CHAPTER 1

Where and When

Outside the Building

Let's begin our study of worship on the sidewalk outside the church. Stay inyour comfortable chair if you like and just picture in your mind the nearestEpiscopal church. It may be a gothic building like a small English cathedral, asimple New England meeting house of white-painted wood, or something verymodern. Despite all the architectural possibilities, you will almost certainlyknow an Episcopal church to be a church by one unmistakable sign: a Christiancross on the steeple, wall, or signboard. Of course, many other churches use thecross as well. Is there anything that distinguishes an Episcopal church from anyother kind of Christian church? Not necessarily. New England Episcopal churchesare more often built of stone, while the buildings of the United Churches ofChrist are more often made of white-painted wood, but some Episcopal churches inNew England are also wooden and painted white. Nationwide, an Episcopal churchis more likely than others to be of stone and use pointed gothic arches, butthere are far too many exceptions to make any guidelines possible. Christians,after all, have much in common and increasingly tend to express their faith insimilar ways.

Does the church have a tower or spire? Some churches have both, and they make astatement. The white spires of New England churches stand out above the trees asa focal point in the landscape. Whole towns have been built around theselandmarks, making them not only the spiritual centers, but also the geographiccenters of their communities. The spires point upward, drawing our eyes up andreminding us to look beyond the material concerns of daily life. Churches arehere to help us do that. Often the spire is eight-sided: seven sides signifythat God made the world in seven days, as recorded in Genesis; the eighth sidesymbolizes Jesus' resurrection. Traditionally, Christians have viewed theresurrection as the beginning of a new world, an eighth day, an opening to aneternal day. An eight-sided spire points the way to that eternity. Sometimes aneight-sided spire rises from a four-sided tower, symbolizing the "four cornersof the earth" that the church draws us from, toward the everlasting day ofheaven. There are sermons to be heard from a church without our even goinginside!

Still outside, think about the direction in which the church faces. Churchbuilders in America often have little choice about how to site a church: thereis a plot of land available and a street on one side. The door must be on thestreet side and the altar at the other end. But where there is a choice,Episcopal churches normally are built to face east with an entrance at the westend. Why? Because the sun rises in the east, and the first Christians expectedJesus to come again in glory with the rising of the sun. Therefore they builttheir churches with the altar at the east end so the congregation would befacing east to see Jesus' coming. Whatever way the church actually faces, thealtar end of the church is, as a result, called the "east end," and the entranceis usually located in what is called the "west end." If a church has been builtthe other way around, this can be very confusing! But knowing the buildingtraditions within the Episcopal Church helps us to understand this terminology,and again, it preaches a sermon without words.

Now, let's look at the door. Church doors are usually bigger than the doors ofhouses or even stores. Sometimes several doors all lead into the same entrancearea. Churches are usually designed with access in mind. They are built to beentered; their ample doors open wide to be welcoming. Often, too, church doorsare painted red. Some say church doors have traditionally been painted red forthe same reason that barns are: red paint was cheap and durable. Maybe so, but ared door also makes a statement: it draws attention to the entrance. No oneshould have difficulty finding a church door.

Inside The Building

Now, step inside (you may have to leave your chair!) and you will usually findyourself in a sort of vestibule (or narthex), a place to makethe transition from the world outside to the worship space further in. Hereleaflets with information about the church may be displayed on tables or racks.Perhaps there's a bulletin board with notices of church events. On Sundaysushers or greeters are almost always on hand to welcome you and give you abulletin with details of upcoming services as well as church activities. Boththe literature and the people are there to provide a welcome and to answerquestions.

Beyond the vestibule is the space used for worship. What, after all, is a churchbuilding for? But worship can take various forms, and the arrangements insidereflect different priorities. One definition of a church building often used inthe Episcopal Church is "an altar with a roof over it." Some churches areexactly that. In tropical areas, sometimes churches consist simply of an altar,a roof, and seating, with only the most minimal walls to reduce outside noise.In most Episcopal churches, the altar is clearly the focal point, whether it isagainst a wall at one end or at the head of the central aisle. It can also be inthe center of the worship space with seating on all sides. But not all Christianchurches are altar-centered. Some churches think of preaching as primary, andthe altar, if there is one, may be a small, seldom-used table.

The location of the altar reflects changing viewpoints on worship. A generationago, almost all altars were against the far wall, and somewhat distant fromworshipers; today they are often much closer to where people sit. The olderpattern reflects an understanding of God as a Creator beyond humancomprehension; the newer pattern reflects an understanding of God as one whodraws near to us in love. Both understandings are true, but there is no way toexpress both in the same building. In a world where we often feel dominated bydistant and hostile forces, the knowledge that God comes near to us in loveseems more important.

