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The Exquisite Decorum of the Episcopal Good Friday Service
March 21, 2008 on 10:23 pm | In Fighting Frump, Poise | No one does liturgy like the Piskies. They have it DOWN: decorum, demeanor, graceful transitions from element to element, gracious and confident administration of the sacraments. I attended a Maundy Thursday service at a liberal Christian church in Boston last night and Good Friday at the Cathedral Church in Boston. I love the people who presided at both services, but let me just say this:
liturgically-oriented Unitarian Universalists and other Free Church folk, hear me: attend worship with the Episcopalians and see how it’s done, please. I love you dearly but I beg of you. Go thou and study.
I attended today’s service with a friend and his comment at the end of everything was “They are better than anyone else at making a space for the Mystery.” And I said, “I couldn’t agree with you more, but that Acolyte totally should not have been wearing Merrell Jungle Mocs with white socks under her robe.”
Everything else was glorious.
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Thanks for criticizing the choice of sports shoes for sacred occasions. Jesus may have been casual (not a proven fact, BTW), but we are not him.
Comment by Rev Elz — March 21, 2008 #
Thanks for the Episco-compliment from one of your Episco-friends. (WHY am I popping in here when I’ve been in liturgy and meditating on the Cross — and on the Pieta — all day? Oh, maybe that’s why.)
As for the Merrells, at least they were black. Coulda been worse.
Comment by Caroline Divine — March 21, 2008 #
I have Merrell Jungle Mocs in pink and gray, which are kind of goofy and appropriate in only the most casual of settings. They would have been worse.
Comment by repressed librarian — March 22, 2008 #
I’m so glad you enjoy my church, yes our liturgy is part of why I am where I am!
The acolyte thing seems to be endemic, same issue at my church but I’m also trying to convince the acolytes mother’s that the robe should come down PAST their dear punkin’s knees. She won’t trip and kill herself on it, honest!
Comment by Tandaina — March 22, 2008 #
“I love the people who presided at both services, but let me just say this:
liturgically-oriented Unitarian Universalists and other Free Church folk, hear me: attend worship with the Episcopalians and see how it’s done, please. I love you dearly but I beg of you. Go thou and study.”
Amen, amen, amen! I’m UCC at a UCC seminary and of a Mercersburg/higher church bent…and finding the lack of liturgical sensibilities of you New Englander types atrocious.
Comment by Aliceinlampyland — March 22, 2008 #
Sadly, I think my (high church Episcopal) church has given up on trying to get acolytes to wear nice shoes. We get ratty, untied tennis shoes a lot. The Merrells in black would be a huge improvement (with black socks, they wouldn’t really be all that noticeable). At least the acolyte could probably walk quietly in those…I love the people (clergy are sometimes the worst) who CLOP CLOP CLOP around during the moments of silence during Holy Week services (we don’t have any carpet).
Comment by Elizabeth — March 22, 2008 #
I attended a service once where the assistant for the Lord’s Table was wearing Superman pajamas. : )
Comment by T — March 22, 2008 #
I committed the major faux pas of where long jeans under my robe Maundy Thursday and I think I caught someone snickering when I bowed so I’ve learned my lesson (hopefully). I bought some cute shoes for Easter day.
Comment by indie — March 22, 2008 #
PeaceBang, honey, I am so glad you like that liturgical thing we Episcopalians do. It is one o’clock Easter morning over here in Southeast England and I have just gotten home from the Great Vigil of Easter at Canterbury Cathedral, a two-hour rock-’em-sock-’em, take-no-prisoners liturgy, and I am utterly satisfied, though of course I will get up in the morning and hit the eleven o’clock sung Eucharist too with the Archbishop preaching and the Lord Mayor and the High Sheriff of Kent and the Councillors and university Vice-Chancellors all in attendance in their ceremonial robes. All I can say is, wish you were here!
It’s great that you get to visit around this week. I feel it’s such a gift that the churches (and for that matter religions) aren’t all alike. Just knowing that you are holding down the UU end of things, and the Quakers are doing that quiet thing they do (pretty much the complete opposite of ours, and a wonderful rest from too much parading!), and our Jewish friends are tending to their tradition, in a way frees us Piskies to concentrate on our specialty and not feel guilty about being liturgy freaks. Different gifts, each with its own blessing.
Of course, we are not beyond mistakes. Our wonderful Presiding Bishop was photographed this week during her visit to the Holy Land wearing a garish mitre and cope that have set off aesthetic shock waves and uproarious jokes among the faithful back home, and it is generally agreed that the situation calls for an intervention either by PeaceBang or by a Queer Eye team (which among us ‘inclusive’ Piskies would not be difficult to assemble). If you’ve been over to MadPriest’s this week you will have seen it and enjoyed the laffs.
Here’s wishing you and SweetieBang a radiant Easter!
Comment by Mary Clara — March 22, 2008 #
Would they have been OK with black socks? [Not really, but it would have been a slight improvement. - PB]
Comment by enzgrrl — March 25, 2008 #
I too was at that Cathedral Liturgy. Didn’t notice the shoes, but thought that the Revd. Stephanie Spellers’ sermon was hot, hot, hot!
See my blog for my account of the Liturgy. I am the former Rector of St. James’s, Cambridge.
http://jmichaelpovey-retiredpoveinsarasota.blogspot.com/
Comment by J. Michael Povey — March 26, 2008 #
Yep, I see lots of fellow-Episcopalians here. Nobody wrote liturgy like Thomas Cranmer. We are so lucky. I frequently get complimented on my services (funerals, weddings, holidays), and I can honestly take no credit at all, except that we conform assiduously to the Book of Common Prayer, which is exquisite. Yes, there are quite a few variations allowed — and it takes some sensibility to employ those variations pleasingly. But I do agree with you. We Episcopalians do have the corner on exquisite liturgy.
Comment by Ann — March 27, 2008 #