Jordan Cooper on the "Filioque"

 Here is a great video from Lutheran pastor and theologian Rev. Dr. Jordan Cooper defending the Western view of the "filioque."

'What in the world is that?', you may be asking.  In the Nicene Creed (which churches I pastor recite occasionally) we affirm that "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son..."  

 That phrase "and the Son" is, in Latin, "Filioque" and it was not included in the original form of the Creed that was approved by ecumenical councils representing the whole of the Early Church.  It was added later by the Western Church to emphasize the divinity of the Son.  What is being affirmed is that, from all eternity, the Holy Spirit is proceeding both from the Father and from the Son within the Life of the Holy Trinity forever.

Eastern Orthodox Churches and other Eastern Rites have tended to reject this understanding of the relationship of the Spirit and the Son within the life of the Holy Trinity, and have vociferously rejected the addition of this phrase to the Creed.  

I believe that the "filioque" actually is good theology: it is consistent with the Biblical witness and makes sense of the nature of God, as Cooper explains in the video below.  However, I also agree that an ecumenical creed, authorized by an Ecumenical Council and shared in common by the whole universal/catholic Church of Jesus, ought not be unilaterally changed by only one part of that church without an Ecumenical Council authorizing the change.  

I'm glad to see that, beginning with the Lambeth Conference of 1978, churches of the Anglican Communion have begun to allow the original form of the Creed to be used - but without denying the truth that the "filioque" teaches.  Thus the 2019 Book of Common Prayer allows the phrase "and the Son" to be omitted with the Nicene Creed is recited (see page 768).  The brand new Methodist hymnal, Our Great Redeemer's Praise, follows the 2019 BCP and puts this phrase in [brackets] to indicate that it may be omitted.  Perhaps this approach will become more widespread within the Western Church and may contribute to warmer relations with the Eastern Church as well.

Morning Prayer for Anglicans and Methodists

A detailed look at the Daily Office of Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer, John Wesley's revision of the Prayerbook, and how it continues to influence United Methodist liturgy.

Liturgical Colors and the Christian Year

 

The Great Litany in Wesley's Prayerbook

 A look at the long and strong prayer, called the Litany, from The Book of Common Prayer and which John Wesley also included in his own Sunday Service Book.

Thoughts and Notes on Sunday's Readings (for Oct. 11)

This is the first of a new series that I hope to post (most) every week.

Each week I will look at one or two of the assigned texts from the Revised Common Lectionary and offer a few thoughts, questions, and observations (nothing elaborate or especially scholarly) that I hope may be of help to preachers or students of the Bible wanting to prepare for the coming Sunday's Liturgy.  The text based upon my handwritten notes, sketched out week to week over the last 3 years.  These notes will be most helpful when read alongside the Biblical text itself (I always had a Bible open in front of me when making these notes).

Most weeks I will also suggest a general prayer (known as a "collect") and a liturgical greeting to accompany the chosen text.

My quotations of Bible verses or phrases generally come from either the NRSV or the ESV translations.

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Thoughts and Notes upon Sunday’s Bible Readings

For the 20^th Sunday after Pentecost (Year B)

Collect/Prayer options: UMBOW 308, UMBOW 462, UMBOW 335

Hebrews 4:12-16 & Mark 10:17-31

Hebrews 4:

v.12 – the Word of God ‘pierces’ to the heart of things to ‘judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart’ making our spiritual condition known to us, as it is known to God, as in v.13: “before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”

Jesus speaks in Mark 10 of giving possessions to the poor – if our hearts are resentful against charity towards the poor, we will be made to render our account before him for a “hard heart” (as also in Mark 10:5), as will those who, owing to laziness or sloth, abuse the kindness and charity of others.   All will give an account.

Note – since v.11 speaks of avoiding disobedience so we can enter “God’s rest;” the living and active word, written in Scripture and Incarnate in Jesus, reveals where we disobey to help us avoid disobedience.

V.14-16 – Jesus is the greatest possible high priest because he has entered even into the heavenly temple, for the purification of all those who ‘hold fast to our confession.’  Because he has suffered and been tested as we have, we can approach his heavenly throne to seek ‘mercy and grace’ confident of finding a sympathetic hearing from Jesus.  Being without sin, he shares in complete and unhindered communion with God in the highest heavens; being a true man, he brings our human nature there with him, opening the way for his followers to be brought there also (compare John 14:3).

Mark 10:

v.17 – ‘As he was setting out on a journey…’  This man, it seems, delayed Jesus yet the Savior gave time and attention to the man all the same.  The journey is ultimately to Jerusalem, to the cross, which casts a shadow over this whole passage.

“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  A question we all may sooner or later ask, especially when we are most cognizant of our mortality.  The emphasis on ‘doing’ enough may, in part, be precisely the idea Jesus wants to move them past, since by the end of the conversation the disciples are brought to see that ‘For mortals it is impossible, but…for God all things are possible.’ (v.27)

v.18 ‘No one is good but God alone’ invites the hearers to consider the fullness of Jesus’ identity as the one who is truly good (v.17), while reminding us to put no trust for eternal life in our own goodness.

v. 19 Jesus connects keeping the commandments with the way leading to life.  The man has done so in outward details so Jesus, the Living Word pierces deeper to the heart of the issue (as he did with divorce in verses 1-12).  So he says ‘sell your possessions, give to the poor, and follow me.’  