Even church windows make a statement and contribute to our worship. Some arefilled with stained glass reflecting the glory of God and the lives of God'ssaints, while others, especially in rural areas, are made of clear glass to letus see the beauty of God's world around us. The building and furnishings of achurch are intended to speak to us. Episcopal churches especially use color andsymbolism to facilitate worship. God is the Creator of all things, and allthings can speak to us of God's majesty and God's love.

The Altar

The altar, or Lord's table, is the focal point in most Episcopalchurches. Those two terms—altar and table—are bothcommonly used, and each word indicates a different way of looking at whathappens there. Here again, both viewpoints are valid. Those who use the termaltar are those who stress the sacrificial death of Christ for us. He is"the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29) The altarreminds us of sacrifice and is often made of stone and covered with elaboratevestments. It is thought of not only as a place of sacrifice but as being itselfthe body of Christ. That is why altars are often covered for most of the year,but are stripped on Good Friday, as Jesus' body was.

The altar may also be thought of as the Holy Table, the place where Jesus fedhis disciples at the Last Supper, and where he feeds us still today. It thisaspect of our worship is stressed, the Lord's table may be made of wood andcovered only with a white cloth. Since both ways of understanding thealtar/table are important, it would be ideal if we could make an altar/Lord'stable of wood/stone. But human minds and tools cannot represent all aspects ofGod's truth at once. We can only hold on to those aspects that have most meaningfor us, at the same time trying to appreciate the insights that others value.

During the service a plate and cup (called the paten andchalice) are placed on the altar. Candles and vases of flowers may alsoadorn the altar, or these may be placed on shelves behind the altar. Separatingthe altar from the rest of the church, an altar rail may be in place, wherepeople may kneel to receive communion. But today, people often stand surroundingthe altar to receive communion, or line up and process to the place or placeswhere as clergy and assistants stand, head of the aisle or elsewhere, dispensingcommunion to those in line.

The Pulpit

Just as the altar, or Lord's table, cannot express both of its symbolic meaningssimultaneously, so the church itself cannot easily have two centers, thoughperhaps it should. In some periods of church history the pulpit has been thecentral piece of church furniture, and it still is in some churches, especiallythose that stress preaching and downplay the sacraments. Sometimes a priest willpreach from the aisle, but the pulpit is designed to lift up God's word and givevisible dignity and importance to the preaching of that word. As a practicalmatter, it simply makes it easier to see and hear the preacher. A few Episcopalchurches, dating from colonial days, may have a high pulpit in the center. Todaymost pulpits are located to one side. With today's electronic equipment and lessformal society, pulpits in modern churches are often smaller and simpler. Insome churches the Bible is read from the pulpit, but more often the Bible isplaced on a separate reading desk or lectern, and the appointed passages ofScripture are read from there.

The Font

The one other important piece of church furniture is a font. The font (the wordis related to the word fountain) is usually an eight-sided structureholding a bowl that is filled with water when baptisms take place.Traditionally, fonts are placed near a church door because it is through baptismin the font that we enter the Christian church and become members. In somechurches, however, fonts are placed at the front so that it is easier for peopleto see what is happening there. Why is the font eight-sided? For the same reasonas the spire: it is at the font that we become "heirs of eternal life" and beginthe life of the new eighth day by sharing in Jesus' resurrection.

Seating

The largest part of the space inside the church is used for seating thecongregation. Usually there are long benches called pews where peoplesit side by side with friends and strangers, but some churches have chairs thatare more easily moved, providing greater flexibility. It may be a surprise tolearn that pews are a relatively modern invention. Until long after thesixteenth-century reformation, churches had seating only for those who needed itdue to age or disability. Most people stood or knelt to take part in services.As sermons became longer, however, nearly everyone began to feel the need forseating, and some individuals began to install pews for their families. Thefirst pews had high sides and doors that isolated people from each other. It hasbeen argued that pews were invented by dissenters, and that they were designedspecifically to protect people from clergy intent on making them kneel or bow.Whether that is true or not, they certainly separated families and individualsfrom each other. Recently, in more peaceful and democratic times, pews havebecome lower and less divisive. But they still tend to make church members feellike spectators rather than participants. Some churches now encourage people tostand rather than to kneel, and to come forward, out of the pews, and standaround the altar during at least the second part of the service. Sitting, afterall, is very passive, but the liturgy is active. Standing and kneeling are moreactive and involving postures.

Most of the pews or chairs are placed in the part of the church called thenave, a word related to "navy" and used because Christians traditionallyhave thought of the church as a ship designed to carry them from this world tothe next. The area in front of the nave is called the chancel, and mayinclude seating for a choir, as well as the space around the altar. The altararea is usually called the sanctuary, a word meaning a holy place setaside for sacred use. Some churches also contain smaller spaces calledchapels, which may be used for weekday services.

