Today we continue
to reflect on the theme of worship and the enrichment of the experience.
Sunday morning heralds
a peace-filled day. Chores that
needed to be done were done quietly and quickly. The focus of attention was church; nothing was to detract
from that. When all were ready,
the journey to the church began as people greeted each other on the way and called
out at various houses to make sure that persons recognized the time was
here. One should not forget the
role the church bell played, ringing an hour before the service for 5 minutes
and then half hour before for about 10 to 15 minutes. When it stopped, the organist would play until the beginning
of the service.
Approach in
Reverence
Persons entered
church quietly and sat down. As
soon as they sat down they would kneel and give thanks to God for what he had
done in their lives. They would
thank God for the week and the safe journey to church. Other things would be included as persons felt moved. Children were Òwatered and
fedÓ before entering the church and so there was no thought of walking in and
out of the service, neither of paper rattling as parents gave snacks –
not in worship. Parents with very
small children sat near the window or a door to keep the child cool or to take
the child outside if it became too restless and hence likely to disturb the
others at worship. This was the only day people got to leave their lives for a
moment and enter into the presence of God in such a collective and intentional
manner and it was not tampered with in any way.
Latecomers and
people with a serious need to enter or leave the building did so during the singing
of a hymn or psalm only. This was in an attempt not to disturb
other worshippers. If, on entering
a pew, someone was kneeling saying his prayer, persons
would sit somewhere else momentarily to give the individual the opportunity to
complete his devotion without feeling pressured.
Adoration in
Silence
As Anglicans, we
do not have long periods of singing to bring us into a mood to worship; we use
silence and meditation to create a sense of the holy. This is why we pay so much attention to our sanctuaries and
adorn them with flowers and stained glass windows, candles and crosses. They are to lead us to the thought ÒO
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, let the whole earth stand in awe of
Him.Ó(Psalm 96:9)
Silence therefore
is very important to our worship and is preserved at all costs. This is why movement is restricted only
to liturgical actions and when done, in a manner that enhances and does not
detract from the atmosphere of the holiness of God. We have never been an ÒAlleluia, Praise the LordÓ church
– we have tended to carry our experience of the holiness of God into our
selves and allow it to inform who we are in a deep and meaningful way. That feeling that gives rise to such an
affirming utterance can also take us deeper into our selves and help us to see
GodÕs eternal truths within. This
can be blissful and transformative. However, in a church focusing on silence
and inner reflection, outbursts can be disruptive. Since we cannot control the Spirit, we do not dictate how
the Spirit will touch an individual, so we embrace persons for whom the
manifestation occurs in this manner without feeling the need for all persons to
gravitate towards this means of engagement.
We stand and sit
together to demonstrate our call to be in community. (conclusion
next week)