Nazarene's Sing to the Lord hymnal.  Three verses of it did appear in the older The Methodist Hymnal.  (I still need to check the two most recent hymnals that include Wesley hymns!)  The four verses, below, were taken from the Wesley Hymns book, compiled by Ken Bible and published by Lillenas Publishing Company (Nazarene):

 

 

1.) Happy the souls to Jesus joined

And saved by grace alone.

Walking in all Thy ways they find

Their heaven on earth begun.

 

2.) The Church triumphant in Thy love,

Their mighty joys we know;

They sing the Lamb in hymns above,

And we in hymns below.

 

3.) Thee in Thy glorious realm they praise,

And bow before Thy throne;

We in the kingdom of Thy grace;

The kingdoms are but one.

 

4.) The holy to the holiest leads;

From thence our spirits rise.

He that in all Thy statutes treads

Shall meet Thee in the skies.

 

 

Since the hymn is in common meter, it can be sung to a number of familiar tunes, not the least of which is Wesley's "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" (Azmon).  We will be singing it this Sunday to Land of Rest (which is the tune that the Nazarene hymnal uses for Wesley's "All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord").

 

It is unfortunate that more of our churches do not have an All Saints' Day service on November 1, no matter the day on which it falls.  However, with the transference that most Protestant churches do, to the following Sunday, All Saints' becomes a major focus during the primary service of worship. 

 

May God be praised for all of His saints who have finished their course and have become for us such a great cloud of witnesses!

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

The Journal entries were taken from the Jackson edition of Wesley's Works.

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

Today we celebrate Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1556).  One of my seminary professors once commented, as we look back to John Wesley as our spiritual father, we ought to look to Thomas Cranmer as a spiritual grandfather.

Cranmer was the major force in the English Reformation, and the person to whom thanks is due (in Christ!) for the Book of Common Prayer (in its variety of forms). Cranmer was primarily responsible for the very first Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and its first revision in 1552. In his development of the BCP, Cranmer followed closely the medieval forms of worship, especially the Old Sarum rites.

The 1662 BCP, which is still in use in the Church of England, as well as other Anglican provinces, and which is considered the standard by which all other Prayer Books are gaged, was a revision of Cranmer's previous work.

Especially important for Wesleyan-Anglicans, John Wesley, in the preface to his own edition of the (1662) BCP (viz., The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America), says, "I believe there is no liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety, than the Common Prayer of the Church of England. And though the main of it was compiled considerably more than two hundred years ago, yet is the language of it, not only pure, but strong and elegant in the highest degree."

Thomas Cranmer was born in Aslockton, Nottinghamshire on July 2, 1489. He earned his B.A., M.A. & a Fellowship from Jesus College, Cambridge, and became a Doctor of Divinity, a lecturer in the same school. Cranmer was highly influenced by the Lutheran reformers. King Henry the Eighth, with confirmation from the Pope, appointed Cranmer to the See of Canterbury, and he was consecrated Archbishop on March 30, 1533.

When Queen Mary the First took the throne, as a staunch Roman Catholic, she had Cranmer arrested due to the protestant reforms he had implemented in the English Church. On March 21, 1556, Thomas Cranmer, along with other church leaders, was burned at the stake.

Thomas Cranmer has influenced and continues to influence countless Christians in their spiritual formation and lives through the Book of Common Prayer, and all who use a version of the Book of Common Prayer or a liturgy that has been influence by one of the Prayer Books owe an immeasurable debt to Thomas Cranmer.

Even those in the Church of the Nazarenes who are decided "non-liturgical" owe an immense debt to Cranmer. Our own ritual for the Lord's Supper in our Manual (Book of Discipline), until our last General Assembly, was an abbreviated form of the Methodist Episcopal ritual, which came from Wesley's Sunday Service, which was a conservative revision of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. Even more important, Wesley's understanding of holiness was, in many ways, shaped and supported by the liturgy of the Anglican Church, and the Collect of Purity at the beginning of the Communion service (and found as #58 in our Sing to the Lord hymnal) has been said to encapsulate our understanding of holiness:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For more information on Thomas Cranmer, I commend to you the Episcopal Church's Lesser Feasts and Fasts - 1997, For All the Saints: A Calendar of Commemorations Second Edition (OSL), and the "Introduction" to The First English Prayer Book.  For a much more detailed study of Cranmer, see God Truly Worshipped: A Thomas Cranmer Reader by Jonathan Dean, and Diarmaid MacColloch's Thomas Cranmer: A Life.

