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.

An Article of Interest

Today, I read an article linked to Facebook that I thought was worth sharing with those who read this blog.  The article is entitle "Living in the Liturgy: My Anglican Journey."  It was written by Lisa Syner and has been published on the Anglican Pastor site.

Many who come here may well be comfortable in what is often called "liturgical worship."  However, some may be here who are just exploring the liturgy.  For you, especially, I thought that it might be good to read someone else's testimony of the power of God at work through the liturgy; a liturgy similar to the one that John Wesley left those of us in the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition.

Now, I say, "similar," because the worship described is based in a version of the Book of Common Prayer, and John Wesley gave to the Methodists in North America a version of the prayer book, as well.  Nevertheless, it is unlikely that one would have smelled incense during worship in Wesley's service, nor would you likely have seen anyone genuflecting during Wesley's day (though, perhaps, there would be the bowing of the head).  Some of those kinds of things were recovered in the Anglican tradition after Wesley's time.  -  In any case, the author of the article describes her first experience of this kind of worship, and expresses how God has used it in a powerful way to shape her life.

Wherever you fall in your experience of worship, I hope that you find the article helpful.  It can be found, here.

At the Hour of Prayer . . . the Power of God at Work

The liturgical tradition is often characterized by those in the more "free church" tradition, and especially in the Pentecostal or Charismatic traditions, as being lifeless.  They may even quote St. Paul's second letter to Timothy where he refers to those who hold "to the outward form of godliness" but who deny its power.

Now, if I'm honest (and I hope to be!), there is some justification for this characterization in some situations (maybe in many situations).  I recall a parishioner during a former pastorate who came to our church having spent a little time in a local Episcopal Church.  Her response to that church was, "There is so much power in the liturgy!"  - I agree!  After all, I'm Wesleyan-ANGLICAN!  -  "But," she said, "they just don't seem to get it!"  -  I've been there and seen that.  I know exactly what she was talking about. 

Yet, this need not be the case!  In fact, that is a big part of what being a Wesleyan-Anglican is all about.  It is recognizing and promoting the fact that these two aspects are not mutually exclusive.  And in my Scripture reading during Morning Prayer, today, I read a passage that illustrates this quite well.  It is a passage that demonstrates that the Early, New Testament Church was steeped in liturgy as well as filled with the power of God.

The passage comes from Acts 3:1-7 (it continues on, but I'm only going to quote these seven verses):

     One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock
     in the afternoon.  And a man lame from birth was being carried in.  People would lay him
     daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from
     those entering the temple.  When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he
     asked them for alms.  Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." 
     And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.  But Peter
     said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of
     Nazareth, stand up and walk."  And he took him by the right hand and raised him
     up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong (NRSV).

Obviously, this passage could be pointed to as an example of the miraculous power of God at work in and through the apostles.  Certainly, Peter and John would not be counted among those who would deny the power of God.  And, of course, we know that God shows no partiality (cf. Acts 10:34).  The truth is, God can still bring miraculous healing, today.  This is not to deny that God sometimes brings healing through the means of medical Science or that God sometimes chooses to wait until a person sees God face to face.  But these latter instances ought not deny that God can heal instantaneously, as well.

However, a point that is sometimes overlooked is that all of this takes place in the context of verse one.  There, again, we read that Peter and John were headed to the temple "at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon."  This was actually one of the three set hours for prayer.  What is important to note is that this "hour of prayer," was not simply about a gathering for individual or extemporaneous prayer.  Rather, these times of prayer included the recital or chanting of psalms, the reading of passages from the Old Testament and the use of canticles.  In other words, these times of prayer included set forms of prayer.  And in fact, it was these hours of prayer that led to what we in the Anglican tradition refer to as the Daily office of Morning and Evening Prayer.

All of this to say, formal, liturgical, corporate forms of prayer are NOT antithetical to the miraculous power of God at work in and through the people of God.  In fact, it can be argued that, contrary to what we often see in the Church of our day, both the form and the power of godliness should go hand in hand.

