Advice from the Musicians of the ACNA

Recently the ACNA announced a new website and new task force for worship music:

The Anglican Church in North America’s Music Task Force has now released music resources to accompany the Psalms for the upcoming seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. It has also released today a Hymns and Spiritual Songs Worship Planner for the Advent season. These resources have been launched on the Task Force’s new website.

The Music Task Force was commissioned out of the Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force, the group responsible for the Book of Common Prayer 2019. Now, the attention turns to the musicality of the Anglican tradition.

For a comparatively small denomination with limited resources, the 1.0 version of the website is surprisingly polished and complete. The current site lists 11 pages behind the home page:

1. Home
2. Music Leadership Philosophy
3. Hymns and Spiritual Songs
4. Psalter
5. Service Music
6. Altar Book
7. Choirs
8. Handbells
9. Keyboards
10. Praise Teams and Folk Groups
11. Web Resources
12. Pastor and Church Musician Relationship

Across these pages are more than a dozen “highly recommended articles” — nearly all uploaded with November modification dates — as well as planning resources tied to Advent Year A in the ACNA BCP 2019 lectionary.

Despite the predominance of praise music in the ACNA — particularly in its largest parishes — the site is relatively balanced in the worship wars. For example, #3 lists quotes from Jaroslav Pelikan and Keith/Kristyn Getty. The former states:

Tradition is a good thing.  It is traditionalism that is bad.  Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering where we are and when we are and that it is we who have to decide. 

The worship planner on the same page includes references to hymns from Hymnal 1982 and Book of Common Praise 2017 (listed as the “2019” hymnal) as well as praise songs. For example, Advent 4 (Year A) lists these hymns

Hymns
Title	Tune	Hymnal 1982/REC 2019 Hymnal
Savior of the Nations, Come	Nun komm	#54/#10
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus	Stuttgart	#66/#1
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	Es ist ein rose	#81/#32
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence	Picardy	#324/#263
Lift Up Your Heads	Truro	#436/#390
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel	Veni Emmanuel	#56/#7
People, Look East	Besancon	Internet/#12
Spiritual Songs/Communion Songs
Title	Tune	Hymnal 1982/REC 2019 Hymnal
Comfort, comfort ye my people (works well with instrumental ensemble)	Psalm 42	#67/#20
All Beautiful the March of Days(works well with instrumental ensemble)	Forest Green	Internet
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence(works well with instrumental ensemble)	Picardy	#324/#263
The King of Glory (Israeli Folk Song)	Betty Pulkingham	Internet
Lift Up Your Heads	Steven Fry	Internet
Emmanuel	Jeff Buchan	Internet
Awake, O Israel (Israeli Folk Song)	Merla Watson	Internet
Exodus XV	Frank Gallio	Internet
Waiting in Silence	Carey Landry	Internet

Task Force and Members

The task force consists of Mark Williams (Parish Musician, Christ Church Anglican, Savannah, Georgia), Rev. Darrell Critch (rector of Church of the Good Samaritan in St. John’s, Newfoundland) and Jeremy Redmond (Music Associate at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, Florida) While Williams “was chosen to chair the ACNA Music Task Force by Archbishop Robert Duncan” — i.e. more than five years ago — the website suggests the task force is relatively nascent: three is a relatively small task force, and there’s no discussion of the task force processes, meetings, or contact information.

Similarly, the “Musicians of the Anglican Church in North America (MACNA)” seems like the ACNA response to the “Association of Anglican Musicians,” which publishes a journal 10x/year for church musicians in The Episcopal Church. However, there no additional information about the MACNA, or a way for musicians to join this organization.

Advice for Effective Congregational Singing

While much of the material is specific to the ACNA — e.g. the chants and forthcoming altar book are modeled on the BCP 1979 and Hymnal 1982 — some aspects are of more general interest. Several articles offer advice on introducing a new hymn (or “song”) — helpful for any music director who has not thought out the right vs. wrong way to do so.

The interview with Williams makes some good points that would be relevant (in my research) to the music director of any liturgical church

To me then, what is important is that the choice of music has these quality traits: that it is singable by the congregation and was composed with this in mind (it is not a soloistic piece of music). That the melody of the song is well-crafted and that there is a good marriage between the melody and the text.  That the music, as much as possible, is in a key that the congregation can sing (no notes below the A below middle C and no notes above high D or E).  That the music carries some level of high intrinsic value; that it has stood the test of time, however long. And that the choice of music fits the liturgical year or the theme for the day for worship. 

Similarly, “3 Errors of Musical Style that Stifle Community,” an article by Canadian Baptist pastor Tim Challies, should be must reading by leaders on any side of the worship wars. Based on the book The Compelling Community, Challies explains those three errors are

• Music that’s difficult to sing corporately, particularly rhythmic complexity.
• Music with limited emotional breadth. “Much of church music is happy music. But if that is all we ever have, we substantially dilute the Christian experience. And the tone we set in our services will inevitably carry over into relationships.”
• Music that feels like a performance. “Musical accompaniment can help by leading us in song and helping us through sections of songs that are more difficult to sing. Or it can overpower congregational worship and turn us from active worshipers into passive listeners.”

A liturgy committee, membership association and newsletter are what the ACNA (and Continuing Anglicans before them) church musicians left behind in TEC. It is good to see the first step (at a realistic scale) towards knowledge sharing and professionalism among North American Anglicans.

Evangelical worship at ACNA Synod

Over the weekend, I spoke to several people who attended the ACNA’s Provincial Synod. (It would be a national synod but the ACNA includes both the US and Canada). From a musical standpoint, the general opinion was that first service was the most blended, the last was almost as blended, and the middle two services were all praise band all the time.

The service took place at Christ Church Cathedral Plano (née Christ Church Plano), the largest ACNA parish, which provided the sanctuary, instruments and musicians.

Liturgy

A major focus of the service (and conference) was celebrating the ACNA’s new 2019 Book of Common Prayer, intended to replace the 1979 Book of Common Prayer that ACNA clergy used originally in The Episcopal Church and in the first years of the ACNA. The first printing of the prayer book was provided to all who registered for the conference.

According to the 24-page worship booklet (which I scanned), the service began with the liturgy task force (led by retired Abp. Bob Duncan) presenting the new prayer book.

The service then continued with the “Renewed Ancient Text,” the ACNA’s modified version of the 1979 Rite II service. This is the most commonly used Eucharist in the ACNA, which should not be a surprise given that most clergy (and parishes) were using it when they left the ACNA.

Music

From the worship booklet, I wrote down the set list of all the music:

• Call to Worship [i.e. prelude]: “Jesus Shall Reign” on piano, setting by Ted Cornell
• Processional: “Come, Christians, Join to Sing,” commissioned for the occasion by CCP: words by CH Bateman (1813-1889), setting by John Wasson [b. 1956]
• Songs of Praise: 
• “Living Hope,” words and music by Phil Wickham and Brian Johnson, © 2017
• “Who You Say I Am,” © 2017 Hillsong Music
• Offertory Anthem: “The Church’s One Foundation,” words by S.J. Stone, tune by S.S. Wesley, setting by Dan Forrest [b. 1978], with verses 1,4 sung by the choir & congregation
• Sanctus [no Benedictus]: © 2005 by Christ Church Plano
• Communion Music:
• Agnus Dei (Requiem): words public domain, music by Mark Hayes [b. 1953]
• “Just as I Am,” [opening verse by Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871], ©2009, words and music by William Bradbury, Charlotte Elliott, Travis Cottrell, Sue C. Smith and David Moffitt
• “Take My Life and Let it Be” with chorus/bridge by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio [c. 2003]
• Closing Hymn: “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” words by Henry van Dyke (1852-1933), music Ode to Joy by Beethoven, harmonized by Johnnie Carl (1947-2004)
• Postlude: “Toccata” from Symphonie No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42 by Charles-Marie Widor

So overall the music combined modern adaptations of traditional hymns with 21st century praise music, concluding with a single organ postlude.