Let us give thanks to God for Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury!

The Continued Value of Written Prayers

Today, I was searching my blog for a particular quote, when I ran across a post that I had made back in 2012.  It was a response to a colleague who, as a part of an assignment for a "Spiritual Formation" class, had interviewed me about my regular use of written prayers.  The specific question that he had asked was, "How does your use of written or rote prayers help you to know God and to grow in your faith?"  

Ironically, I am currently teaching a class on Spiritual Formation, and I recently recommended to my class their taking a look at the Book of Common Prayer.  It is likely that, if I were to be asked that same question today, my answer may include some additional elements, but I think that the original answer that I gave back in 2012 still rings true.  And, perhaps it may be helpful for some who, today, may have a similar question about the value of written prayers.  -  With that in mind, I have copied my original response, below:

I have, for the past 12 years [now 21 years], or so, prayed the Daily Office as a part of my spiritual disciplines.  At times, it has just been Morning Prayer.  At other times, I have prayed Morning and Evening Prayer.  I also pray the Litany on Wednesdays and Fridays.

In praying the Daily Office, I have most often used John Wesley’s The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, which was his (slight) revision of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer from the Church of England.  -  John Wesley faithfully prayed the Daily Office each day, and he passed on to the Methodists in North America a Prayer Book for their use each Lord’s Day.

In addition, I use other written prayers from the BCP and other sources in both corporate worship and personal devotions.

These prayers do not replace, but supplement my other prayers.

I find that God uses these prayers to help to shape me as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.  The prayers have been prayed by Christians back to the early Church all the way up to today from around the world.  In this regard, God reminds me that, while my relationship with the Lord is deeply personal, it is not at all isolated.  God has made us to be a people, not just individualistic, “Lone Ranger” Christians.  -  The prayers serve as a sort of catechism in molding me in the Christian faith and life.

God uses these prayers to help me to pray beyond myself, as well.  By that I mean that they keep me from focusing just on my own concerns and move me to pray for those things that God would have me be concerned about.  Thus, God shapes my outlook and shapes me in Christlikeness. 

The prayers give me words that better articulate my own prayers.  They help me say what needs to be said.

Through these prayers God teaches me about my relationship to God, in that they set my priorities in prayer.  They call me to confession, but also remind me of God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness.  They remind me that thanksgiving is more than with “our lips,” but “with our lives.”

One of the most important prayers, for me, is the Collect of Purity.  While it is not a part of the Daily Office, it is a part of the regular Sunday service of worship, and I have incorporated it as part of my personal disciplines.  It is prayed by Anglicans and others every Sunday.  It has been said that it summarizes well what Wesley was talking about when he spoke of Christian Perfection (or Entire Sanctification).  It is a part of the context in which Wesley developed and articulated this biblical doctrine.  -  As I recall, P.F. Bresee once responded to some Episcopalians by saying something like, Why do you consider it strange that Nazarenes claim that God answers the prayer that you pray every Sunday? 

Since we are called to live under God’s sanctifying grace each day, the Collect of Purity is a prayer that helps me to seek God’s face, each day to the end that God might “cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of [God’s] Holy Spirit that [I] might perfectly love [God] and worthily magnify [God’s] holy name through Christ our Lord.”

Through these prayers, God focuses my day.  God draws me to Himself.  And then, in Evening Prayer, God puts my day in perspective and review.  -  At this point, I simply could not conceive of not including written prayers as a part of my spiritual discipline.

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

Today we celebrate Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1556).  One of my seminary professors once commented, as we look back to John Wesley as our spiritual father, we ought to look to Thomas Cranmer as a spiritual grandfather.