Following Jesus does not always mean giving away all wealth, since Joseph of Arimathea and Lydia were wealthy disciples (who used their resources for the Kingdom) and Zacchaeus is permitted to keep some of his wealth after he volunteers to give half his wealth to the poor and to make restitution for his fraud (which presumably would use up much of the other half but still not leaving him penniless); but following Jesus does always mean cutting out that which hinders us from giving ourselves over to Him.  The difference between this man and Zacchaeus was a difference of the heart: Zacchaeus was not going to let his great wealth get between him and Jesus (Luke 19) while the rich young ruler did.  The more things we have – be they advantages of wealth, class, education, intellect, or personal gifts, the more things we may be tempted look to as “our portion” besides the Lord (Ps. 119:57); thus Jesus says it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom (v. 23-25).  And we (in the US) are rich indeed.

Giving to the poor is a theme repeated in the stories of the Rich Young Man and Zacchaeus; see also the callousness of the rich man of Luke 16, who gave nothing to poor Lazarus, which is the reason for that man’s condemnation.  This giving (traditionally, “alms”) is an important discipline for followers of Jesus, that we might become ‘cheerful givers’ (2 Cor. 9:7), even as God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer is generous with us.

A couple of interpretations of ‘eye of the needle’ are current (the tiny hole in a sewing needle or a small door in the city gates that required an animal to be unloaded of all its burdens/possessions and kneel or crouch down to pass through); the “sewing needle” is the likeliest reading. 

Note that Jesus’ answer to the man’s question is not so much an answer as an invitation to follow; not theoretical but threateningly practical.  Tom Wright has said it well, that 'This call echoes down through history and we are all judged by the answer we give.'

Note also that “inherit eternal life” (v. 17) and “enter the Kingdom” (v.24) and “be saved” (v. 26) are all used synonymously.  The rich man is the most prominent case of a person refusing a personal call to follow Jesus in the gospels.  So then we must ask, does wealth = “blessed’ as we often assume (as when we say “God has blessed my family/America/my business” etc.)?

Perhaps the rich man, so self-disciplined him keeping the commandments, had grown wealthy through similar disciplined efforts in his business and was loath to give his ‘hard earned’ money to un-working and un-deserving poor.  He expects to earn through his ‘doing’ the Kingdom and perhaps expects the poor to earn all that they gain, rather than simply be given it.  Yet God’s attitude toward us sinners and the attitude he calls forth from us is all grace.

This passage asks us ‘What is wealth for?’

Remember Wesley’s rule: Earn all you can, save (conserve) all you can, (so that you can) give all you can.

Jesus tells the disciples that “in this age” those who had left home and family (as many must do when they convert to Christ in anti-Christian cultures) will receive it back many times over, as they are welcomed into the new family of the Church, which shares its resources.  We must ask, ‘does my life, my handling of my resources, my engagement with the church, help to make that promise true?’

Bringing more BCP language into the UMC liturgy

After several years of membership in "non-liturgical", evangelical churches, it was at St. Alban's Episcopal Chapel at LSU that I began to get reconnected and reacquainted with the Great Tradition of the universal Church, especially our ancient liturgical and sacramental spirituality.  For this reason I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the liturgy and language of The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of 1979 (the liturgy used at St. Alban's), though it is much maligned by some conservative Anglicans for various reasons.  What follows is a Eucharistic liturgy that incorporates much of the language of the 1979 Eucharistic liturgy (Rite II, Prayer A - with slight alteration) into the highly flexible Service of Word and Table III from The United Methodist Hymnal (p. 15-16).

The United Methodist Service of Word and Table III is intended to be a "bare bones" framework, into which a variety of liturgical material (including extempore prayers) can be incorporated without running afoul of the rubrics (red-letter instructions).  With this flexible rite a United Methodist pastor could incorporate language from, say, the Lutheran Divine Liturgy (especially appropriate since we are in full-communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), or (as I have done here) the Book of Common Prayer, while still honoring his ordination vow to accept and uphold the doctrine and liturgy of The United Methodist Church (UMC).  

If you are familiar with the UMC liturgy and the BCP liturgy you will see that I actually maintained the Words of Institution and the Epiclesis from the UMC liturgy, though technically Word and Table III would allow me to use the slightly different versions found in the BCP.  It is just easier for me to use the familiar phrasing at those points when I am handling the elements and therefore least likely to be looking at the page.

So, here is the Great Thanksgiving Prayer incorporating language of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (in italics), for use with United Methodist Word and Table III:

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

For you are the source of light and life; you made us in your image, and called us to new life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest.

Holy and gracious Father: in your infinite love you made us for yourself; and, when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.  He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself, in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; he gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

[Likewise] when the supper was over he took the cup; gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples and said, “Drink from this all of you; this is my blood of the New Covenant, poured out for you, and for many, for the forgiveness of sins; do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith:

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine.  Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast [with all your saints] at his heavenly banquet.

All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ.  By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
All honor and glory is yours Almighty Father, now and forever.
Amen. 


Prayer after Communion:

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this Holy Mystery in which you have given yourself to us.  Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

or

Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.  Send us now into the world in peace and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

For a similar post, click HERE.