Sundays

There was a time when Sundays were different from any other day of the week.Stores were closed, factories stopped, and people who worked a six-day week werefreed to spend one day in worship. Both getting ready for church and getting tochurch took longer then because dress was more formal, and transportationslower. The whole pace of life was slower. Services were not limited to an houras they often are now; pulpits sometimes held an hour glass to keep the sermonin bounds, but many churches felt no need of even that limit. And, of course,the sermon was only part of the service. And the morning service was not theonly church event. People often returned to church in the afternoon for Biblestudy or a late afternoon service. After all, what else was there to do? Therewas no television or radio, no shopping mall, no professional sports to watch.In the Puritan tradition, no one was allowed to play games on Sunday, either.

Although the Puritans significantly influenced American history, their customswere never the norm for many other Christians. The Puritans left England, inpart at least, because the government refused to prohibit Maypole dances andother such harmless recreation on the Lord's Day. Episcopalians come from atradition that favors a more balanced approach. Worship must be central, but theFourth Commandment calls only for rest, not for worship. The fourth of the TenCommandments tells us to "keep holy the Sabbath day." The Sabbath is the seventhday, or Saturday, and was established to provide a rhythm of rest and work. TheBible says that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day;therefore God's people were to observe the same order in their lives. Logically,the day of rest then became the time for worship because people were freed fromthe daily routines of their work. Jews still observe the seventh day as theirday of worship. For Christians, however, the resurrection of Jesus from the deadcreated a new world, so they thought it best to worship on a new day, the firstday. As we have said, what they initially referred to as the eighth day, we nowcall Sunday. Every Sunday is first of all a celebration of the resurrection.Even in Lent, Sundays are days of celebration. We have documents from the veryfirst centuries of the church's life that tell how Christians came together on"the day of the Sun" to give thanks to God for the gift of life.

In those first years of the church's existence, Christianity was illegal andSundays were days of work like any other. Christians came together for worshipat daybreak, before the work day began. In recent American history, when thecountry's business stopped on Sundays, an eleven o'clock service was customary,not only for Episcopalians, but most other Christians as well. By the twentiethcentury, most Episcopal churches had added an eight o'clock or early-hourservice for people who wanted communion each week or who wanted to get an earlystart on the day. Then, in the last half of the twentieth century, as socialpatterns changed and an increasingly secular society made Sundays more hectic,most churches replaced the late morning service with one in mid-morning, at teno'clock or thereabouts. Still more recently, a Saturday evening service hasbecome popular. The biblical day begins at sundown, so Saturday evening is thebeginning of the new week. Nowadays, Saturday evenings are often more peacefulthan Sundays. A congregation can gather for a service, a potluck meal, and aprogram without the conflicting pressures of Sunday mornings.

One of the great gifts Episcopalians inherit in the Book of Common Prayer is apattern of daily worship. The English reformers hoped to preserve a pattern ofprayer similar to those of the monasteries, but simplified those prayers so thatall Christians could pray together daily and hear God's word. The services ofMorning and Evening Prayer were created for this purpose. There is no reason tolimit worship to Sundays alone. If heaven is a place where worship is theprimary and constant joy of God's people, we can begin to get into the rhythmhere and now. Sunday and weekday worship can and should provide a framework forthe whole of life, and all our time, every day.

Questions for Further Thought and Discussion

1. Do you agree with the modern view that having altars closer to where peoplesit, reflecting the knowledge of God's nearness, might be more helpful than theolder pattern of having the altar distant from worshipers? Why or why not?

2. Do you think of the altar as a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice or do you see itmore as a table, representing the Last Supper? How did you come to view it asyou do?

3. The author describes the changes in the way people have kept the Sabbath overtime. How do you, personally, keep the Sabbath? Is that different than when youwere a child? How so? How do you think the Sabbath will be kept in the future,say twenty years from now?

CHAPTER 2

Who: Ministry

The Ministry of the Laity

One of the unique characteristics of the Christian faith is the belief thatevery member is called to ministry. Priesthood in Judaism was inherited, but atbaptism all Christians become members of the body of Christ and, therefore, aregiven a share in his ministry. The New Testament says we are "a royalpriesthood" (1 Peter 2:9). The first Christians understood they were sharing ina ministry simply by saying "Amen" to the Prayer of Thanksgiving over the breadand the wine. But they also understood that ministry involved more than comingtogether for worship: it involved all the church's members all the time. Most ofus understand that the ordained clergy are always on call. We may not be asclear about the fact that we are all involved in ministry seven days a week,twenty-four hours a day. We can't stop being who we are just because the churchservice is over.

(Continues...)