Cranmer was the major force in the English Reformation, and the person to whom thanks is due (in Christ!) for the Book of Common Prayer (in its variety of forms). Cranmer was primarily responsible for the very first Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and its first revision in 1552. In his development of the BCP, Cranmer followed closely the medieval forms of worship, especially the Old Sarum rites.

The 1662 BCP, which is still in use in the Church of England, as well as other Anglican provinces, and which is considered the standard by which all other Prayer Books are gaged, was a revision of Cranmer's previous work.

Especially important for Wesleyan-Anglicans, John Wesley, in the preface to his own edition of the (1662) BCP (viz., The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America), says, "I believe there is no liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety, than the Common Prayer of the Church of England. And though the main of it was compiled considerably more than two hundred years ago, yet is the language of it, not only pure, but strong and elegant in the highest degree."

Thomas Cranmer was born in Aslockton, Nottinghamshire on July 2, 1489. He earned his B.A., M.A. & a Fellowship from Jesus College, Cambridge, and became a Doctor of Divinity, a lecturer in the same school. Cranmer was highly influenced by the Lutheran reformers. King Henry the Eighth, with confirmation from the Pope, appointed Cranmer to the See of Canterbury, and he was consecrated Archbishop on March 30, 1533.

When Queen Mary the First took the throne, as a staunch Roman Catholic, she had Cranmer arrested due to the protestant reforms he had implemented in the English Church. On March 21, 1556, Thomas Cranmer, along with other church leaders, was burned at the stake.

Thomas Cranmer has and continues to influence countless Christians in their spiritual formation and lives through the Book of Common Prayer, and all who use a version of the Book of Common Prayer or a liturgy that has been influence by one of the Prayer Books owe an immeasurable debt to Thomas Cranmer.

Even non-liturgical Nazarenes owe an immense debt to Cranmer. Our own ritual for the Lord's Supper in our Manual (Book of Discipline), until our last General Assembly, was an abbreviated form of the Methodist Episcopal ritual, which came from Wesley's Sunday Service, which was a version of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. Even more important, Wesley's understanding of holiness was, in many ways, shaped and supported by the liturgy of the Anglican Church, and the Collect of Purity at the beginning of the Communion service (and found as #58 in our Sing to the Lord hymnal, has been said to encapsulate our understanding of holiness:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For more information on Thomas Cranmer, I commend to you the Episcopal Church's Lesser Feasts and Fasts - 1997, For All the Saints: A Calendar of Commemorations Second Edition (OSL), and the "Introduction" to James' printing of The First English Prayer Book.  For an much more detailed study of Cranmer, see God Truly Worshipped: A Thomas Cranmer Reader by Jonathan Dean, and Diarmaid MacColloch's Thomas Cranmer: A Life.

Let us give thanks to God for Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury!

The Collect for the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy household the

Church in continual godliness; that through

thy protection it may be free from all adversities,

and devoutly given to serve thee in good works,

 to the glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

The Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Lord, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace

to withstand the temptations of the world, the

flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and

minds to follow thee, the only God, through Jesus

Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Deus Misereatur

For those who pray Evening Prayer using John Wesley's The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, the response to the New Testament lesson is Psalm 67, also known as the Deus misereatur.  (For those who use other forms of the Book of Common Prayer, this is one of the choices for the New Testament response, but in Wesley's brevity, he did not provide multiple choices!)

Since my pattern has been to read through the Old and New Testaments, along with the Psalms, during Morning and Evening Prayer without following a lectionary, there have been times when I end up reading the very Psalm that I would otherwise use for a response to the Old or New Testament lesson.  This morning, however, I read the 67th Psalm (which I will read as a response in Evening Prayer).

One of the striking things, when this happens, is the difference in language between Wesley's Prayer Book and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (which is what I usually use).  And so, I thought I would post both versions on my blog.  -  For what it's worth, I would confess that, while I pray using Wesley's Prayer Book, if I were to hold a public service, I almost always would use a modern English version (e.g., the new ACNA texts).  The problem with that is the desire at a couple of points to make the kind of editing changes that Wesley made when providing The Sunday Service for the Methodist people.

