Adapted from the Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg and Melodie Woerman, ENS Both houses of General Convention on July 12 adopted a resolution that allows all congregations in the Episcopal Church to use optional, expansive-language versions of three Rite II Eucharistic prayers in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Resolution D078 provides alternative language for Prayer A, Prayer … [Read more...] about Alternatives Ready for Eucharists
Holy Eucharist
Saints and Communion
By Zachary GuilianoAn open hearing Wednesday night by General Convention’s Committee on Prayer Book, Liturgy & Music focused on proposals related to revising the church’s calendar of saints, especially the proposals related to adding new commemorations (A055) and replacing Holy Women, Holy Men with the very different A Great Cloud of Witnesses (A056).One member of the … [Read more...] about Saints and Communion
Nuns Need Not Worry
By Zachary GuilianoGeneral Convention’s opening Eucharist on Thursday morning celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. It is usually observed on June 24, and the Rev. Gay Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, had referred to it in her opening comments to yesterday.Planning for the Convention’s Eucharists began two years ago, with consultation between … [Read more...] about Nuns Need Not Worry
Stability in the Sacrament
Being ready for disaster in the heartland’s Tornado Alley involves having essentials, such as water and batteries, ready to transport at a moment’s notice. And because not all needs are material, congregations do well to have supplies of their own packed to ensure familiar rituals survive — even if their buildings do not.That’s a message shared routinely these days in the … [Read more...] about Stability in the Sacrament
Dylan Wakes Up Worship
By Douglas LeBlancBob Dylan has performed six times in Richmond, Virginia, during his 50-year career. This year, a month before Dylan and his five band members took the stage again at Richmond’s Landmark Theater, the members of St. James’s Church gathered for their first Dylan Mass. Mark and Virginia Whitmire, who oversee the music and choirs at St. James’s, do not pretend that … [Read more...] about Dylan Wakes Up Worship