A Few Quotes from Tom Noble

I just finished reading Holy Trinity: Holy People: The Theology of Christian Perfecting by T. A. Noble, Cascade Books, Eugene, Oregon.  -  Thomas Noble is Professor of Theology at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO (where I did my M.Div., though he was not teaching there when I attended).  He is also Senior Research Fellow in Theology at Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK, and recently served as the president of the Wesleyan Theological Society.

The book is a part of the Didsbury Lecture Series.  These lectures are given annually at the Nazarene Theological College in Manchester.  Dr. Noble notes, at the beginning, that "since the Church of the Nazarene stands in the Wesleyan tradition, and is . . . a member of the World Methodist Council, we decided to call the series the 'Didsbury Lectures' to commemorate the former Methodist Didsbury College.  -  Five of the first ten Didsbury lecturers were Methodists" (xi).  (Incidentally, as I look back through the list of lecturers, I note that two of my former seminary professors were included in the list, as were some other well known names like I. Howard Marshall, C.K. Barrett, J.D.G. Dunn, and then there was the Rt. Rev'd N.T. Wright in 2005.)

In the book, Noble grounds the doctrine of Christian Perfection in the Holy Trinity, and he clearly shows how Wesley inherited the doctrine from the Church Fathers.

But, for the purpose of the is post, I simply wanted to highlight a few quotes found in the last few pages of the book; quotes that focus us on worship, liturgy and the sacraments.

In talking about the essential nature of corporate holiness Noble says:
    
     Even Wesley's preaching on Christian holiness concentrates on the individual, but it was the warm fellowship of what were significantly called Methodist "Societies" that were the matrix of holy love which produced genuine Methodist saints.  And his revival of the ancient "love feast" (the agape), along with his strong emphasis on the importance of the Lord's Supper, which is after all not just a "Eucharist" (Thanksgiving), but "Holy Communion" (hagia koinonia), was at the heart of his creative organization of the Methodist Societies.  Too many of Wesley's heirs have lost that focus, being influenced by a "low church" suspicion of liturgy, but a recovery of the church as the matrix for Christian holiness will necessarily include a rediscovery of the centrality of the sacraments (221).

(To which I give a hearty, "Amen!")

Speaking of the mission of God and the Church, Noble says:

     The missio Dei is not the End.  Or to put that another way, the End will end the mission.  Continuing the missio Dei is not the ultimate purpose of God and so mission is not the ultimate purpose of the church.  At the End, the eschaton, the end of "the present evil age" (Galatians 1:4), the mission Dei will end.  It will be completed.  That is vitally important because it means that while mission is an integral and essential part of the nature of the church in this age, it is not what ultimately makes the church to be the church.  The church will still be the church, the body of Christ, in the age to come.  The salvation of the world through the missio Dei is therefore the penultimate purpose of the church, but the ultimate purpose of the church is the glory of God (222).

He goes on to say, "That implies then that the ultimate purpose of the church - the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church - is the worship of the Triune God.  That will be the life of the church in the age to come, and that is the heart of the raison d'eter of the church today" (222).

A little later, Noble, thinking of Marva Dawns work in A Royal "Waste" of Time, says that worship "is done not to gain anything, or achieve anything, or win anything, or produce anything.  It is simply the sheer joy of participating in the loving relationship between the Persons of the Holy Trinity, knowing that in doing so, we are united with all the human persons redeemed to be part of that eternal joyous fellowship" (223).

It is exciting to see how Noble demonstrates the essential nature of our sacramental worship for the doctrine of Christian Perfection.  This is yet another positive sign of liturgical/sacramental awakening and renewal for those who stand in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition!