Here are the two versions of the Psalm.  First will be the version as it appears in the Office of Evening Prayer in The Sunday Service:

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us.
That thy way may be known upon earth; thy saving health among all nations.
Let the people praise thee, O God: yea, let all the people praise thee.
O let the nations rejoice and be glad; for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.
Let the people praise thee, O God: yea, let all the people praise thee.
Then shall the earth bring forth her increase; and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.
God shall bless us: and all the ends of the world shall fear him.

And now, the version found in the NRSV.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

 

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be:

world without end.

Amen.

The Collect for Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

This Sunday's Collect is a great prayer!

Almighty and everlasting God, who art always

more ready to hear than we are to pray, and

art wont to give more than either we desire or

deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of thy

mercy, forgiving us those things whereof our

conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things

which we are not worthy to ask, but through the

merits and mediation of Jesus Christ thy Son, our

Lord.  Amen.

 

(From the Book of Common Prayer, John Wesley's The Sunday Service)

Taking Up the Daily Office for Lent

The Constitution of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society encourages members of the Society to pray the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer, as well as to pray the Litany on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

I have made this a habit for years and find it to be an important part of my spiritual life.  Though there have been occasions when I have been able to pray the Daily Office in a group, usually this is something that I do alone.  -  And yet, I am keenly aware that I am not alone.  Rather, I am joined by sisters and brothers around the world and throughout time, from various traditions within the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 

Over the years, I have prayed using various versions of the Book of Common Prayer including the 1662, the 1928, the 1979, the ACNA version, and Wesley's The Sunday Service.  This latter one is the version that I have most often used.  -  A link to each of these BCP versions can be found on the sidebar of this blog.

We are now in the beginning days of Lent.  If the praying of the Daily Office is not a current practice for you, I want to encourage you to take it up during this Lenten season.  -  Perhaps you will find it to be as spiritually profitable as I have, as you join in the prayers of the People of God around the world and throughout history!

Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou has given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

(The Book of Common Prayer as given by John Wesley to the people called Methodists)

Collect for the First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever.  Amen.

(The Book of Common Prayer as given by John Wesley to the people called Methodists)

Morning Prayer on Facebook Live

Following the lead of a few colleagues on Facebook, I am going to try something new! 

Tomorrow morning (Friday, Oct. 28), at 9:00 AM (Eastern Time), I will be leading the office of Morning Prayer on Facebook Live!  -  Or at least I'm going to attempt to.

I plan to use John Wesley's conservative revision of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, known as The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America.

If you do not have a copy of The Sunday Service, you should be able to follow along with the 1662 BCP.  Or, there is a link on the sidebar for The Sunday Service.  The link is to the British version, which is nearly identical.  The only time I think you will find a difference is toward the end, when we get to the prayers for the government.  -  We won't be praying for the Queen. (Though you can if you want!)

I hope you will look me up an Facebook and join me in Morning Prayer!

Prayer Book Videos

Are you a Prayer Book Christian who attends a non-Prayer Book congregation?  Are you a pastor in a Wesleyan tradition church who would like to incorporate some of how Wesley worshipped in your current church worship practice?

The Prayer Book Society has provided a great resource.  They have provided videos of various Prayer Book services as examples of how these services are conducted in the Church of England.  The services included from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (the Prayer Book that Wesley, himself, used) are:  Holy Communion; Morning Prayer; Evening Prayer; Baptism; Marriage; and Burial.  Each of these are provided in a narrated version and a version without narration.

It should be kept in mind, these are in a Church of England setting and they are read services.  That is to say, they are not culturally American, nor is any singing or music provided.  -  Further, it should be kept in mind that the services are from the 1662 BCP.  That is to say, they are not in contemporary language usage.  If one is using Wesley's version, you will see where Wesley abridged the services.  If you are using the American 1928, you will notice some differences.  If you are using the 1978 version, you will notice a lot of changes.  The new services from the Anglican Church in North America provide a contemporary language version that also differs, but not as much as the 1978.  (For my part, what I have used where I serve is a contemporized version of John Wesley's The Sunday Service, using the ACNA material as a guide to contemporize.)