Final ACNA Book of Common Prayer online

I've been meaning to report that the final Book of Common Prayer 2019 — and a brand new website and URL (bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net) — are now online. Unlike the earlier task force website (“Texts for Common Prayer”) and resources of the past seven years, this is a polished, professional website — actually much more attractive than the main ACNA website. This new push is in anticipation of next month’s national Assembly, where attendees will head home with the new prayer book.

The website includes an 812 page downloadable (unlocked) PDF version of the full prayer book. Its navigation tabs include

• BCP Text: to download the full PDF, or a PDF or Word copy of one of the 12 major sections of the prayer book.
• Purchase: direct purchase of either the $17 pew book or the $30 imitation leather “deluxe” edition.
• History: a reprint of the preface signed by the first two ACNA archbishops, Bob Duncan and Foley Beach.
• Resources: bulletin inserts for Years A,B,C and the Holy Days which remain constant across all three years; also some residual explanatory materials from the task force days.

Both the inserts and the prayer book itself make it clear that for nearly all purposes, the preferred ACNA readings are now the BCP2019 (“New Coverdale”) for psalms and the ESV for everything else.

Share and Share Alike

The ACNA has aggressively moved into the 21st century with the copyright policy for both its liturgy and its new psalter:

With the exception of the New Coverdale Psalter, the content of the Book of Common Prayer (2019) is not under copyright, and all not-for-profit reproduction of the content by churches and non-profit organizations is permitted. The New Coverdale Psalter is copyright © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America, but this is not intended to discourage the use and duplication of the text by churches for purposes of worship. 

The right to print the Book of Common Prayer (2019) has been granted exclusively to Anglican Liturgy Press, an imprint of Anglican House Media Ministry, Inc. Any for-profit publication requests must be addressed to Anglican House Media Ministry www.anglicanhousemedia.org

As someone who’s taught IP law for almost 20 years, this dual business model — free online, exclusive rights for dead tree versions — is the only practical approach for the 21st century. While hymnals and (many) hymns are tightly restricted by 3rd party copyrights, liturgy material needs to be shared (not monetized): this is one genie that’s not going back into the bottle.

This approach is in marked contrast to the policies that restrict online sharing  policies of the Church of England and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and even to the reluctant openness of The Episcopal Church when tech-savvy members sought to put the 1979 prayer book online decades ago. It appears that the Anglican Church of Canada also “gets” it.

Companion Online Resource: Lergeme.com

In contrast to the 1662, 1928 or 1979 prayer books — or the Revised Common Lectionary — there are limited online resources for the BCP2019 beyond the official ACNA website.

What is available is Lergeme.com, which provides the Morning and Evening Prayer updated daily, as well as the fixed offices (such as midday and compline). In a separate, extremely useful feature — modeled on a similar feature at CommonPrayer.org — the Lergeme site provides a calendar that allows a reader to bring up the variable Daily Office and Eucharist readings for any given day.

The site does not use the the BCP2019 psalter. While it allows for alternate Bible translations, beyond the default ESV there are only a handful of modern translations (Good News, The Message, NASB). I can’t get the “About” feature to work on any of my three browsers, so right now I also can’t figure out who to credit with its creation.

As an initial website, it’s a very good starting point. The most useful addition would be a podcast or website of recorded services, for those who regularly practice the Daily Office.

About the Book of Common Prayer 2019

The website and the first five pages of the printed (or PDF) prayer book contain a 2,278 word preface about the context of the new liturgy. After tracing the history of Anglican liturgy from the 2nd to the 17th centuries, the final 370 words of the BCP2019 preface discusses the past 40 years:

The liturgical movement of the 20th century and ecumenical rapproachment in the second half of that century had an immense impact on the Prayer Book tradition. The Book of Common Prayer 1979 in the United States and various Prayer Books that appeared in Anglican Provinces from South America to Kenya to South East Asia to New Zealand were often more revolutionary than evolutionary in character. Eucharistic prayers in particular were influenced by the re-discovery of patristic texts unknown at the Reformation, and often bore little resemblance to what had for centuries been the Anglican norm. Baptismal theology, especially in North America, was affected by radical revisions to the received Christian understanding, and came perilously close to proclaiming a gospel of individual affirmation rather than of personal transformation and sanctification.

At the beginning of the 21st century, global reassessment of the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 as “the standard for doctrine, discipline and worship” shapes the present volume, now presented on the bedrock of its predecessors. Among the timeless treasures offered in this Prayer Book is the Coverdale Psalter of 1535 (employed with every Prayer Book from the mid-16th to the mid-20th centuries), renewed for contemporary use through efforts that included the labors of 20th century Anglicans T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis, and brought to final form here. The Book of Common Prayer (2019) is indisputably true to Cranmer’s originating vision of a form of prayers and praises that is thoroughly Biblical, catholic in the manner of the early centuries, highly participatory in delivery, peculiarly Anglican and English in its roots, culturally adaptive and missional in a most remarkable way, utterly accessible to the people and whose repetitions intended to form the faithful catechetically and to give them doxological voice.

The Book of Common Prayer 2019 is the product of the new era of reform and restoration that has created the Anglican Church in North America. The Jerusalem Declaration of 2008 located itself within the historic confines of what is authentically the Christian Faith and the Anglican patrimony, and sought to restore their fullness and beauty. The Book of Common Prayer 2019 is offered to the same end.

Is the Psalter the most lasting impact of Book of Common Prayer 2019?

As expected, earlier this month the ACNA College of Bishops approved the final version of its 2019 liturgy. The printed copies of what used to be called “Texts for Common Prayer” will be distributed in June at the ACNA’s biennial synod, this year at Christ Church Plano.

Its new name will be Book of Common Prayer 2019, marking 30 years since ECUSA’s Book of Common Prayer 1979 that so influenced the language and form of the ACNA’s efforts.

The New Prayer Book

As noted earlier, the new liturgy

• Keeps almost all the language of the 1979 Rite II liturgies for Holy Communion, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer services, while dropping Rite I.
• For Sunday, uses a lightly modified version of the three-year lectionary instituted after Vatican II and used in the 1979 prayer book, rather than the historic 1-year lectionary of 1549-1928
• For Daily Office, reinstitutes a 1-year lectionary that more closely follows that of 1549-1892 than the American 1928
• Is most dramatically changed from 1979 in its ordinal

The committee had more ambitious goals, but kept the Rite II language at the request of many ACNA pastors who had worshipped (and led worship) with Rite II before and since leaving TEC. 

It also shared many of the assumptions of the 1979, including wide latitude for selecting canticles in Daily Office, and two Holy Communion liturgies. However, unlike the Daily Office variants, each HC has only one form of prayers of the people — rather than multiple POP variants in 1979 BCP or the 2000 Common Worship from the Church of England. It’s not clear whether the (prolific liturgist) late Peter Toon would call this a Book of Common Prayer or term it an “Alternative Service Book”. The English do not call their updated liturgy a BCP, but it’s about practical legislative reasons (rather than theological ones) after to the fiasco of its failed 1928 BCP revision. 

