Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I'd like to start this post with a joke.

Q: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Change!?! Why should we change? We like the old light bulb. The Edison family donated it in 1886. See the wall plaque beneath the old bulb?

This little humor is to prepare you for the reality that we do the liturgy a little differently at Southside Abbey. Having said that, there is much about our liturgy that will be familiar, even to those who are change-phobic. We follow the four-fold shape of Gathering, Word, Table, and Sending, but we change it up just a little bit.

One of the great gifts we have been given as followers of Jesus is this sacred meal where Christ has promised to be present in, through, and with us. We celebrate this reality with bread, wine, and a meal, but in the Church we have so stylized that meal that many of our guests and sojourners can scarcely recognize the meal aspect of it.

At Southside Abbey, we are trying to reclaim that sense of a true meal in a very real way.

We begin with the Gathering time, which includes conversation, call to worship, collect, prayers of the people, confession, absolution, and the peace. Then we jump right in to the Table where we celebrate communion of the bread. Then . . . we hit the pause button.

During this liturgical pause, we go to the kitchen where everyone gets a plate of whatever we are having for dinner that evening. Sometimes our meal is potluck (that's Southern for “covered-dish”), sometimes it is wonderfully homemade by those in our community, and sometimes it is pizza, sandwiches, or soup. We feed lots of folks in lots of different ways. What might not be my favorite choice might deeply resonate with someone else and vice versa.

After returning to the table with our full plates, we hear the Holy Scriptures. Following the readings, the preacher asks a few questions that catalyze conversation in small groups. Then he or she preaches a capstone “homilette.” From there we are Sent into the world with post-communion prayer, announcements, Nunc Dimittis announcements, blessing, and dismissal.

Aside from the meal and resulting changes in the ministries of Word and Table, this doesn't seem so different, does it? Our Ordo is actually pretty similar to the form for Holy Eucharist from the BCP 1928 or the Penitential Order from the BCP 1979 – who would have thought that?

I know that “change” can be a four-letter word for many of us in the Church, but the Episcopal Church is one that has at our core the idea of local adaptation, overseen by our bishops. Southside Abbey is locally adapting in ways that are as inviting to those without other church homes as they are comfortable to Episcopalians.

As we approach the changes in liturgical season and church and calendar year, I invite you to think about this idea that my former rector, Donald Fishburne, shared with me . . . Think back on your life to everything you would call a blessing. Maybe this was falling in love, the birth of children or grandchildren, reconciliation of a broken relationship, or just anything you can think of that you would call a blessing, even a hard blessing like the death of a loved one who has suffered for far too long. Now, did not all of these blessings carry with them some aspect of change? I'm not saying that all changes are blessings, but . . . if we resist change, we also resist blessings.

I close by wishing, “Blessings,” upon those who read this post - especially if you have made it this far. If you are maybe interested in some change too, Southside Abbey freely shares all of the liturgies we develop on our website under the “Open Source” tab.

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