Noble concludes his book by quoting Charles Wesley's hymn of "ecstatic Trinitarian worship":

 

Father of everlasting grace,

Thy goodness and Thy truth we praise;

Thy goodness and Thy truth we prove;

Thou has, in honour of Thy Son,

The gift unspeakable sent down,

The Spirit of life, and power, and love.

 

Send us the Spirit of Thy Son,

To make the depths of Godhead known,

To make us share the life divine;

Send Him the sprinkled blood to apply,

Send him our souls to sanctify,

And show and seal us ever Thine.

 

So shall we pray, and never cease,

So shall we thankfully confess,

Thy wisdom, truth, and power, and love;

With joy unspeakable adore,

And bless and praise Thee evermore,

And serve Thee with Thy hosts above.

 

Till, added to that heavenly choir,

We raise our songs of triumph higher,

And praise Thee in a bolder strain,

Out-soar the first-born seraph's flight,

And sing, with all our friends in light,

Thy everlasting love to man.
(223-24).

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.



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.

A Few Positive Liturgical/Sacramental Signs From Nazarene Leaders

In recent days, I have seen a few more positive signs from Nazarene leaders that there is more openness to, perhaps even an embracing of our more sacramental and liturgical heritage found in John Wesley.  -  Oh, indeed, the Church of the Nazarene has always been and (I trust) always will be a strongly "evangelical" and "holiness" oriented Wesleyan denomination.  -  If there are those who think that being "Wesleyan/Anglican" is somehow inconsistent with that, I would strongly suggest that they simply do not know what it means for one to be Wesleyan!  I strongly and thoroughly embrace the evangelical and Wesleyan-holiness identity.  I simply believe that if one leaves off the sacramental/liturgical side, one fails to be fully Wesleyan.  Further, Wesley's holiness theology is firmly rooted in his liturgical theology.

In this post, I simply want to share a few of these positive signs.  This is not a thorough analysis, nor an exhaustive report; just a few things that I have noticed in recent days.

The first comes from ++J.K. Warrick, general superintendent.*  In the most recent edition of "Grace & Peace" magazine, Dr. Warrick is interviewed. 

I think it is fair to say that Dr. Warrick would not be considered the most "liturgical/sacramental" general superintendent.  That is not to say he is anti-sacramental, but he would probably not identify himself as being "Wesleyan/Anglican."  Still, in the interview, it is reported that Dr. Warrick has stated that Nazarene congregations should offer Communion more than once a quarter (which is the absolute minimum, according to the Manual).  Then, Dr. Warrick is asked to share his thinking about this.

++J.K. Warrick

He indicates that in his last two or three pastorates, they served Communion once a month, sometimes more.  He confesses that he doesn't know all that God intends for Communion to be, but he is convinced there is more happening than we (typical Nazarenes) usually believe is happening.  He talks about Christ sanctifying these very common elements and making them to be a way for us to draw near to Christ.  He goes on to indicate that he wishes Nazarenes had a higher appreciation for Communion, and he affirms that Communion is a sacred moment where we meet with Christ and come together with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now, I know for the sacramentally minded, more could certainly be said and explained.  Still yet, I see this as a very good, positive sign that, not just with younger college and seminary grads or those who have a strong passion for the liturgical/sacramental roots of the Wesleys, but with established, evangelical, holiness, Nazarene leaders, we are rediscoverying our Wesleyan sacramental heritage!  -  (As a bit of a side note:  ++Warrick is the jurisdictional g.s. for my district.)

Also, within that same magazine (and here, I must confess, I have not read the entire magazine.  There may be much more that I could reference, but, from what I have read, within that same magazine . . .) +Jeren Rowell, superintendent of the Kansas City District, has a wonderful article on "A Wesleyan Theology of Superintendency."  Dr. Rowell clearly understands the Nazarene superintendency in terms of episcopacy and the call "to express and promote the visible unity of the body."  He looks to find his moorings in the offices of Christ (viz., Prophet, Priest, and Shepherd-King) rather than in the strategies of contemporary corporate models of leadership.