One can follow this link to find the videos.  -  They also include a couple of services from "Series One," and a bonus video about Archbishop Cranmer and the Prayer Book Tradition. (which I think I have reproduced here, in a previous post).

I hope you find these helpful, or at least interesting!

Good Friday Hymns & Prayers

Today, as we observe the sacrifice and crucifixion of our Lord, through which He has taken away the sin of the world, I commend the following two Wesley hymns followed by the prayers for Good Friday from the Book of Common Prayer.

 

Would Jesus Have the Sinner Die?

 

Would Jesus have the sinner die?

Why hangs He then on yonder tree?

What means that strange, expiring cry?

Sinners, He prays for you and me:

"Forgive them, Father, O forgive!

They know not that by Me they live!"

 

Adam descended from above

Our loss of Eden to retrieve,

Great God of universal love,

If all the world through Thee may live,

In us a quick'ning Spirit be,

And witness Thou hast died for me.

 

Thou loving, all-atoning Lamb,

Thee - by Thy painful agony,

Thy sweat of blood, Thy grief and shame,

Thy Cross and passion on the tree,

Thy precious death and life - I pray:

Take all, take all my sins away.

 

O let me kiss Thy bleeding feet,

And bathe and wash them with my tears!

The story of Thy love repeat

In ev'ry drooping sinner's ears,

That all may hear the quick'ning sound,

Since I, e'en I, have mercy found.

 

O let Thy love my heart constrain!

Thy love for ev'ry sinner free,

That ev'ry fallen soul of man

May taste the grace that found out me;

That all mankind with me may prove

Thy sov'reign, everlasting love

 

************************************

 

O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done?

 

O love divine, what hast Thou done?

Th'immortal God hath died for me!

The Father's co-eternal Son

Bore all my sins upon the tree;

Th'immortal God for me hath died

My Lord, my Love is crucified

 

Behold Him, all ye that pass by,

The bleeding Prince of life and peace!

Come, sinners, see your Maker died

And say, was ever grief like His?

come, feel with me His blood applied;

My Lord, my Love is crucified.

 

Is crucified for me and you,

To bring us rebels back to God.

Believe, believe the record true;

Ye all are bought with Jesus' blood.

Pardon for all flows from His side;

My Lord, my Love is crucified.

 

The let us sit beneath His Cross

And gladly catch the healing stream.

All things for Him account but loss

And give up all our hearts to Him.

Of nothing think or speak beside:

My Lord, my Love is crucified.

 

********************************************

 

Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.  Amen.

 

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified; Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before thee for all estates of men in thy holy Church, that every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may truly and godly serve thee, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

O Merciful God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that thou hast made, nor wouldest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted, and live; Have mercy upon all who know thee not as thou art revealed in the Gospel of thy Son, and take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of they Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end.  Amen.

 

Epistle:  Hebrews 10:1-25

 

Gospel: John 19:1-37

The Book of Common Prayer

I recently posted the following video on my Facebook profile page.  It comes from St. Peter's Anglican Church in Evans, Georgia.  Their descriptor reads, "The Anglican Book of Common Prayer that guides our worship and forms our belief."

This, too, is our heritage as Wesleyan Christians.  We are reminded that John Wesley gave to us a conservative version of the Book of Common Prayer to guide our worship and form our beliefs, as well.  He called it "The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America." 

For those Wesleyan/Methodist Christians who are unfamiliar with our Prayer Book heritage, I comment "The Sunday Service" to you.  -  May God truly shape our faith and life.

Post by St. Peter's Anglican Church Evans Georgia.

Anglican 1000, Atlanta Begins

Tonight marked the opening service of worship for the Anglican 1000 Atlanta Regional Event.  Bishop Todd Hunter served as preacher, and Bishop Foley Beach presided at the Table.

The service was quite good.  The music was lead by two amped, acoustic guitars and one of those beat box, drum things that you set on (what do you call those things?).  It was a blend of more contemporary songs and hymns, but, of course, the hymns had a contemporized sound.