Wesley's Prayerbook Litany (updated English)

One of the exciting things happening right now in Methodist/Wesleyan circles is the formation of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society - reconnecting Methodists with our Anglican heritage, connecting Anglicans of a Wesleyan bent (the Wesley brothers were Anglican priests, after all) with other Wesleyan Christians, and serving as a platform for dialogue between Methodist and Anglican Christians. 

As a member of the Society, I am committed to pray the daily office (either from The Book of Common Prayer of 1662, Wesley's revision thereof, The Sunday Service Book, or one of the liturgical books descended from these sources), which I have already been striving for using The United Methodist Book of Worship.  Members of the Society are also encouraged to pray the Litany from one of these Prayerbooks on Wednesdays and Fridays (in accord with the Anglican tradition and Wesley's own recommendation); for me this is a new practice I am striving to "pick up."
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The Litany was the first service to be prepared in English for the Church of England in 1544, 10 years after King Henry severed ties with the pope in Rome. The Litany was compiled by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer based upon several sources: the Medieval (Latin) Sarum Liturgy that was widely used in England during the Middle Ages, Luther's German Litany, and the Greek Orthodox Litany. The Litany has remained a core element of all editions of The Book of Common Prayer, including the 1662 Prayerbook that was used by the Wesley brothers.

When John Wesley revised the Prayerbook in 1784 for Methodist usage in North America, he made virtually no changes to the Litany, though some prayers relating to the ruling authorities (such as the King of England) were revised for American use. While the Litany was originally recommended in the Anglican tradition for use on Sundays (as a bridge between the Morning Prayer service and the Holy Communion Service) and Wednesdays and Fridays, Wesley maintains only the recommendation to use it on Wednesdays and Fridays (in order to shorten the Sunday liturgy).

This modern-language revision is based upon the litany in Wesley's Sunday Service book, and has been compared with the 1662 and the 1979 Common Prayer books.

Recommended for Wednesdays and Fridays, or for other occasions;

O God the Father of heaven; have mercy upon us sinners.

O God the Father of heaven; have mercy upon us sinners.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world; have mercy upon us sinners.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world; have mercy upon us sinners.

O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful; have mercy upon us sinners.

O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful; have mercy upon us sinners.

O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God; have mercy upon us sinners.

O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God; have mercy upon us sinners.

Lord, keep no record of our offenses, nor the offenses of our ancestors; and do not punish our sins: spare us, good Lord, spare your people whom you have redeemed with your most precious blood, and do not be angry with us forever.

Spare us, good Lord.

From all evil and harm, from sin, from the crafts and assaults of the devil, from your wrath, and from everlasting damnation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all spiritual blindness, from pride, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice; and from all lack of love and charity,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From sinful affections, fornication, and any other deadly sin; and from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from dying unprepared,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all oppression, conspiracy, and rebellion; from false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of your word and commandment,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of your holy Incarnation; by your holy Nativity and Circumcision; by your Baptism, fasting, and temptation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By your agony and bloody sweat; by your Cross and Passion; by your precious death and burial; by your glorious Resurrection and Ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit,

Good Lord, deliver us.

In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the Day of Judgment,

Good Lord, deliver us.

We sinners ask you to hear us, O Lord God, and may you govern and guide your holy catholic Church in the right way,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you strengthen the godly faith, the righteousness, and the holy living of all your servants who hold the authority of government in this nation,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you lead their hearts to trust, fear, and love you, that they may evermore seek your honor and glory,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you enlighten all ministers of your church and your gospel with true knowledge and understanding of your holy word, that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth and declare it,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you bless and keep all magistrates and judges, giving them grace to execute justice and maintain the truth,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you bless and keep all your people,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you give to all nations unity, peace, and concord,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you give us hearts to love and revere you, and diligently to keep your commandments,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you give all your people an increase of grace to hear your Word, to receive it with pure hearts, and to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you bring into the way of truth all those who have erred and who are deceived,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you strengthen those who stand firm in faith, comfort and help the faint-hearted, raise up those who fall, and finally beat down Satan under our feet,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you sustain, help, and comfort all who are in danger, need, and tribulation,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you preserve all who travel, women in childbirth and their little ones, all sick persons and young people; and show your pity to all prisoners and captives,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you defend and provide for all orphans and widows, and all who are desolate and oppressed,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you have mercy upon all people,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers; and turn their hearts,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you give and preserve to our use the good fruits of the earth, that in due time all may enjoy your creation,

Hear us, good Lord.

May you grant us true repentance, forgive all our sin, negligence and ignorance, and pour upon us the grace of your Holy Spirit to conform our lives to your holy word,

Hear us, good Lord.

Son of God, we beg you to hear us.

Son of God, we beg you to hear us.

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Grant us your peace.

O Christ, hear us.

O Christ, hear us.

Lord, have mercy upon us. (Kyrie eleison)

Lord have mercy upon us. (Kyrie eleison)

Christ, have mercy upon us. (Christe eleison)

Christ have mercy upon us. (Christe eleison)

Lord, have mercy upon us. (Kyrie eleison)

Lord, have mercy upon us. (Kyrie eleison)

Our Father, who art in heaven, 

hallowed be thy Name;

Thy Kingdom come;

thy will be done on Earth,

as it is in heaven:

Give us this day

our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us;

And lead us not 

into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory forever.

O Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins,

And do not reward us according to our iniquities.

Let us pray.

O God, merciful Father, who does not ignore the sighing of a contrite heart or the anguish of the sorrowful: Mercifully help us to turn to you with prayer in all our troubles and adversities; and graciously hear us so that the evils brought against us by the craft of the devil or the work of human hands may all come to nothing; and grant that we your servants may not be harmed by any persecutions, but may evermore give thanks to you in your holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for your Name's sake.

O Lord, we have heard with our ears and our ancestors have declared to us the noble works that you have done from of old,

O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for your honor.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

From our enemies defend us, O Christ.

Graciously look upon our afflictions.

Behold with pity the sorrow of our hearts.

Mercifully forgive the sins of your people.

By your favor and mercy, hear our prayers.

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon us.

Hear us, Lord Christ, now and always.

Graciously hear us, O Lord Christ.

O Lord, let your mercy be shown to us,

Because we put our trust in you.

Let us pray.

We humbly ask you, O Father, to look upon our infirmities with mercy; and for the glory of your name to turn away from us all those evils that we have deserved; and grant that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in your mercy; and that we may evermore serve you in holiness and purity of life, to your honor and glory; through our Advocate and only Mediator, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Free prayers may be offered here, as the Spirit leads

Prayer of St. John Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, you will be in the midst of them and hear them. Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

The Blessing – 2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all evermore. Amen.

Vesting prayer for United Methodist clergy

In my experience most United Methodist clergy wear vestments when leading the divine service, in keeping with the traditions of the Wesleys and our Anglican heritage as well as those of the ancient undivided Church (and indeed, of the Biblical worship of the Old Covenant as well).  I thoroughly endorse this practice (even in services employing 'contemporary' music) as it adds another visual and 'iconic' element to the multi-sensory worship experience, it maintains our connections with the broader liturgical tradition, and it adds a deeper sense of reverence and gravitas to the service of worship.

Today’s United Methodist clergy (presbyters, deacons, and local pastors) likely wear a seasonal stole and possibly a pectoral cross over either a Geneva gown (an elaboration upon the black Cassock developed for the clergy of the medieval academy and used by many Churches with roots in the Reformation) or the still more ancient Alb with cincture.   Some United Methodist pastors, adhering more closely to the Anglican tradition and Wesley's own practice, wear a cassock with a surplice (a flowing white robe derived from the alb) over it, in addition to the stole and pectoral cross (pictured above are United Methodist clergy wearing cassock and surplice with a red stole at Cox Chapel in Dallas). 

In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches the presbyters say a particular prayer with each additional garment that is put on while vesting (the actual vestments used as well as the prayers said are somewhat different in the Eastern and Latin Churches).  Some Anglo-Catholics use the same prayers as the Roman Catholic clergy.  I generally say an extempore prayer for myself and the people while vesting in my office before the worship service.  I have wanted to compose, or better yet discover in the tradition, a vesting prayer that would be appropriate for United Methodist clergy.  Now I’ve found one!

Students of liturgy likely know that our current United Methodist liturgy is derived from the Sunday Service Book of John Wesley, which itself is a revision of The Book of Common Prayer (1662).  The Anglican Common Prayer Book is, in large part, based upon the medieval Sarum Use of the Latin liturgy.  The Sarum Use was a version of the Latin Liturgy that developed in and around Salisbury Cathedral and became popular throughout England and is thus uniquely British.  I’ve recently discovered that according to the medieval Sarum liturgy, the priest did not say the same vesting prayers used by today’s Roman Catholic clergy, but rather was directed to recite the Veni Creator Spiritus, an ancient hymn beginning “Come, Holy Ghost.”  See the section headed “Preparation” on pages 8-9 of this essay about the Sarum liturgy.

The Veni Creator Spiritus (perhaps followed or preceded by a brief extempore prayer asking God’s mercy and aid for the pastor and congregation) is an especially appropriate vesting prayer for United Methodist clergy for several reasons:

As we've seen, this prayer (already nearly a thousand years old in John Wesley's day) is a part of the ancient British liturgical tradition (in the Sarum liturgy), and as such it was carried forward into the liturgy of The Book of Common Prayer, where it is used in the ordination services.  Furthermore John Wesley retained it in the ordination rite when he revised the BCP into the Sunday Service Book.  So it is part of the medieval catholic, the Anglican, and the Wesleyan liturgical heritage.  More than that, in keeping with Wesley’s Sunday Service Book, the Veni Creator Spiritus is still called for in our contemporary ordination rites (see for example The United Methodist Book of Worship page 690, the first rubric) and it is found at 651 in The United Methodist Hymnal so that our clergy can have it near at hand while vesting.  So we too have in our own Methodist liturgical tradition a wonderful vesting prayer for our clergy to use, that recalls the charge and gifts we received at our own ordination.

In case you don't have your Hymnal handy, the words are to be found here (search for hymn 651). 