I personally lament the decision of the 2019 liturgy to follow the 1979 in two aspects of Morning and Evening Prayer: omitting “miserable offenders” from the General Confession, and dropping the 1662 “Conditions of Men” prayer that structures petitions for those in need using a theologically humble approach. Both seemed important aspects of the penitence of the 1928 and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The Psalter

While the ACNA liturgy might influence other GAFCON provinces, it’s not clear how much influence it will have on other Anglicans left (i.e. TEC) and right (i.e. Continuing Anglicans) in the U.S., let alone other denominations.

However, of broader relevance is the updated Coverdale Psalter. It didn’t get a lot of visibility (or meaningful feedback) because it wasn’t complete until the very end. However, from my limited use, it seems to largely succeed on its goals of retaining the poetry and cadence of the Coverdale while (mostly gently) sanding off the rough edges of archaic vocabulary. When Nashotah House eventually makes its chanted version, presumably it can leverage the pointing from the 1549-1928 Coverdale sung psalters.

I have the full 258 page PDF on my laptop and iPad and try to use it for Daily Office at least a couple of times a week. I am curious to see how much use it gets outside the ACNA.

Official Announcement

Here is the complete text of the official announcement

The Book of Common Prayer 2019
After six years of the use of draft liturgies, submission of extensive comments from across the Church, and significant revisions and refinements, we have approved the Book of Common Prayer (2019)! The last wave of liturgies in their final form was approved this week for our new Prayer Book, which will be available at Provincial Assembly this June in Plano, Texas. One of the documents approved was the Preface, which includes this helpful introduction to worship in the prayer book tradition: 

At the beginning of the 21st century, global reassessment of the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 as “the standard for doctrine, discipline and worship” shapes the present volume, now presented on the bedrock of its predecessors. Among the timeless treasures offered in this Prayer Book is the Coverdale Psalter of 1535 (employed with every Prayer Book from the mid-16th to the mid-20th centuries), renewed for contemporary use through efforts that included the labors of 20th century Anglicans T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis, and brought to final form here. The Book of Common Prayer (2019) is indisputably true to Cranmer’s originating vision of a form of prayers and praises that is thoroughly Biblical, catholic in the manner of the early centuries, highly participatory in delivery, peculiarly Anglican and English in its roots, culturally adaptive and missional in a most remarkable way, utterly accessible to the people, and whose repetitions are intended to form the faithful catechetically and to give them doxological voice. 

Rites that were finalized at this meeting include: 

  * The Ordinal
  * Consecration and Dedication of a Place of Worship
  * Institution of a Rector
  * Occasional Prayers
  * The Psalter
  * Calendar of the Christian Year
  * Sunday, Holy Day, and Commemoration Lectionary
  * Propers for Various Occasions
  * Calendar of Holy Days and Commemorations
  * Daily Office Lectionary

The BCP texts as now finally approved will be put online at AnglicanChurch.net by mid-February under a new Book of Common Prayer tab.

At the conclusion of the liturgical approval process, we stood in unison to praise God and to thank Archbishop Duncan and the Liturgy Task Force for their sacrificial work on this historic resource.

The ACNA's near-final liturgy

Today is the deadline for feedback on the ACNA’s new liturgy. It is bringing to an end a 10-year process that began in November 2008 in Fort Worth. The official Texts for Common Prayer are expected to be approved early in 2019 and made available next summer.

There is a detailed review of the revision, published in the September Living Church and Summer issue of Anglican Way (the newsletter of the Prayer Book Society). The commentary is by Drew Nathaniel Keane, until this year a member of The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.

Keane praised the transparency of the ACNA effort, which seems well-deserved. In the internet era, the ACNA task force provides a model for how to share liturgy updates, rather than the annual photocopied (or printed) books used in the previous 50 years.

Overall, the new liturgy is similar to the 1979 prayer book that it is intended to replace. In some cases, this is unavoidable — since both reflect trends of postwar liturgical reform, there are some updates present in 1979 (such as midday and compline prayer) not present in 1662 or 1928.

To try to summarize the new liturgy, I’ll focus on the three areas of the liturgy that have the greatest day-to-day impact: the lectionary, the daily office and the Eucharist service.

Lectionary

Because it's such a pain to compare 52 weeks of subtly different choices, I am grateful to Keane for explaining the changes of the lectionary.

Unlike Cranmer’s one-year lectionary of his 1549 and 1552 prayer books (retained in the 1559,1662,1789 and both 1928 prayer books), the ANCA follows the 1979 and its 3-year cycle of the 1979 lectionary. Perhaps we can blame the Romans, since this is a post-Vatican II innovation that was also followed by most but not all Protestant liturgical churches (e.g. the LCMS allows a local option between these two). The 1979 prayer book introduced its own lectionary, but today TEC uses the Revised Common Lectionary.

As Keane notes, for the daily office the ACNA reverts to a one-year lectionary (as in 1549 through 1928) rather than the two-year of 1979. However, to my eye it’s more like Cranmer’s 1549 one year lectionary (retained through 1662 in England and 1892 in the US) which kept to the civil calendar. The 1928 U.S. lectionary marked a radical departure, in that it maps to the church year (“Tuesday after the second Sunday in Lent”) and also offers a less comprehensive coverage of Scripture (i.e. is less demanding).

Keane highlights another (healthy) correction to the 1928

Since 1928, the daily office lectionaries of the Episcopal Church have notoriously omitted sections of Scripture that that might not easily square with modern American sensibilities. This proposal abandons this approach; rather than tiptoeing around these passages, … it includes the Scriptures as they are

Keane debates whether the ACNA properly handles the lesser feasts and fasts; that topic is beyond the scope of this summary.

Daily Office: Morning and Evening Prayer 

Daily Office depends both on the lectionary (see above) and the specific prayers. The elements I find most interesting:

• Like 1979, the ACNA removes “miserable offenders” from the General Confession; every time I say Rite I, this is still a jarring omission.
• Like 1979, it allows any canticle to be used in any order. Unlike 1979, cuts down (slightly) on the confusion by segregating the canticles into morning and evening canticles.
• Makes clear the entire Psalm 95 (rather than the Venite) can be used in Morning Prayer — something everyone but the Americans have done since 1549 — but provides the missing four verses only during penitential seasons.
• Restores “O God, make speed to save us” from the 1662, that was omitted from previous American prayer books.

Next to the (shortened) confession, I have found that most powerful part of saying the Daily Office for the past three years has been the “Conditions of Men” prayer:

O GOD, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [*especially those for whom our prayers are desired*] that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to. their several necessities; giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

The prayer was introduced in the 1662 English prayer book — used globally for 300+ years — and part of the 1789, 1892 and 1928 US prayer books. It was dropped in the 1979 prayer book and remains missing in the 2019. To my ear, this (as with “miserable offenders”) substantially weakens the penitential nature of the service. A booklet (rather than Prayer Book) parish could restore it, since it is prayer #31 on the list of “Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings”.

Eucharist Service

While the Ordinal was the ACNA’s initial priority, from a practical standpoint, Holy Communion is the only service that the typical parishioner will see most of the year. The changes to Holy Communion are numerous and detailed.

While both 1979 and 2019 have two rites, there the similarity end. In the 1979, the Rite I uses traditional language (if not the sequence) of the 1549-1662-1928, while Rite II has major changes both to the liturgy and language. In 2019, there are two contemporary language liturgies: “Anglican Standard Text” is like a modern language version of Rite I, while “Renewed Ancient Text” is very similar to Rite II.

Keane takes a guess about the reason for the latter similarity.