Closer to home, my own (Nazarene**) district superintendent, +Garry Pate, has recently including in

+Garry D. Pate

one of his frequent pastoral letters to the clergy on the Southwest Indiana District, two suggestions that we, Wesleyan/Anglican types, can see as very positive moves.  First, he recommended that we include in our services the liturgical declaration, following the reading of Scripture, that it is "The Word of the Lord," with the people responding, "Thanks be to God."  (The actual wording was something like, "The Word of God for the people of God," though I don't think that is quite it, either.  Anyway . . .) He picked this up from the newly elected president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, the Rev'd. Dr. David Busic.

Dr. Pate also encouraged pastors on our district to begin serving the sacrament of Holy Communion every first Sunday of the month.  -  Now, I understand that the goal for we Wesleyan/Anglican types is that we serve it, as Wesley said, every Lord's Day.  It should also be said, there are a number of Nazarene congregations on the Soutwest Indiana District (and elsewhere) that already serve Communion monthly.  However, there are still many that are on that once a quarter schedule we inherited from the circuit rider days, and I believe this suggestion from our district superintendent is a very positive move.  (Actually, I believe, strongly that Dr. Pate is making a number of very positive moves for the district.  He is being the kind of superintendent that Dr. Rowell talks about in his article.)

One more.  -  Without going into all of the history, but only mentioning that it has not always been the case that Nazarene superintendents have had hands laid on them during the prayer of consecration into the superintendency, I have recently heard (from my friend, Eric Frey+) that ++Jerry Johnson, general superintendent, emeritus, who was presiding over the consecration and installation of the first husband/wife, co-district superintendents, did, indeed, lay hands on them during the prayer of consecration. 

Again, I understand that many of the Anglican readers of this blog would call into question the episcopal status of Nazarene (and other Methodist) superintendents.  Nevertheless, I have already argued in previous articles the Nazarene & Wesleyan understanding of supreintendency/episcopacy, and that is the setting from which this report comes.  I also understand the confussion that might be out there about those times when superintendents did not have hands laid on them during the consecration.  There is a long and complicated history that I am not going to address, at this time.

The point, here, is that these are positive moves by Nazarene leadership in the areas of liturgy, sacraments and an episcopal understanding of the superintendency, for which I say, "Thanks be to God!"

______________________________
* As I have argued in previous posts, the general superintendents in the Church of the Nazarene ought to be seen, in the words of Bishop Francis Asbury, as "arch-superintendents" or "arch-bishops."  Thus, the "++" before the name.  The district superintendent is then viewed as a district bishop.  Superintendency = episcopacy; general = "arch;" and district = localize/diocese.

**Since I am serving in the United Methodist Church under the category of "Other Methodist," I thought I should indicate, for clarity sake, that I am here referring to my district superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene, where I hold my membership and orders.

CBN Reports on the Church Planting Efforts of the ACNA

CBN recently produced a video report on the new Anglican Church in North America.  Readers of this blog are likely to be at least somewhat familiar with the ACNA
The interest in the report, however, should go beyond those connected with the ACNA to most of the readers of this blog.  That is to say, most of the readers of this blog would likely be interested in liturgical and sacramental expressions of worship.  (Why else would you be reading a blog called Wesleyan/Anglican that often deals specifically with those topics?!)  -  In particular, this report highlights the church planting movement within the ACNA and how it is especially appealing to college students and Hispanic populations.  -  These are encouraging words for all of us Wesleyan/Anglican types!

Anglicans Have Set A Timeline For New Liturgies

I just receive in the mail a magazine type report from the Anglican Church in North America.  I'm not sure what to call it!  It seems to bear the title The Apostle, but it does seem to be a report, rather than a denominational magazine or newsletter.  Further, below the title and the name of the church comes what I suppose is a subtitle, "Ministry In Review."  So, it is, as I said, "a magazine type report" and a review of the ministry of the ACNA.