Bringing the Old Language into the New Rite

Like a great many United Methodist clergy, I regularly lead in celebrating Holy Communion using the rite in The United Methodist Hymnal (p. 12-15) called Word and Table II (or Rite II, presented in part below).  This rite gives a "standard" format for celebrating the Lord's Supper, while also allowing for variation at four points that marked by an asterisk ( * - you will see these in the presentation of Rite II below).  Thus we Methodists stay true to our Anglican liturgical heritage (Rite II reflects the 1979 Book of Common Prayer liturgy) while also staying true to our evangelical heritage of flexibility and openess to the Holy Spirit.

Word and Table Rite I and Rite III are variations of the same rite; Rite III is a more "bare bones" rite requiring the celebrant to "fill in" several parts of the prayer with pre-selected or sponteneous words (Rite III requires additonal words beyond simply what is written), allowing for even more flexibility and adaptation, while Rite I is the same rite completely 'fleshed out' and is to be prayed exactly as written.  Churches that use the Great Thanksgiving Prayers for the various liturgical seasons and holy-days of the Christian year in our Book of Worship (p. 54-79) will generally have the congregation follow Rite II.

While Word and Table I-III are basically longer and shorter versions of the same Rite, our Hymnal and our Book of Worship also contain a very different rite for celebrating the sacrament called Word and Table IV (Rite IV) which gives us the older "King James English" of John Wesley's Sunday Service Book and of the classic 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican tradtion.
In the Book(s) of Common Prayer of the Anglican tradition, just before the Sanctus there is a "Proper Preface," a part of the prayer that changes seasonally, recalling an aspect of who God is and what he has done that evokes our praise and thanksgiving.  The "old English" rite in the Methodist liturgy (Rite IV) also contains these seasonal prefaces (see The United Methodist Book of Worship p.46-48).   

In the classic Anglican rite the portion of the prayer immediately following the Sanctus ("Holy Holy Holy..."), which recalls the Father sending the Son as redeemer, is always the same going back to Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's original Book of Common Prayer of the mid-1500s.  This part of the prayer is also maintained almost without change in the "old language" rite (Rite IV) in the Methodist worship books.  Many of us who value our Anglican liturgical heritage may find ourselves wanting to use Rite IV more often precisely because the precise wording does more perfectly reflect the Book of Common Prayer liturgy of the last 500 years; however this desire runs somewhat counter to our desire to celebrate the sacrament in a language understood by contemporary people. 

However, with only a little bit of planning ahead, the classic language of the Anglican liturgy contained in Wesley's Sunday Service Book and in Rite IV can be integrated into the newer rites in a way that does not run afoul of the 'rubrics' (the instructions printed in red italics).  What follows is Rite II in regular font with wording based on Rite IV (the old liturgy) inserted in italics as the "appropriate words" that the pastor may add.  This approach not only preserves the old language, but also marries the strong theology of the cross emphasized in Rite IV with that of Christ's presence in the Supper which is more emphasized in Rite II (note: the responses of the congregation are in bold).
_____________________
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.*

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the Highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.*

Almighty Father, in your tender mercy you did give him, your only Son,
to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption:
He made there, by the one offering of himself,
a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world;
He did institute, and in his holy gospel command us to continue,
a perpetual memory of his precious death until his coming again.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.*

On the night in which he gave himself up for us he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said: "Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me."
When the Supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said: "Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine.  Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.*

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, all honor and glory is yours Almighty Father, now and for ever.  Amen.
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The resulting rite would be shorter than Word and Table I (the congregation could follow Rite II in the Hymnal) and would also contain more of the classic language and theology that we Methodists inherit from the larger Anglican tradition, without using an English idiom that (while quite beautiful) will strike some hearers as archaic or difficult to understand. 

The Daily Hours at Sewanee

When I was a sophomore in college I attended a retreat with the St. Alban's chapel college group. We went to Sewanee, TN, where we stayed at the St. Mary's retreat house and spent our days hiking and cave-exploring or bumming around the campus of The University of the South. Each day included some of the divine hours or daily office - whether it was the morning prayer said with our little group at the retreat house, or the Sung Compline by candle-light in the glorious cathedral-like chapel at the University. It was there, on what they like to call "the holy mountain," that I seriously began to consider that God's still small voice might be calling me into a vocational ministry, much like what Father Patrick (St Alban's pastor) was doing. In the years since, Sewanee has become for me a place of pilgrimage and renewal.

My experiences there were also some of my very early experiences with praying the daily office of the historic church. Now, as a pastor and especially as a member of the Order of St. Luke, I have a commitment to use the daily office to shape my regular time of prayer (much like John and Charles Wesley themselves). Most days this means, for me, praying through the morning or mid-day office from The United Methodist Book of Worship (UMBOW). The four daily prayer services found in that worship book (morning, mid-day, evening, and night) are more flexible and (potentially) shortened forms of the offices as they are practiced by Anglicans.

One of the great things about the divine hours, as is mentioned below in the video, is how they connect our daily rythms to the great story of God. The morning service as the sun is rising reminds us of the women going to the tomb around sunrise to find Christ risen, and the rising sun points us back to the Rising Son and invites us to ponder it. The mid-day office (especially in some of the prayers found in the Book of Common Prayer) reminds us in part that Christ was hung on the cross at mid-day. As the lamps are lit for evening as the sun is setting, we remember the Light of Christ, to whom John the Baptist testified, taking flesh and dwelling among us in a dark world. At compline, or night prayer, we always (in the Methodist and Anglican rites) recite the Nunc Dimitis of Luke 2:28-32 before closing our eyes to sleep and, as the Archbishop of Canterbury once put it, we 'rehearse' in preparation for the end of our own lives, commending ourselves into the hands of God.

The video below is about the use of the Daily Office at Sewanee. Below that is a version of the United Methodist rite of Evening Praise and Prayer that can be easily printed on a single piece of card stock and used privately or in groups. The prayers of the people could come in the form of a pre-scribed litany (such as the "standard" litany included in the Evening service itself at UMBOW p. 575-6, or the suggested alternative litany at UMBOW p. 495), or the people could simply lift up names, concerns, and prayers extemporaneously, with the call and response said following each concern.



==============================================

Evening Praise and Prayer
As taken from The United Methodist Book of Worship, p.574 and The United Methodist Hymnal p.878

One: Light and Peace in Jesus Christ.
All: Thanks be to God.

[ Incense may be burned with these words:
I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you;
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:1-2) ]

The Gloria Patri may be said or sung (see Hymnal #70):

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.

Hymn(s) may be sung

This or another prayer may be said by a leader or by all in unison:

We praise you and thank you, O God,
for you are without beginning and without end.
Through Christ, you created the whole world; through Christ you preserve it.
You made the day for the works of light
and the night for the refreshment of our minds and bodies.
Keep us now in Christ; grant us a peaceful evening,
a night free from sin; and bring us at last to eternal life;
Through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, we offer you all glory,
honor, and worship, now and forever. Amen. (4th Century Evening Liturgy)

Scripture Reading(s)

Silence

Song of Praise: traditionally, “Magnificat” (Hymnal #198-199); or another song may be used

Prayers for ourselves and others. After each prayer the people may respond:
One: Lord, in your mercy,
All: Hear our prayer.

The Lord's Prayer

One: The grace of Jesus Christ enfold you this night. Go in peace.
All: Thanks be to God.

Prayers in the UM Hymnal

As I may have mentioned before, I went to a United Methodist Church as a child, where I was also confirmed. Throughout high school and the beginning of college, I attended other churches, mostly Baptist and independent evangelical churches. From these evangelical churches I learned most of what I know about the content and nuances of the Bible, and caught from them a desire to know God's book as well as I could, chapter and verse. During college, however, I got involved in St. Alban's (Episcopal/Anglican) Chapel and also fell in love with the beautiful, wise, and deeply-rooted liturgy of The Book of Common Prayer.

Knowing that the Anglicans were somehow connected to or similar to the Methodists I had grown up among, I eventually decided to attend the cathedral-like First United Methodist Church in downtown Baton Rouge, to take another look at Methodism. Imagine my delight upon attending a service and opening the hymnal to discover a variant of the same Anglican liturgy I had discovered at St. Alban's! This was a part of how I found my way back to the Methodist tradition of my childhood.

In my first year or so back in United Methodism, I made it my point to carefully study the Methodist hymnal and the liturgy. I had been using The Book of Common Prayer as a source for devotional material and hoped to use The United Methodist Hymnal (with the appropriate subtitle: Book of United Methodist Worship) in much the same way, and so I made careful comparisons between these two worship books.

I discovered The United Methodist Hymnal to be one of the richest worship books you can find anywhere in Christendom (and probably one of the more under-appreciated): here you fill find evangelical revival hymns like "The Old Rugged Cross" and yet here you will also find the classic liturgy of Word and Table in the Anglican tradition; here you will find many prayers and hymns from many saints (even a pope or two) from across the Christian tradition, both East and West, yet you will also find the works of reforming figures like Martin Luther as well.

One resource I eventually created to help me use this wonderful and truly "catholic" worship book (drawing from the WHOLE church like none other), was a chart or index of the prayers found in the Hymnal that I could draw upon for personal and group use. There is a similar index found in The United Methodist Book of Worship (the UMC's other major worship book, p. 497-8), but whereas that chart is alphabetical this one below is arranged topically, which I find more helpful.

I found it useful to put this list into two columns on one page, print it on adhesive paper, and then stick it in the back cover of my United Methodist Hymnals. I hope it may be useful to you. If you would like me to send you this stuff (already in 2 columns) in a Word file, just email me and let me know.

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Some Prayers of The United Methodist Hymnal: Book of United Methodist Worship

Prayer - Page/Hymn number

The Christian Year:

1 Advent - 201*
2 Christmas - 231
3 Epiphany - 255
4 Baptism of the Lord - 253*
5 Transfiguration - 259
6 Lent - 268
7 Ash Wednesday - 353
8 Passion/Palm Sunday - 281
9 Holy Thursday - 283*
10 Good Friday - 284*
11 Easter Vigil of Day - 320
12 Sundays of Easter - 321
13 Ascension - 323
14 Day of Pentecost - 542
15 Trinity Sunday - 76*
16 All Saints - 713*
17 Christ the King - 721*

In Worship:

18 Collect for Purity (Opening Prayer) - 6*
19 For True Singing - 69
20 Bread and Justice (Eucharist) - 639
21 Post-Communion Prayer - 11
22 Apostolic Blessing (benediction) - 669
23 Prayer of St. John Chrysostom - 412*
24 Praising God of many names - 104

Morning:

24 For a New Day - 676
25 Listen Lord (morning prayer) - 677
26 For Help for the Forthcoming Day - 681*
27 Morning Thanksgiving - 877

Evening:

28 Evening Thanksgiving - 878
29 At the close of day (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) - 689
30 For protection at night - 691
31 For a peaceful night - 693

For Knowledge of God through Scripture:

32 For the Spirit of Truth - 597
33 Concerning the Scriptures - 602*
34 Prayer for Illumination - 6
35 Come Divine Interpreter - 594
36 Whether the Word be Preached or Read - 595

Confession, Assurance, Pardon:

37 We have sinned against you… - 890*
38 We have erred and strayed… - 891*
39 We have not loved thee… - 892
40 Litany of Confession - 893
41 New Rite Confession and Pardon - 8
42 Classic Rite Confession and Pardon - 26*
43 Psalm 25 - 756
44 Psalm 51 - 785
45 Psalm 90 - 809
46 Psalm 130 - 848
47 Psalm 139 - 854

For The Church:

48 For Unity of Christ’s Body - 564
49 For Renewal of the Church - 574
50 Litany for Christian Unity (Pope John Paul II/the Great) - 556
51 Prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola (discipleship) - 570

Fullness of Salvation, Holiness, and life with God:

52 An Invitation to Christ (St. Dimitri of Rostov) - 466
53 For Illumination - 477
54 A Covenant prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition - 607
55 Prayer to the Holy Spirit - 329
56 An invitation to the Holy Spirit - 335
57 Prayer for a New Heart - 392
58 For Holiness of Heart - 401
59 The Prayer of St. Francis - 481*
60 Three things we pray (St. Richard of Chichester) - 493
61 For True Life (St. Teresa of Avila) - 403
62 Freedom in Christ - 360
63 Finding Rest in God (St. Augustine of Hippo) - 423
64 Sufficiency of God (Dame Julian of Norwich) - 495

Prayers for various occasions:

65 God is able - 106
66 For overcoming Adversity (Savonarola) - 531
67 A refuge amid distraction - 535
68 For Direction - 705*
69 For Guidance - 366
70 For Grace to Labor (St. Thomas More) - 409
71 For our Country - 429
72 For Courage to do Justice - 456
73 Serving the Poor (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)- 446
74 The Serenity prayer - 459

75 For the Sick - 457*
76 In Times of Illness - 460
77 For those who mourn - 461

Life Events:

79 At the birth of a child 146
80 If Death my friend and me divide 656

See also:
The Lord’s Prayer: 894-896
Liturgical Psalter (100 selected Psalms): 735-862
Creeds and Affirmations of our Faith: 880-889

*Indicates a prayer inherited from The Book of Common Prayer

Practical tips in celebrating the Lord's Supper

When John Wesley sent Bishop Thomas Coke along with the Articles of Religion and The Sunday Service Book across the ocean to found The Methodist Episcopal Church (now The United Methodist Church) he urged the ordained elders to celebrate Holy Communion "every Lord's Day" using this official liturgy. With the adoption of "This Holy Mystery" the General Conference of The United Methodist Church has repeated this call to our clergy and congregations: move toward weekly communion and use the established liturgy.

As a campus minister who travels to various churches, I have had opportunity to witness a number of different Methodist pastors celebrate the sacrament and have a few practical observations and pointers to improve what we actually do at the table. Those pastors who are not detail-oriented may not think these tips are significant or worth bothering to think about ahead of time, yet these practices will make a difference for the people of your congregation.

1) This one I am less adamant about, but it is very appropriate, and a venerable old tradition, for representatives of the congregation to present the elements during the presentation of the offering (see page 8 of the Hymnal); another nod to this same tradition is to simply uncover the elements and set the table during the offering.

2) Have an altar-table, even if a small and portable one, that can be used to set the elements upon and which may support a worship book. Don't allow the table to become overly cluttered with decorations so as to obstruct your hand motions (see #5). Think dignity, beauty, and simplicity when decorating it. There are prayers for setting aside and dedicating a table for this sort of use in The Book of Worship.

3) As I have argued many times before, use the Church's Great Thanksgiving prayer from the worship books; don't just make it up as you go. The Church's prayer tells the story of God, and communicates the Church's beliefs (not only the individual pastor's) about the Lord's Supper. If you check out Great Thanksgiving #2 or #3 in the Hymnal, you will note that there are places where the pastor may "say words appropriate to the occassion" and this is the proper place to pray "as the Spirit leads" (perhaps touching upon the message of the sermon), yet doing so within the structure of the Church's ancient and communal prayer. Thus, in our United Methodist liturgy, there is both form and flexibility and this we should own and celebrate.

The use of the Church's prayer should include breaking the bread with the words from the liturgy after the Lord's Prayer (see United Methodist Hymnal page 11).

Do not divide the prayer up with different people saying different parts. It is a single prayer and should be led by a single elder/presbyter (or bishop).
4) Stand at the altar-table during the Great Thanksgiving - do not read the prayer from the pulpit or some other place. This may mean getting an assistant, or a book stand, to hold the worship book if need be, as it certainly makes a lot more sense for me to stand close enough to touch the elements while I am actually consecrating them. Likewise you should have all of the elements that you intend to consecrate on (or very near) the table during the Great Thanksgiving.