Although the Renewed Ancient Text is clearly based on 1979 Rite II, the preface “Concerning the Service” seems less than forthcoming regarding the source: “The Renewed Ancient Text is drawn from liturgies of the Early Church [and] reflects the influence of twentieth century ecumenical consensus.” Yes, 1979’s Rite II did draw from some ancient liturgies and reflects the influence of the mid-20th century ecumenical Liturgical Movement, but the particular text — its selection of which ancient liturgies to follow, where, and to what extent — constitutes an original liturgy, a source that this preface obscures.

However, task force member Fr. Jonathan Kanary says the circumstantial similarity is misleading:

…the first version of the "Ancient Canon" wasn't based on 1979 at all, but was an entirely independent liturgy, although it was (like Rite 2 Prayer A) based loosely on Hippolytus. Because of feedback we received (including from some bishops), the revision drew in a fair bit of the familiar language from Prayer A, while retaining the things that had worked well from the first version of the Ancient Canon. The Living Church article seems to assume that the rite is simply an adaptation of the 1979 Prayer A, and I understand how someone glancing over it now might think so, but the history is much more complex.

For my recent liturgy class, I looked at the Prayer of Consecration from 1549 to 2019, including Cranmer’s prayer books, the 20th century American prayer books and the ACNA liturgy.

Although modernized in language, the “Anglican Standard” mainly differs in the order of the prayers:

1549 BCP	1928 BCP/1979 Rite I	2019 Anglican Standard
Words of Institution Invocation Oblation Concluding Doxology	Words of Institution Invocation Oblation Concluding Doxology	Invocation Words of Institution Oblation Concluding Doxology

Meanwhile, the “Renewed Ancient Text” follows closely Rite II, except for changes in the language of the Invocation:

1979 Rite II	2019 Renewed Ancient
Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him. Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace; and at the last day bring us with all your saints into the joy of your eternal kingdom.	Sanctify them by your Word and Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Sanctify us also, that we may worthily receive this holy sacrament, and be made one body with him, so that he may dwell in us and we in him. And bring us with all your saints into the fullness of your heavenly kingdom, where we shall see our Lord face to face.

Keane also notes three changes that move the liturgy in a (slightly) more Anglo-Catholic direction:

• The Benedictus qui venit is included in the Sanctus. This is not included in the historic prayer book tradition, but by the late 19th century was commonly inserted in High Church circles; it was provided as an optional addition in 1979’s Rite I.

• The Agnus Dei follows the Prayer of Humble Access rather than the other way round as in 1979. This order was common in American Anglo-Catholic parishes that inserted the Agnus Dei into the 1928 prayer book service.

• Along with the Invitation from 1979, “The gifts of God for the People of God,” a second option is provided in both rites: “Behold the Lamb of God.” Taken from John 1:29 and Revelation 19:9, Anglo-Catholic parishes commonly inserted these scriptural sentences into the old text as an Invitation to Communion, and a version of this invitation is part of the Church of England’s Common Worship.

Conclusions

The liturgy is different enough that faithful (clergy or laity) moving between the ACNA and Rite II or Rite I (let alone earlier prayer books) will have to carefully read every sentence for several months until it becomes familiar. I feel bad for supply priests who are in a diocese with more than one liturgy. However, at least any confusion caused by trial use of interim liturgies will soon be over.

In the 21st century, one of the great resources for learning the liturgy is the Internet — whether via web pages or a cellphone app. Flipping through tables and paper books to find lessons works for printing a Sunday bulletin, but is a bit daunting for laity doing the Daily Office twice daily.

The ACNA is fortunate to have a website, www.legereme.com, that helps solve this problem. It provides

• A complete order of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, with lessons
• The lessons for the Sunday Eucharist service

An entrepreneurial church planter is currently taking a collection fund iPhone and Android versions of a stand-alone app for the Legerme texts.

A hymn for ordination

On Saturday, I attended the ordination of my friend John Heffron to the vocational diaconate in the Diocese of Ft. Worth. From the ceremony, I got to hear the new ACNA ordinal, had a rare visit to Hymnal 1982 and learned a new (perhaps unique) hymn for ordination. Bp. Jack Iker has been ill, so Bp. Keith Ackerman (listed as the dicocese’ assisting bishop) performed the ordination.

ACNA Liturgy

When the ACNA created its new liturgy from the 1979 prayer book, the first priority was creating a new ordinal for deacons, priests and bishops. The most relevant differences would appear to be in the presentation and examination of the candidates. (In both liturgies, the ordination is normally followed by the normal Eucharist service, as it was on Saturday).

The Presentation

1979 Book of Common Prayer

Proposed ACNA 2019 Texts for Common Prayer

The Bishop says to the ordinand Will you be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this Church has received them?  And will you, in accordance with the canons of this Church, obey your bishop and other ministers who may have authority over you and your work? Answer I am willing and ready to do so; and I solemnly declare that I  do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church.

The Bishop shall then require the Ordinands to take the Oath of Conformity saying The Canons require that no one may be ordained a Deacon in the Church until such person has subscribed without reservation to the Oath of Conformity. It is also required that each Ordinand subscribe without reservation to the Oath of Canonical Obedience. In the presence of this congregation, I now charge you to make your solemn declaration of these oaths. Each Ordinand then declares separately I, N.N., do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and therefore I hold myself bound to conform my life and ministry thereto, and do solemnly engage to conform to the Doctrine, Discipline and Worship of Christ as this Church has received them. Each Ordinand then declares the following Oath of Canonical Obedience as well, saying And I do swear by Almighty God that I will pay true and canonical obedience in all things lawful and honest to the Bishop of ________, and his successors: So help me God. Each Ordinand then signs the Oath of Conformity and the Oath of Canonical Obedience in the sight of all present.

The Examination (The Exhortation and Examination in 2019)

1979 Book of Common Prayer

Proposed ACNA 2019 Texts for Common Prayer

All are seated except the ordinand, who stands before the Bishop. The Bishop addresses the ordinand as follows My brother, every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ, serving God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood directly under your bishop. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely. As a deacon in the Church, you are to study the Holy Scriptures, to seek nourishment from them, and to model your life upon them. You are to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by your word and example, to those among whom you live, and work, and worship.  You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world. You are to assist the bishop and priests in public worship and in the ministration of God’s Word and Sacraments, and you are to carry out other duties assigned to you from time to time. At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ's people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself. My brother, do you believe that you are truly called by God and his Church to the life and work of a deacon? Answer: I believe I am so called. Bishop: Do you now in the presence of the Church commit yourself to this trust and responsibility? Answer: I do. Bishop: Will you  be guided by the pastoral direction and leadership of your bishop? Answer: I will.

Bishop It belongs to the Office of a Deacon, to assist the Priest in public worship, especially in the administration of Holy Communion; to lead in public prayer; to read the Gospel, and to instruct both young and old in the Catechism; and at the direction of the Priest, to baptize and to preach. Furthermore, it is the Deacon’s Office to work with the laity in searching for the sick, the poor, and the helpless, that they may be relieved. The Bishop examines the Ordinands as follows Bishop: Will you do this gladly and willingly? Answer: I will do so, the Lord being my helper. Bishop: Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Spirit to take upon yourself this Office and ministry, to serve God for the promoting of his glory and the edifying of his people? Answer: I so trust. Bishop: Do you believe that you are truly called, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in accordance with the Canons of this Church, to the ministry of the same? Answer: I so believe. Bishop: Are you persuaded that the Holy Scriptures contain all Doctrine required as necessary for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? Answer: I am so persuaded. Bishop: Will you diligently read the same to the people assembled in the church where you are appointed to serve? Answer: I will. Bishop: Will you be diligent to frame and fashion your own lives, and the lives of your families, according to the Doctrine of Christ; and to make both yourselves and them, as much as in you lies, wholesome examples to the flock of Christ? Answer: I will do so, the Lord being my helper. Bishop: Will you reverently obey your Bishop, and other Ministers, who, according to the Canons of the Church, may have charge and authority over you; following with a glad mind and a good will their godly admonitions? Answer: I will do so, the Lord being my helper.

Bp. Ackerman ordaining Dcn. Heffron

Set List

The parish choir and organist accompanied five hymns from Hymnal 1982 (one with a different tune):

1. I bind unto myself today
2. Come holy ghost our souls inspire
3. Seek ye first the kingdom of God
4. The King of Love my Shepherd is
5. Lord you give the great commission

I did some research on these five on Hymnary.org,  The Hymnal 1940 Companion, and some other online sources. #1 and #4 were the familiar hymns with Irish tunes, present in every Anglican hymnal since The English Hymnal (1906).

• “I bind” is the famous 5th century text attributed to St. Patrick, set to two tunes by Ralph Vaughan Williams for TEH. My interviews with congregation members and church leadership suggest that while musically straightforward, due to its length “St. Patrick’s breastplate” is one of the more demanding hymns in the Anglican canon.
• “King of Love” is an 1868 text by Henry Williams Baker, made famous as the editor in chief of Hymns Ancient and Modern for the first 17 years of its existence. The pairing to the Irish tune (named St. Columba) was first made in TEH.

Of course, #2 is the historic (9th century?) latin text Veni Creator Spritus, the rare hymn text that is part of of the Book of Common Prayer — first in 1549 (Cranmer’s text) and later updated in 1662 (the version we use now). The tune is believed to be older than the text, appears in the earliest manuscripts.

#3 is the well-known 1972 folk song with text and music by then-Calvary Chapel musician Karen Lafferty, and later published by Maranatha! Music. It seems ideal for singing with a guitar at camp — and some hymnals including guitar chords for that purpose — but I have mixed feelings about using it in congregational worship. (Of course, among Episcopalians or Protestants more generally, I’m almost certainly outvoted).

A Hymn for Ordination

There aren’t a lot of hymns specifically for ordination, so this hymn was a welcome surprise. It was written in 1978 by Fr. (later Rt. Rev. Dr.) Jeffrey Rowthorn, then a liturgy professor at Yale Divinity School who retired in 2001 after seven years as PECUSA bishop for Europe. The five verses begin

1 Lord, you give the great commission:
2 Lord, you call us to your service:
3 Lord, you make the common holy:
4 Lord, you show us love’s true measure:
5 Lord, you bless with words assuring:

(While the full text is on Hymnary.org, Hope publishing has placed restrictions on its use.)

The fourth verse is dated by the author’s reference to the PECUSA “social gospel” movement, when it calls on God to “lead us to a just society.” But if you drop that, with the refrain asking “with the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry,” the hymn does seem ideally suited for ordinations.

The editors of Hymnal 1982 sought in hymn #528 to sell a new purpose-written tune for the hymn. But I’m guessing that at some point that people figured out that a text that was sung rarely (perhaps for some parishioners, once or twice in their life) should from a practical standpoint set to a familiar tune.

Later hymnals have used Abbot’s Leigh, the tune written in 1941 by Cyril Taylor when patriotic Englishmen and women complained to the BBC that “Glorious things of thee are spoken” was being sung to the Austrian National Anthem. (Thus earlier hymnals list Austria while later hymnals list Abbot’s Leigh or both). The text and tune appear together in (among other places) the 1989 Methodist hymnal, the 1990 and 2006 Presbyterian (PCUSA) hymnal, PECUSA’s 1997 Wonder, Love and Praise and various Catholic hymnals. As best I can tell, the Methodists were the first to use the better known tune with the text by then-Bp. Rowthorn.

How many ways can we say Gloria Patri?

This semester, I've been doing sung morning and evening prayer on campus. One of the interesting challenges is that sometimes we sing from different hymnals or liturgies in a single service, and thus we sing two (or even three) different Gloria Patri. (Similar changes have been made in the Gloria in Excelsis, but that’s a topic for another time).

The Latin version is nearly 15 centuries old:

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

New Advent says it was universal throughout christendom by the 17th century. For example, Shepherd (1950: 9) says about the Gloria Patri after the psalms:

Gloria Patri (see commentary, p. 8). The use of this doxology has been traditional in the Church from the earliest times, and is intended to give to the Psalms a Christian reference and intention. 

Blunt (1889: 186) dates it even earlier

Clement of Alexandria, who wrote before the end of the second century, refers to the use of this hymn under this form, …“giving glory to the one Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,” and a hymn of about the same date is printed by Dr. Bouth, in which there is an evident trace of the same custom :… “Praise we the Father and Son, and Holy Spirit of God." It is also referred to even earlier by Justin Martyr. 

The 14th and 15th century manuscripts of the Sarum Missal (Legg, 1916: 23) list this text as

chorus. Gloria patri et filio et spiritui sancto.
clerici. Et laus et honor potestas et imperium.
chorus. Sicut erat in principio et nuncet semper et in secula seculorum amen.

400 years of the Book of Common Prayer

In the Daily Office, Cranmer’s original 1549 Booke of Common Praier uses this translation:

Glory be to the father, and to the sonne, and to the holye ghost. As it was in the begynning, is now, and ever shal be, world without ende. Amen.

Except for spelling, we see that in the CoE prayer books through 1662, as well as the (unapproved) 1928 Book of Common Prayer. It’s also in the American prayer books from 1789 to 1928 as

Minister. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And then came Vatican II.

Vatican II/ICET/ICEL

After Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church began a systematic translation of the liturgy into English (and other local languages). As Hatchett (1988: 132) notes in his summary of Anglican liturgy revisions since the 1950s

Various provinces have participated in ecumenical groups developing common translations of texts (International Consultation on English Texts, or its equivalent for other languages) and have adopted common lectionaries, based on either the post­ Vatican II Roman lectionary or that developed by the Joint Liturgical Group.

In the 1972 and 1975 proposed texts from the International Consultation on English Texts (published in Prayers We Have in Common), the Gloria Patri was rendered as

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.

However, this did not reflect what had already been used in the 1971 Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

This is, of course, also what ended up in the 1979 American prayer book.

Over the years, I was probably not the only one who was confused that both the Rite I (traditional) and Rite II (modern) liturgies have used the same GP. On the one hand, it made sense for simplifying the task of a priest celebrating both Rite I and Rite II in the same parish (a common issue in the 1980s and 1990s). However, it also meant that this part of Rite I is consistently different from the previous 400 years of English language liturgy — even though most of the rest of Rite I is intended to be similar to the historic liturgy.

One of the sources of confusion is that Rite I services can use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer Daily Office canticles (and psalms), as in Hymnal 1940 (and now the Book of Common Praise 2017) — as well as any earlier American, English (or other) resources. So in singing the Daily Office, it matters whether we copy a canticle from H40, BCP17, or the Rite I part of H82.

21st Century Corrections

The Roman Catholic church accounts for more than one third of American Christians. After its 2008 English language correction to its liturgy of the mass  — the Roman Missal (3rd ed.) implemented in 2011 — around 2010 the American Catholic bishops started a related update of its Liturgy of the Hours. However, this new liturgy has not been officially approved, and I was unable to identify its plans for the Gloria Patri.

However, more directly relevant for American Anglicans, the ACNA has released drafts of Texts for Common Prayer, the liturgy its is scheduled to approve in June 2019. In the liturgy of the Daily Office — Morning and Evening Prayer — the new Gloria Patri is rendered as

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

In other words, we are almost full circle. The Gloria Patri of 1549-1928 is back, with one change: consistent with late 20th century contemporary language, “Ghost” has been banished and replaced everywhere with “Spirit.” Under the circumstances, it seems like the most compatible revision of the historic liturgy.

With only about 100,000 members, the ACNA might seem lonely make its change on its own. However, it’s merely emulating the (gently modernized) language used by the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, with its two most recent liturgy books: Lutheran Worship (1982) and Lutheran Service Book (2006). While the LCMS is smaller than the more liberal ECLA, it is still larger than the Episcopal Church and ACNA combined.

Is this liturgical change by the ACNA the first step toward ecumenical cooperation with the most liturgically conservative of the largest Protestant denominations?

References

• Blunt, John Henry, The Annotated Book of Common Prayer, rev. ed., London: Longmans, Green and Company, 1889.
• Hatchett, Marion J., “Prayer Books,” in Stephen Sykes and John Booty, The Study of Anglicanism (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1988), 121-133.
• Legg, J. Wickham, ed. The Sarum Missal. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916.
• Prayers We Have in Common: Agreed Liturgical Texts Prepared by the International Consultation on English Texts, enlarged and revised ed., Philadelphia, Fortress, 1972.
• Prayers We Have in Common: Agreed Liturgical Texts Prepared by the International Consultation on English Texts, 2nd rev. ed., Philadelphia, Fortress, 1975.
• Shepherd, Massey Hamilton, Jr., The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950

Traditional and Modern Advent Celebration

The church year began today with the first Sunday of Advent. Dec. 3 is the latest possible day for Advent 1 — producing Advent 4 as the morning before Christmas Day. (The earliest possible Advent 1 is Nov. 27).

Advent Lectionary: the First Four Centuries

As with other aspects of his two prayer books, Thomas Cranmer adapted his lectionary from the Sarum Missal (the Salisbury variant of the Roman Catholic rite). The standard summary of the 1979 US prayer book notes:

Cranmer retained the Sarum lectionary, for the most part, though he made some substitutions, lengthened some lessons and abbreviated a few. (Hatcher, 1995: 325).

Those changes did not included the Advent season. From the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, today’s communion service for Advent 1 uses the same collect and readings. Using the 1662 spelling of the collects:

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 the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Since 1662, the BCP has stated that the Advent 1 collect “is to be repeated every day, with the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas-Eve.”

Meanwhile, the Advent 1 lessons from 1549 to 1662 remained unchanged with Romans 13:8 and Matthew 21:1-13. Those were the lessons we used this morning out of the 1928 U.S. Book of Common Prayer, when from the NKJV we heard about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, followed by his driving the moneychangers out of the temple:

Gospel lesson today
at St. Matthew’s Church, Newport

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”

In his most famous book, Charles Wheatly — an English clergyman and onetime fellow at St. John’s College — wrote:

The Collects for the first and second Sundays in Advent were made new in 1549 being first inserted in the first Book of King Edward VI. That for the third Sunday was added at the Restoration, in the Room of a very short one not so suitable to the time. The Collect for the fourth Sunday is the same with what were meet with in most ancient Office, except that in some of them it is appointed for the first Sunday. (Wheatley, 1770: 209)

The Epistles and Gospels appointed on these Days, are all very ancient and very proper to the Time: They assure us of the Truth of Christ's first Coming; and as a proper means to bring our Lives to a Conformity with the End and Design of it, they recommended to us the Considerations of his second Coming, when he will execute Vengeance on those that obey not his Gospel(s). (Wheatly, 1770: 209; spelling modernized).

The Three Year Lectionary

After Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church developed a new three-year lectionary for the Sunday readings. This proved the basis of a series of three-year lectionaries over the past 50 years, including two from the ecumenical Consultation on Common Texts: the Common Lectionary (1983) and the Revised Common Lectionary (1992).  The three years are customarily termed Year A (emphasizing readings from Matthew), Year B (emphasizing Mark) and Year C (emphasizing Luke).

For the Episcopal Church, a three year lectionary was used in the 1979 US prayer book, while in 2006 it officially adopted the RCL. Meanwhile, for its new liturgy (beginning in 2013), the ACNA in 2016 adopted its own lectionary based on the 1983 CL rather than the 1992 RCL.

The Matthew 21 reading of 1549 (and 1928) is nowhere to be found in the CL/TEC/RCL/ACNA lectionaries for the Advent Sundays. Instead, they present variations on Christ’s eschatological warnings from the synoptic Gospels. Those using the ACNA lectionary today heard the Advent 1 lesson for Year B, which is Mark 13:24-37. From the ESV:

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

This is the same lesson heard on Advent 1 by ECUSA or others using the RCL (except that the former tend to use the NRSV). Last year, the ACNA used Matthew 24:29-44 (RCL, verses 36-44) in Year A, with Luke 21:25-33 (25-36 for the RCL) next year in Year C. The ACNA’s reading from Luke exactly matches the 1549 (and 1928) Gospel reading for Advent 2.

The Roman Catholic church and most of the liturgical Protestants have stuck with the three year lectionary, which makes that the popular ecumenical option. The exception is the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, which provides the option of both the three year lectionary (with Mark 13:24-37) or the one year lectionary (Matthew 21:1-9).

However — as with all other liturgical reform — the creation of liturgy committees means that “progress” is an ongoing process without end. Meanwhile, the Continuing Anglican churches (and the Reformed Episcopal Church) retain continuity with more than four centuries of Anglican worship dating back to the 16th century.

References

Hatcher, Marion J. 1995.  Commentary on the American Prayer Book, New York: HarperOne.

Wheatley, Charles. 1770. A Rational Illustration of the Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Church of England, London: Bettesworth & Rivington. Available at Google books: https://books.google.com/books?id=XIUxAQAAMAAJ

Exemplary Passion anthem

Hymns for Palm Sunday and the Passion narrative tend to focus on Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem. However, in choir we are rehearsing “Ihr Töchter Zions”:

Ihr Töchter Zions, weint über euch selbst und über eure Kinder.
Denn siehe, es wird die Zeit kommen,
da werdet ihr sagen zu den Bergen: fallt über uns!
Und zu den Hügeln: deckt uns!

It is from Felix Mendelssohn’s sacred oratorio, Christus, Op. 97. The anthem is in triple meter and it feels like one of Mendelssohn’s dances or songs, with the lyric passages plaintive in Christ’s warning to the citizens of Jerusalem.

On Thursday, we are singing it in English translation:

Daughters of Zion, weep for yourselves and your children,
For surely the days are coming,
when they shall exclaim to the mountains: “Fall down on us!”
and to the hills: “hide us!”

The text is adapted from Luke 23:26-28 (KJV):

26. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
27. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
28. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

This is the passage (only in Luke) of the passion, after Jesus has been condemned by Pilate but before he arrives at Calvary.

The phrase “Daughters of Zion” does not appear in Luke, but does appear earlier in the passion narrative upon Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem — in Matthew (21:5) and John (12:15) — both quoting Zechariah 9:9 and Isaiah 62:11.

The reading shows up in the lectionary differently among Anglican prayer books. In the 1928 BCP, it’s the gospel for the Maundy Thursday mass, as it was in the 1662 BCP.

From 1979 onward, ECUSA (and the ACNA) have read Luke 23 the same way in their parallel three year lectionaries: the 1979 prayer book, RCL, and ACNA trial use. In all three, Luke 23 appears in the Sunday lectionary on Palm Sunday Year C (2016 and 2019).

Whenever this gospel is read, this Mendelssohn piece seems like a great anthem to support that reading.

Planning a funeral

My father-in-law died suddenly a month ago, and last weekend was his memorial service. I ended up planning the service — as I had for my father back in 1995 — and learned a little more about funeral liturgy and service planning. In particular, 22 years ago I was one of the two decision makers while this time I was a consultant to my mother-in-law and her five adult children.

Both men had their services conducted by the longtime rector of Holy Trinity Anglican Parish in San Diego. While my dad’s service was held at the same site they’d had since 1921, the rector and 95% of his congregation walked away from the site ten years after losing their court case with ECUSA. Our service was held in the LCMS church they have called home since then.

Know the Decedent

I had asked my father-in-law for his hymn list in 2007, and reconfirmed in the summer of 2015. So we had four hymns that he wanted — Battle Hymn of the Republic, Faith of our Fathers, O God Our Help in Ages Past and Eternal Father.. To this, his widow added Amazing Grace. Both Faith of our Fathers and Amazing Grace were part of his sister’s 2006 memorial mass. I asked the rector to find a place in the service to sing all five hymns.

As at my father’s funeral, the multi-service version of the Navy Hymn (H40: 513) was a non-brainer for an Army vet. (WW II for my dad, Korea for my father-in-law). The only downside is that (to distinguish the two hymns), the hymnal begins “Almighty Father” rather than the more familiar “Eternal Father.”

My father-in-law had grown up in the most high church Episcopal parish in San Diego — now the cathedral — and was married at that church with an organ his parents helped fund. His boys had been in their chorister program (one overlapping with me), so we had an organist and I recruited a four-voice choir from among my friends. (It didn’t hurt that the bass is a member of the church choir, and all of the choir were Anglicans who’d worshipped at Holy Trinity).

Finally, I was told quite firmly that the service would begin on time. I guess this should not have been a surprise: my father-in-law was quite punctual, a source of tension during that phase when my wife and I were constantly late coming to family gatherings.

Know the Family

As at their aunt’s service, the children wanted a bagpiper. As at that service, we did it with Amazing Grace: in this case, the bagpiper played a stanza, and then we modulated into new key for five verses of organ, choir and congregation. (The bagpiper explained apologetically that he doesn’t get much choice of key on his instrument).

However, in preparing the order of service, I recommended that we end the service with Amazing Grace rather than begin it. If we started with the bagpipe, I feared there wouldn’t be a dry eye in the house — or at least in the family pews. It turns out those fears were misplaced. The loved ones are going to cry during the service, but that’s a normal and healthy thing, and it’s something to be encouraged (as long as they don’t happen to be doing a reading at the podium).

Know the Audience

Who will be in the congregation is more predictable if the departed is an active member of the congregation. But that was not the case.

Still, we more than 150 packed into the service, which my own pastor says is unusual for someone in his 80s. He was active in 3 clubs, and had about 20 members of his boating safety association present. From various parts of the liturgy — the creed, the responsive sentences — it was clear that many in the audience (his generation, not mine) were current or former active church members.

It appeared that not all the congregation were regular singers, and some hymns clearly were more popular than others. Both are a topic for another time.

Planning the Service

The first choice that had to be made was the liturgical rite. Holy Trinity is a longtime Anglo-Catholic parish that is switching from Rite I to the ACNA liturgy. However, all their funerals have been Rite I, so we used that. (My father in law worshipped the greatest portion of his life using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, but Rite I from the 1979 prayer book is what he'd used most recently).

I did some comparisons of the texts later on. The 1928 and the 1979 Rite I are very different liturgies, even though the wording of some prayers are the same. Meanwhile, portions of the February 2017 ACNA liturgy are identical to Rite II, including the Apostle’s Creed and many of the prayers. (Rite I and II seem to have the same structure but different language).

We then had to decide whether to include the Mass; in the end we did not. We weren’t sure how many would take Communion: however, we had a big crowd and I think we would have had more participants than at my aunt’s service — probably a majority. Without including Communion, 3 of the 5 hymns were before/between/after the Gospel and homily.

As with most American funeral or memorial services, we used the Authorized Version of Psalm 23 (said responsively this month; sung at my father’s service). To include all five hymns, the second psalm of the 1979 prayer book was replaced with a sequence hymn. The final reading was from John 14, which begins with the “many mansions” passage and concludes with the great statement of faith: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The family discussed who would do the three readings: OT, psalm, Epistle. As in a Sunday Rite I service, we elected to have a fourth lay reader (rather than the priest) read the intercessory prayers. Some of the likely nominees (e.g. people who did readings at our wedding) declined out of concern that they might break into tears.

For a service that primarily serves Anglican churchgoers, a simple leaflet (with pointers to the prayer book and hymnal) would have sufficed. We elected to go with a service booklet — full prayers, readings and hymn text — with nine 8.5" x 5.5" pages printed on letter paper (plus a cover and other material). Three of the hymns were in the hymnal, but I don’t know if any hymnals were opened by anyone other than the choir or me.

I found one gotcha on booklet preparation. If I had to do over again, I would have typed the hymn text straight from the hymnal (and proofread it three times) rather than copy and paste from Hymnary.org or Oremus.org. Those sites have the text from one particular hymnal, and that text is unlikely to exactly match that of H40 (or whatever the preferred hymnal is). If I were in the habit of running church services, I would make a database of the exact text of all the hymns from my hymnal, no matter how many hours that would take.

Final Thoughts

In my current lay ministry class, one of my classmates is a part-time volunteer wedding planner at our church. After this, my family joked I had a future as a funeral planner.

Planning a funeral — like a wedding or a baptism — is not something that we do often in our lives. Absent written instructions from the grave, it is also made more complex by having one (or more) family members trying to discern the decedent’s wishes so that they can be honored, while at the same time sensitive to those of the survivors.

To allow for out-of-town travel, we had four weeks to plan this memorial service, while another recent funeral (elsewhere in the family) was scheduled in nine days. From the standpoint of logistics (not bereavement), two weeks is a reasonable interval. Anything less than that requires an immediate meeting with all the relevant family members to understand their wishes (rather than waiting for the next weekend as we did). It might also require someone taking a day off of work to pull together a complete service in a day or two, rather than over a week or two. (I don’t know how much work it was to plan the reception because I merely showed up).

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I value tradition, order and doing things properly — as did my father-in-law. Even without that, it really helped to have a prayer book and rector who (with clear pastoral sensibilities) set clear limits on what was and was not acceptable. With all the planning and other activities of that day, it was tempting at times to forget the real purpose of the service, as captured by the penultimate prayer of the service:

Into thy hands, O merciful Savior, we commend thy servant B. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech thee, a sheep of thine own fold, a lamb of thine own flock, a sinner of thine own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of thy mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

Year-end hymn specials

Today is ”stir up Sunday” or Christ the King Sunday, depending on your lectionary. Either way it’s the last Sunday before Advent, and thus the last day of the liturgical year as well as the last day of the long season after (depending on your prayer book) Trinity or Pentecost. It is also the end of “ordinary time” (which for some includes only these Sundays and for others also includes the time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday).

In the US, it’s also the Sunday before Thanksgiving — and thus at my church this morning the hymn choices reflected that secular reality. (But that’s another season and another story).

Traditional Prayer Bookes: “Stir Up” Sunday

In the 1928 BCP, the appointed collect for the last Sunday before Advent gives this date the nickname “Stir Up” Sunday:

STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This was derived from the same collect written for the 25th Sunday after Trinity In 1549 (and the 1662) BCP:

STIERE up we beseche thee, O Lord, the wylles of thy faythfull people, that they, plenteously bringing furth the fruite of good workes; may of thee, be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christe our Lorde.

The collect was abandoned in the 1979 prayer book, but in the ACNA trial use liturgy, a heavily modified version is scheduled for the penultimate Sunday of ordinary time (i.e. a week ago):

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they may plenteously bring forth the fruit of good works, as they await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to restore all things to their original perfection; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen

Whenever it is scheduled, there is an obvious hymn to go with it: “Stand up, stand up for Jesus” (H40: 562; H82: 561); in fact, this is the recessional hymn recommended by H40 for this Sunday with the “Stir up” colleect. The tune is by George Webb, combined with a text by George Duffield Jr. This is the last remaining text in common use by the 19th century U.S. Presbyterian pastor and abolitionist.

Of the original text, H40 keeps verses 1,3,4 and 6. H82 keeps the same verses, but (as expected) censors the M-word (“men”).

Contemporary Lectionaries: Christ the King Sunday

This weekend I saw questions on a church music group from a Catholic organist about an appropriate hymn for today, which is Christ the King Sunday. As the Episcopal Dictionary of the Church on the ECUSA website helpfully explains:

Christ the King Sunday

Feast celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. It celebrates Christ's messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation. The feast is unofficially celebrated in some Episcopal parishes, but it is not mentioned in the Episcopal calendar of the church year. Marion Hatchett notes that the Prayer Book collect for Proper 29, the last Sunday of the church year, is a "somewhat free" translation of the collect of the Feast of Christ the King in the Roman Missal. This collect prays that God, "whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords," will "Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule" (BCP, p. 236). The feast was originally instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and celebrated on the last Sunday in Oct. It has been observed on the last Sunday before Advent since 1970.

However, today many Episcopalian (and formerly Episcopalian) parishes are using the Revised Common Lectionary, and the Vanderbilt site lists this Sunday as the “Reign of Christ”. This seems to be the term used by progressive mainline Protestants, although some use both terms.

For Christ the King Sunday, there are several obvious hymn choices, including

• Alleluia Sing to Jesus (H40: 347.2; H82: 460)
• At the Name of Jesus (H40: 356; H82: 435)
• Crown Him with Many Crowns (H40: 352; H82: 494)
• Hail to the Lord’s Anointed (H40: 545; H82: 616)
• Praise my Soul the King of Heaven (H40: 282; H82: 410)

While all touch on the CTK theme, I think the support (and thus congregational reinforcement) of this theme is greatest for 347 (“Alleluia Sing to Jesus”), 352 (“Crown Him with Many Crowns”) and 545 (“Hail to the Lord’s Anointed”). In fact, it’s impossible to beat #352, which makes the point in every verse in this hybrid of 19th century Catholic and Anglican hymnwriters:

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Son of God, before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod, crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, that all in Him may rest.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of lords, who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, for ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

For the CoE, The English Hymnal (#381) uses different verses and a different tune, while the New English Hymnal (#352) keeps the same 1906 choice of text but adopts the stirring tune of the American hymnals, Diademata by Sir George Job Elvey (1816-1893).

I am hard-pressed to think of a more majestic recessional for any portion of ordinary time. The descant (in H82) and the retard on the final verse really drive home the reality of His kingship and our obedience and worship of our heavenly King.

ACNA Announces Baptism Services

The ACNA and its Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force this week announced
(via Twitter)  the addition of four new services to its Texts for Common Prayer:

• Holy Baptism
• Confirmation
• Baptism with Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation
• Renewal of Baptismal Vows

The task force proposals were approved by the House of Bishops at their June meeting in Vancouver. (However, they were actually posted back in July and the change log shows that there have been no changes since then).

These new services are added to the trial use versions of the main services — morning prayer, evening prayer and communion — released in Fall 2013. (Due to defects in the 1979 prayer book ordinal, that was drafted first and is already officially approved).

The Task Force hopes finish drafts of all texts by 2017, and then combine those with feedback to produce a final version.

Volume II of ACNA liturgy now online

On Wednesday, the ACNA website published the initial chapters of Volume II of its Texts for Common Prayer, available for free download at the ACNA website. These include services for Baptism, Confirmation and Renewal of the Baptismal Vows.

Like a software company, the ACNA is using version numbers and is now publishing a “Change Log” so the public can track the new liturgy versions as they are released.

Change Log
Volume I

• 11-16-13 Version 1.1 released. This release corrects typos found in the original.

• 10-17-13 Version 1.0 released.

Holy Eucharist

• 11-16-13 Version 1.1 released. This release corrects typos found in the original.

• 10-17-13 Version 1.0 released.

Morning and Evening Prayer

• 11-16-13 Version 1.1 released. This release corrects typos found in the original.

• 10-17-13 Version 1.0 released.

The Ordinal

• 11-16-13 Version 1.1 released. This release corrects typos found in the original.

• 10-17-13 Version 1.0 released.

Volume II

• 7-8-15 Version 1.0 released.

Baptism

• 7-8-15 Version 1.0 released.

Confirmation

• 7-8-15 Version 1.0 released.

Reaffirmation

• 7-8-15 Version 1.0 released.

I am guessing that (like the NIV) they won’t be making the old version available, but (hopefully) unlike the NIV the revisions won’t contain major theological changes.

The Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force presented a report at last month’s ACNA Provincial Council in Vancouver. (Since the retirement of Bp. Bill Thompson, the TF is chaired by Bp. Bob Duncan, former ACNA primate). The task force has five subcommittees:

1. Calendar, Collects and Lectionaries is developing a 3-year Sunday lectionary based on Common Lectionary (not RCL) as well as a daily office lectionary and a (reduced) list of saints days.
2. Episcopal Office is working on services for the consecration of church and for “celebration of new ministry.”
3. Psalter and Music is producing a new Psalter and an online resource “that would offer hymnody, praise songs, and traditional anthems related to the lectionary of every Sunday and season of the Christian year” as well as service music. It also states explicitly: “There is no plan to produce a hymnal.”
4. Offices of the Hours and Occasional Rites plans services for noontime and compline prayer services.
5. Pastoral Offices is working on marriage and baptism services.

The report also says it hopes to finish all “working texts” by 2017 so it can begin to incorporate feedback from the trial use (so keeps those cards and letters coming!)

Charismatic Episcopal Worship

The ACNA bishops just have finished their annual confab. The website, Twitter stream, Facebook page and email blasts have been telling us that this invitation-only(?) meeting is a big deal.

One thing that's clear is how the bishops (as a group) feel about traditional Anglican worship and hymnody. The official communiqué (on the website and emailed to every ACNA email list) proudly stated:

Throughout the week, we were blessed by having David Clifton, Minister of Worship Arts at the Church of the Apostles, Knoxville, Tennessee, leading our music. He wove historic and contemporary music in a gentle and powerful way that enriched our time together.

Indeed, Clifton’s left hand on his Gibson guitar is the only sign from the ACNA’s Facebook page that there was music at the gathering, and Clifton is posed with a different guitar in his church profile. (To his credit, Clifton was trained as a chorister before joining a few bands and signing a recording contract).

Thus, for most of the bishops — like many ACNA parishes — it appears that the place of “historic” music is to be subordinated to the trendy, contemporary, flavor-of-the-month. Apparently this was also true when Archbishop Beach was first consecrated as a bishop.

I complained to an Anglo-Catholic friend that the Anglican Church of North America seems to be more of the Evangelical Church of North America. His view is that the (liturgical) tension is not between Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical, but with the Charismatic influence.

In his view, the Charismatic is what emphasizes the emotive over the reverent. It certainly seems to explain why so many people want to wave their hands in the sky when we are praying to our Father in the manner proscribed by his son. As an Anglo-Catholic, this seems like it should be the most reverent moment of the service — not the most exuberant.