Within the report, one finds much interesting information, but this blog post is only going to mention two items.

First, as the title of this post indicates, the ACNA has set a timeline for their new liturgies.  -  Many of us have been waiting a long time for the development of their new Book of Common Prayer.  It looks like we will have to continue to wait for some time.  What we do know is that the Ordinal has been produced and is being used throughout the province.  -  I blogged about that back in August, though it was actually made public in June!  -  A copy of the Ordinal can be found, here.

The exciting news is that the task force is working hard on TWO forms of the Holy Eucharist liturgies, and they hope to present them to the College of Bishops at the June 2012 meeting.  Once the bishops approve the liturgies, they will be made available through the ACNA website.  -  So, Eucharistic liturgies may be available as soon as the end of June 2012.  Since this will constitute the primary worship service, this is the liturgy (or liturgies!) for which people are really waiting.

No indication was given as to why two Eucharistic liturgies are being developed, or what the differences may be.  Will it be a matter of contemporary versus Elizabethan English?  Or, will one see some influence of the '79 BCP in one of the liturgies?  -  To the latter suggestion, the report indicates that the "Theological Lens" of the task force has been concerned to root the liturgies of the church "in the tradition of our Anglican heritage while also being accessible to both long-time Anglicans and those new to the tradition."  The report goes on to say that the liturgies "will not be innovative but clearly founded in the historic Anglican Prayer Book tradition."  This last statement makes it sound like those who are used to the '79 BCP will have some adjustments to make.

However, the report also indicates that +Duncan hopes that the liturgies will "commend themselves.  In other words, there will be no coercion."  -  That seems to indicate that the province will not be saying, "This is the book we will be using."  Rather, it seems, that bishops will be allowed to continue approving whatever Prayer Book they choose (e.g., the '28, '79, or Reformed Episcopal version, etc.).  It would be a shame, though, if this new province, as it is trying to continue to coalesce, could not produce a Prayer Book that is seen as common for all ACNA parishes.

The report also indicates that they are working on the liturgy for Baptism and Confirmation, as well.

A second item from the magazine that caught my eye is the Ecumenical Relations report.  It seems that the ACNA, to one degree or another, has had some form of dialogue or conversation with (or are anticipating discussions with) the Eastern Orthodox (via the Orthodox Church in America), The Roman Catholic Church, the new North American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (the only non-Lutheran group with which the Missouri Synod folks have ever dialogued!), the Lausanne Conference on World Evangelism, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Messianic Jewish movement, the Assemblies of God, and the Presbyterian Church in America.

I think that it would be great if the Church of the Nazarene would enter into some kind of dialogue with the ACNA.  Nazarenes do not have a great history of these types of dialogue with those beyond our own tradition.  We talk with and partner with Wesleyan-Holiness churches quite a lot.  We are members of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Christian Holiness Partnership (which is now, really defunct, and, in some ways, superseded by the Wesleyan Holiness Consortium, of which we are a part), and the World Methodist Council.

Nevertheless, Nazarenes do have Anglican roots through John Wesley.  Our Articles of Faith have a clear line of decent from the Anglican Articles, as does our ritual for the Lord's Supper.  Further, the Anglicans could see in Nazarenes something of a connection regarding the way that they relate to The Episcopal Church, and the way that Nazarenes relate to The United Methodist Church.  That is to say, certain Anglican priests have been known to indicate that Nazarenes left the Methodists for becoming too liberal, just like they left TEC.  -  Now, I'm not arguing that such a statement is quite accurate, but I would say that there may be some parallels in that Nazarenes are the largest of the Wesleyan-Holiness denominations, and therefore present an alternative expression of Methodism when compared with the UMC.

Such a dialogue could help Nazarenes clarify their muddied understanding of deacons and elders orders, as well as help us begin to more clearly own a Wesleyan understanding of the sacraments and worship.  On the other hand, Anglicans could gain from us in the areas of evangelism and Wesley's understanding of Christian Perfection.  The latter could especially be pointed out in connection to the Collect of Purity.