I was surprised, however, that the service was a bit less . . . formal than I anticipated.  I'm not talking about the expressiveness of those worshipping.  It was refreshing to be among liturgical folks raising their hands in worship.  That really looks much like the kind of Wesleyan-Anglican church I would like to develop.

The lack of formality to which I am referring includes the clergy not vesting, except at the time of serving at the Table.  The deacon and Bishop Beach then donned stoles only.  Further, the service did not utilize the newly approved ACNA texts.  The Eucharistic prayers were much abbreviated.  They did, though, include the sanctus, words of institution, and epiclesis.

I was actually looking forward to experiencing a service using the new texts.  Nevertheless, the service went well.  In fact, it is causing me to continue rethinking the length of the Eucharistic texts I have adapted and contemporized from Wesley's The Sunday Service.  I have been considering whether and how I might abbreviate them.

Another change that they made was the use of the general prayer of confession at the beginning of the service, while leaving out the invitation and confession prior to coming to the sacrament.  -  By the way the service was conducted, I supposed that Bishop Beach's background was The Episcopal Church.  Upon checking, I discovered I was correct.

I look forward to the worship services during the rest of the week.  Friday & Saturday morning services are identified as "Worship/Morning Prayer," but tomorrow's service is listed as "Worship."  -  It does not look like there will be another Eucharistic service.

I am also looking forward to the various plenary sessions and workshops.  It looks to be a great week!

All Saints'

Yesterday was All Saints' Day.  Thus, I'm a little late with this post, but, since many Protestant churches transfer All Saints' Day to the following Sunday and observe All Saints' on Sunday, I thought I would go ahead and post!  (Plus, I did post an article on All Hallow's Eve, so that's not too bad!)

As The United Methodist Book of Worship reminds us, "All Saints (November 1 or the first Sunday in November) is a day of remembrance for the saints, with the New Testament meaning of all Christian people of every time and place.  We celebrate the communion of saints as we remember the dead, both of the Church universal and of our local congregations.  For this reason, the names of persons in the congregation who have died during the past year may be solemnly read as a Response to the Word."

Since, All Saints' is not only a recognition of death, but also a celebration of life through the Resurrection, all of the paraments, banners & stoles are white, which is the joyful and festive color used at Christmas and Easter.

All Saints' was a favorite of John Wesley's.  He mentioned it four times in his journal.  On All Saints' in 1748, Wesley said, "Being All-Saints' day, we had a solemn assembly at the chapel; as I cannot but observe, we have had on this very day, for several years.  Surely, 'right dear in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints!'"  In 1756 Wesley says, "November 1, was a day of triumphant joy, as All-Saints' Day generally is.  How superstitious are they who scruple giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints!"  In 1767, he included in his journal the following comments: "Being All-Saints' Day, (a festival I dearly love,) I could not but observe the admirable propriety with which the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for the day are suited to each other." 

The Collect for the day from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (which would be the Pray Book Wesley used) reads as follows (and I would encourage all to pray):

O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

 

The Epistle was Revelation 7:2-12.  The Gospel was Matthew 5:1-12.  -  I would encourage you to read these Scripture lessons.

 

The year prior to this entry, Wesley wrote, "'God, who hath knit together his elect in one communion and fellowship,' gave us a solemn season at West-Street (as usual) in praising him for all his Saints.  On this day in particular, I commonly find the truth of these words:

 

The Church triumphant in his love,

Their mighty joys we know;

They praise the Lamb in hymns above,

And we in hymns below."

 

 

That is the second verse of Charles Wesley's "Happy the Souls to Jesus Joined."  Unfortunately, that hymn is not found in either The United Methodist Hymnal, nor the Nazarene's Sing to the Lord hymnal.  Three verses of it did appear in the older The Methodist Hymnal.  The four verses, below, were taken from the Wesley Hymns book, compiled by Ken Bible and published by Lillenas Publishing Company (Nazarene):

 

 

1.) Happy the souls to Jesus joined

And saved by grace alone.

Walking in all Thy ways they find

Their heaven on earth begun.

 

2.) The Church triumphant in Thy love,

Their mighty joys we know;

They sing the Lamb in hymns above,

And we in hymns below.

 

3.) Thee in Thy glorious realm they praise,

And bow before Thy throne;

We in the kingdom of Thy grace;

The kingdoms are but one.

 

4.) The holy to the holiest leads;

From thence our spirits rise.

He that in all Thy statutes treads

Shall meet Thee in the skies.

 

 

Since the hymn is in common meter, it can be sung to a number of familiar tunes, not the least of which is Wesley's "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" (Azmon).  We will be singing it this Sunday to Land of Rest (which is the tune that the Nazarene hymnal uses for Wesley's "All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord").

 

It is unfortunate that more of our churches do not have an All Saints' Day service on November 1, no matter the day on which it falls.  However, with the transference that most Protestant churches do, to the following Sunday, All Saints' becomes a major focus during the primary service of worship. 

 

May God be praised for all of His saints who have finished their course and have become for us such a great cloud of witnesses!

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

The Journal entries were taken from the Jackson edition of Wesley's Works.



Common Prayer Texts Finally Available!

 

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.

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.

Written Prayers and Growing in the Faith

Recently, a pastoral colleague of mine asked me to help him complete an assignment for a "Spiritual Formations" class.  His assignment was to interview someone who regularly uses written prayers as a part of their devotional disciplines.  The question that he asked me was:

"How does your use of written or rote prayers help you to know God and to grow in your faith?"

My response was as follows:

I have, for the past 12 years, or so, prayed the Daily Office as a part of my spiritual disciplines.  At times, it has just been Morning Prayer.  At other times, I have prayed Morning and Evening Prayer.  I also pray the Litany on Wednesdays and Fridays.

In praying the Daily Office, I have most often used John Wesley’s The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, which was his (slight) revision of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer from the Church of England.  -  John Wesley faithfully prayed the Daily Office each day, and he passed on to the Methodists in North America a Prayer Book for their use each Lord’s Day.

In addition, I use other written prayers from the BCP and other sources in both corporate worship and personal devotions.

These prayers do not replace, but supplement my other prayers.

I find that God uses these prayers to help to shape me as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.  The prayers have been prayed by Christians back to the early Church all the way up to today from around the world.  In this regard, God reminds me that, while my relationship with the Lord is deeply personal, it is not at all isolated.  God has made us to be a people, not just individualistic, “Lone Ranger” Christians.  -  The prayers serve as a sort of catechism in molding me in the Christian faith and life.

God uses these prayers to help me to pray beyond myself, as well.  By that I mean that they keep me from focusing just on my own concerns and move me to pray for those things that God would have me be concerned about.  Thus, God shapes my outlook and shapes me in Christlikeness. 

The prayers give me words that better articulate my own prayers.  They help me say what needs to be said.

Through these prayers God teaches me about my relationship to God, in that they set my priorities in prayer.  They call me to confession, but also remind me of God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness.  They remind me that thanksgiving is more than with “our lips,” but “with our lives.”

One of the most important prayers, for me, is the Collect of Purity.  While it is not a part of the Daily Office, it is a part of the regular Sunday service of worship, and I have incorporated it as part of my personal disciplines.  It is prayed by Anglicans and others every Sunday.  It has been said that it summarizes well what Wesley was talking about when he spoke of Christian Perfection (or Entire Sanctification).  It is a part of the context in which Wesley developed and articulated this biblical doctrine.  -  As I recall, P.F. Bresee once responded to some Episcopalians by saying something like, Why do you consider it strange that Nazarenes claim that God answers the prayer that you pray every Sunday? 

Since we are called to live under God’s sanctifying grace each day, the Collect of Purity is a prayer that helps me to seek God’s face, each day to the end that God might “cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of [God’s] Holy Spirit that [I] might perfectly love [God] and worthily magnify [God’s] holy name through Christ our Lord.”

Through these prayers, God focuses my day.  God draws me to Himself.  And then, in Evening Prayer, God puts my day in perspective and review.  -  At this point, I simply could not conceive of not including written prayers as a part of my spiritual discipline.