If your table is attached to the back wall (as in many gothic buildings) you may proceed in several ways.
I have been to Anglo-Catholic services where the priest faces the altar (and not the people) and actually find it inspiring - he is, after all, leading us in talking to God, not talking to us, so don't be afraid to try that. Or you could pull in a portable table (see #2) so as to face the people. Or you could compromise and face the people from the beginning of the prayer ("The Lord be with you...") until the Words of Institution at which point you could turn and face the altar. If you try this it might still be appropriate to turn towards the people when saying "Take, eat..." and "Drink from this..." and holding up the appropriate element.
5) What are you doing with your hands? I have noticed some clergy seem undecided about their hand motions, sometimes holding them up or folding them, appartently at random. Use your hand motions deliberately. Here is what I suggest and always do (I believe this is what the Book of Worship also commends):

I lift my hands (palms up) at the beginning of the prayer, and keep them raised until the words of institution (except I fold them during the Sanctus, "Holy, Holy...").

During the words of institution I lift the bread and then the cup at the appropriate points, then fold my hands during the Memorial Acclamation ("Christ has died...").
During the Epiclesis I elevate my hands, palms towards the people ("Pour out your Spirit on us gathered here..."), and then move them over the elements, palms down (and on these gifts of bread and wine...).

Finally I lift my hands again (palms up) for the concluding doxology.
I try to make all of my motions slow-ish and deliberate. At any rate you should do something with your hands, as it will engage the congregation more in the sacramental moment. Do not underestimate the importance of body language.
6) What about the vessels? I always use, and recommend, a single loaf and a single cup (just the way Jesus and the Apostle Paul do it in the Bible). I consecrate the same vessels that we will actually use in distribution (no "prop" vessels). I avoid and dislike the "communion shot glasses" as they destroy the whole "one body" image.

7) Let the people come (as they are physically able) to the altar area to recieve, do not pass the elements around the pews. It is strongly encouraged in our Methodist tradition that we sing during this time.
8) Use handsome vessels since the beauty or ugliness of our vessels communicates about the reality of what is happening as surely as our words do. I generally use a silver chalice and patten (a small plate), since I think the "clay-ware" chalices are (generally) quite ugly looking. I have seen some nice wooden and glass sets, however. Again, don't underestimate the importance of visual cues and the ways that images communicate - especially for Postmodern young people.
9) Along the same lines as #8, do use some vestments when celebrating the Lord's Supper. Several points are worth noting here:

a) We are heirs to a rich tradition of vestments from the Early Church and the Anglican Tradition and that is a legacy that we ought not cast off lightly. Among other things that they do, vestments visually connect us to the Church through history and visually enhance the total worship experience.

b) You can have energetic cutting-edge/contemporary music and vestments in the same service. Believe me, people do it. Don't allow yourself to be caught up in a false antithesis between "traditional worship" and "contemporary worship." Feel free to boldly blur those artificial lines.

c) If you don't wear a clergy robe or an alb during the service, you might consider at least wearing a stole - the symbol or ordination, sacramental authorization, and servant leadership - during the Great Thanksgiving. I don't generally wear a full robe at the campus ministry where I serve, but I do always drape a stole of the appropriate liturgical color over the altar-table and put it upon myself just before the Great Thanksgiving prayer. Sometimes I wear a collar.

The practice of always wearing a white stole for communion is a relic of the days when communion was not celebrated regularly. For weekly celebration the appropriate liturgical color should be worn. In terms of robes, the white Alb, the "standard" black clergy robe (Geneva gown), or the cassock and surplice are those most often used among United Methodist clergy and (along with the stole) all have precedent in the Anglican and/or Early Church tradition.
10) Wash your hands before the service. In some traditions (Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism) it is the custom for the priest to ceremonially wash hands before the Great Thanksgiving. You might want to introduce this as some Methodist clergy have done. You might also want to use sanitizer wipes, although if you do this do not tear open a wipes packet or use a squirt bottle right in front of everyone. This is tacky. Rather, have your wipes ready to go on the table. Slowly wipe your hands with them, and then carefully fold them and place them on the table just before the Great Thanksgiving prayer (do not wad them up and chunk them in the trash as this too is tacky). Better still would be to have wipes by your chair to use before you approach the table. Again, keep in mind that all your body language communicates and that this is a sacred, beautiful, and reverent moment.
11) Have both a bread-breaker and a chalice-bearer when distributing the elements since this is more sanitary than letting each person grab the loaf themselves, and provides and excellent opportunity to better involve a deacon or lay person in the service.
12) Don't be afraid to experiment with the musical responses during the Great Thanksgiving prayer, especially after people have gotten accustomed to the flow of the Great Thanksgiving prayer. There are several musical responses in the Hymnal and The Faith We Sing and they can enrich your worship service.
13) Enjoy what you are doing! You are a presbyter of Christ's one holy Church and you have been given the sacred honor and responsibility to lead in consecrating the elements of Holy Communion and to facilitate an encounter between Christ and the people at the Lord's Table - that is awesome! So please don't just stand there and read a prayer like as though bored or "zoned out". Savor and enjoy what you are doing - and the other people will too.

SO - those are a few practical steps I hope every Methodist elder will consider taking as we attempt to lead the Church toward a more frequent and more engaging celebration of Holy Communion. What might you add to that?