Loving God Through the Liturgy

As I have mentioned before, I have made it a practice to include the singing of the Wesley hymns during Morning Prayer. I have found Wesley Hymns, edited by Ken Bible and published by Lillenas Publishing Co. (Nazarene Publishing House), to be a most convenient resource. While it only includes 164 of the Wesley hymns, it is much easier to carry about than the 848 pages of the seventh volume of The Bicentennial Edition of The Works of John Wesley: A Collection of Hymns for the Use of The People Called Methodist. Perhaps, at some point, I will go back to singing through that volume, but, as I have said, Ken Bible's book is much more convenient.

Well, during Morning Prayer, this morning, one of the hymns I sang was Charles Wesley's, O My All-sufficient God. The song is quite short; only one verse. Below the hymn was a quote from John Wesley's A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. The two, together, make a great reminder for those of us who love the beauty of the liturgy.

The hymn says:

O my all-sufficient God,

Thou know'st my heart's desire;

Be this only thing bestowed;

I nothing else require,

Nothing else in earth or skies,

Not through all eternity;

Heav'n itself could not suffice;

I seek not Thine, but Thee.

And John's quote is as follows:

"One design you are to pursue to the end of time, the enjoyment of God in time and in eternity. Desire other things so far as they tend to this; love the creature, as it leads to the Creator. But in every step you take, be this the glorious point that terminates your view. Let every affection, and thought, and word, and action, be subordinate to this. Whatever you desire or fear, whatever you seek or shun, whatever you think, speak, or do, be it in order to your happiness in God, the sole end, as well as source, or your being."

It happens, occasionally, that there will be those who love the liturgy so much that they end up "worshipping worship" rather than God. They come to love the liturgy more than the God whom the liturgy proclaims. Oh, to be sure, this is not just a problem of the "High Church" crowd. The "Low Church" bunch are also susceptible. They, at times, become so caught up in music or the excitement or the "feeling" of their services of worship that they, too, end up "worshipping worship."

Addressing this very thing, John Wesley wrote, "The nature of religion is so far from consisting in . . . forms of worship, or rites and ceremonies, that it does not properly consist in any outward actions of what kind so ever" (Works Bicentennial 1:219). - Left alone, that quote might give one the impression, then, that the form of worship was entirely unimportant for Wesley. However, such a conclusion would be very far from the truth.

Rather, if one does not mistake "the means for the end" (which is the key point!), then, according to Wesley, Christians should "use all outward things; but use them with a constant eye to the renewal of your soul in righteousness and true holiness" (545). The "end," as indicated above, is God! The hymn and the quote, above, remind us that the liturgy only points us to the God whom we must seek and love with our whole being.

To that end, Wesley says of the liturgy as found in the Book of Common Prayer, "I believe that 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" (from the Preface of The Sunday Service). And the chief means of grace, as found in the liturgy, is the blessed sacrament of The Lord's Supper.

Charles Wesley writes:

1. Glory to Him who freely spent

His blood, that we might live,

and through this choicest instrument

Doth all His blessings give.

2. Fasting He doth, and hearing bless,

And prayer can much avail,

Good vessels all to draw the grace

Out of salvation's well.

3. But none, like this mysterious rite

Which dying mercy gave,

Can draw forth all His promised might

And all His will to save.

4. This is the richest legacy

Thou hast on man bestow'd:

Here chiefly, Lord, we feed on Thee,

And drink Thy precious blood.

And yet, as the hymn indicates, the object is not the Eucharist, but God. Glory is given to God. In the Eucharist we feed on the Lord.

Therefore, the love of the liturgy and the sacraments, for the true "High Churchman," are a matter of "loving the creature," so to speak, "as it leads to the Creator." It is in the liturgy that we corporately show forth our love to God, and God's presence is manifested to us, especially in the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper.