Liturgy for All Saints and All Souls

This service will need several exceptions from the Ordinand... It uses Eucharistic prayer H from the Church of England, the Gospel Proclamation is done responsively, communion is expected to be in the round, and it does not include a creed on a major feast day. It is meant more for smaller groups, 25 max, than large congregations. It is meant to be a non Sunday service in a parish where meeting both for All Saints and All Souls is not pastorally viable.   

A Worship for All Saints and All Souls

This worship is done in the round with the altar in the middle of a circle of chairs.

At the beginning of the service a bowl with a hot incense coal in sand is already on the altar.

The priest should be dressed simply in alb and white stole.

When the community is gathered all stand as the priest enters the worship space in silence.

Priest:                       
Alleluia. The Lord is Risen.

People:                       
The Lord is Risen Indeed. Alleluia

The hymn “Seek ye first”(711) is sung.

The congregation bows as the priest approaches the altar picks up a few grains of incense, places and places them upon the hot coals.

Priest:                         

Lord Enthroned in Heaven, Lord in our midst, may our prayers rise before you in the midst of all your saints;

People:                         

As the smoke rises from this incense.

Priest:                         

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you;

People                       

 through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The priest then steps back and joins the circle.

All remain standing as a responsive reading of Revelation 4:1a, 8-10, 7:9b-17 is done.

Reader:            

After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,

People:             

Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.

Reader:             

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, they cast their crowns before the throne singing,

People:            

 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.

Reader:             

There was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

People:            

 Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Reader:             

And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing,

People:              

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.

Reader:            

 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from? "I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows. " Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

The people then begin to sing the “Hallelujah” chorus from “Seek Ye First”. The priest approaches the altar. Places incense on the coals. Picks up the Gospel book and circles around the altar one and a half time ending facing the opposite way as when the priest entered.

Priest:                        

The Holy Gospel of our Lord as Matthew recorded.

People:                       

Glory to you Lord Christ

Priest:                         

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

People:                         

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Priest:                         

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

People:                        Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Priest:                      
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

People:                       
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Priest:                        Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

People:                       
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Priest                        Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Priest:                       
The Gospel of or our Lord

People:                        Praise to you lord Christ.

The priest then calls for a time of meditation and each person is asked to consider a person, from the list of Saints or elsewhere, whose life story has helped them live faithfully into one of the beatitudes. everyone is seated.

The priest then rings a meditation bell and a period of silence, one to two minutes, follows.

The priest then invites individuals to stand and state in a few sentences whom they choose to consider and why giving an example.

When space has been given for everyone to state their reflection the leader of the prayers of the people rises and invites the congregation to do as well. The bidder then approaches the altar and places incense on the coals. Within each period of silence the congregation may add their own petitions.

Bidder:                       
Lord Enthroned in Heaven, Lord in our midst, may our prayers rise before you in the midst of all your saints;

People:                       
As the smoke rises from this incense.

Bidder:                       
Peter, Paul, Mary, Junia, all the apostles, we ask you to pray with us for  the church throughout the world that you founded.

A time of silence follows when petitions may be made aloud.

Bidder:                       
May our prayers rise before the Lord

People:                       
As the smoke rises from this incense.

Bidder:                        Charles, Edward, Margaret, Elswith, all leaders of nations, we ask you to pray with us for this nation and all who hold earthly authority throughout the world.

A time of silence follows when petitions may be made aloud.

Bidder:                       
May our prayers rise before the Lord

People:                       
As the smoke rises from this incense.

Bidder:                         

Patrick, Francis, Brigid, Julian, all who have served as missionary, preacher, or contemplative, pray with us for the welfare of the world.

A time of silence follows when petitions may be made aloud.

Bidder:                       
May our prayers rise before the Lord

People:                       
As the smoke rises from this incense.

Bidder:                         

Stephen, Perpetua, and all martyrs, pray with us for all who suffer.

A time of silence follows when petitions may be made aloud.

Bidder:                       
May our prayers rise before the Lord

People:                       
As the smoke rises from this incense.

Bidder:                         

We name now those who have left this world that are dear to us.

People are invited to list those in their lives who have died in the past year or whose memory lays heavily upon them.

Bidder:                        

Grant them eternal rest, Lord.

People:                        

 Let light perpetual shine upon them.

The bidder returns to the circle.

Priest:                        Join me in silence to reflect on the things that separate each of us from God.

A moment of silence follows.

Priest:                         

I confess to almighty God,

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have sinned through my own fault

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done,

and in what I have failed to do;

and I ask blessed Mary,

all the angels and saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

People:                         

May the almighty God have mercy on you and your soul

forgive you all your sins,

and bring you to life everlasting.

I confess to almighty God,

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have sinned through my own fault

in my thoughts and in my words,

 in what I have done,

and in what I have failed to do;

and I ask blessed Mary,

all the angels and saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Priest:                         

May the almighty God have mercy on you and your soul

forgive you all your sins,

and bring you to life everlasting.

Priest:                         

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                         

And also with you.

When all have shared a sign of God’s peace the hymn “Simple Gifts” (554) is sung.

Before the Sursum Corda the Priest adds more incense to the coals.

Priest:                         

The Lord is here.

People:                        

The Spirit is with us.          

Priest:                         

Lift up your hearts.

People:                         

We lift them to the Lord.          

Priest:                        

 Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People:                        

It is right to give thanks and praise.          

Priest:                        

 It is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all creation; in your love you made us for yourself.  

                        

When we turned awayyou did not reject us, but came to meet us in your Son.

People:                         

You embraced us as your children and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.          

Priest:                         

In Christ you shared our life that we might live in him and he in us.

People                        

 He opened his arms of love upon the cross and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.          

Priest:                         

On the night he was betrayed, at supper with his friends    he took bread, and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to them, saying: Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

People:                        

We do this in remembrance of him: his body is the bread of life.          

Priest:                         

At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks, and said:   Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant,  which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins; do this in remembrance of me.

People:                         

We do this in remembrance of him: his blood is shed for all.  

       

Priest:                         

As we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory, send your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine  may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.      

People:                        

 As we eat and drink these holy gifts make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.          

Priest                         

With your whole Church throughout the world  we offer you this sacrifice of praise and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:      

People:                        

 Holy, holy, holy Lord,    

God of power and might,    

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.    

Hosanna in the highest.          

Priest:                         

And we join with all your saints praying as Jesus taught us

People:                         

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

Priest:                         

Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:                         

Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia

Priest:                         

The gifts of God for the People of God.

People:                        

 Come taste and know that the Lord is Good.

Communion is then shared by the community communing each other around the circle. During this time “Simple Gifts” (554) is sung (this is an intentional repeat).

People                          

 Father of all,

we give you thanks and praise,

that when we were still far off

you met us in your Son and brought us home.

Dying and living, he declared your love,

gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.

May we who share Christ's body live his risen life;

we who drink his cup bring life to others;

we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.

Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us,

so we and all your children shall be free,

and the whole earth live to praise your name;

through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

“Jerusalem my Happy Home” (620) is sung. During the last verse the priest moves to stand at the opening of the circle as at the entrance.

Priest:                         

The peace of God,

which passes all understanding,

keep your hearts and minds

in the knowledge and love of God,

and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

be among you and remain with you always.

                        Amen.

                             

                             

Priest:                          

 Go in the peace of Christ. Alleluia, alleluia.

People:                           

Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Basic Books for Liturgical Education

What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others – can be broken." ― Morpheus, The Matrix

Good liturgy is about knowing about the binding and loosing of the rules. Liturgical rules are called rubrics. Knowing what the rubrics are does not mean following them blindly it means knowing when and where you need to follow, bend, or even break rubrics.

The best way to know the rubrics is to get engaged in liturgy with people who know them.

Another useful but not necessary safe method of learning is to ask a liturgist a question about a rubric. This is dangerous because liturgists generally do not know when to stop talking about rubrics. If you ask a rubric question and there are two or more liturgist in the room you are inviting yourself to what might possibly be the most refined form of a geekout possible.

The third, and if you truly want to learn necessary, method is reading.

First actually sit down and read through your Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Imagine what type of service you would construct if the only information you had about Episcopalians was this text. You will be surprised at how much you see on Sunday morning is not in the BCP. For instance the BCP never mentions the chasuble, the garment that most priest wear during the Eucharist Prayer.

Two additional Prayer Books I would suggest are A Manuel for Priest compiled by the Society of Saint John the Evangelist and the St. Augustine’s Prayer Book, an Anglo-Catholic devotional. Both accentuate the BCP and embody distinct perspectives on the liturgy.

The primer of rubrics I would choose is Dennis Michno’s A Priest’s Handbook. This book is really Rubrics 101. It gives straightforward instructions on how to perform the church ceremonies found in the BCP. It does not, however, go into any depth on what is behind those ceremonies.

Solely for the Eucharist is Howard E. Galley’s The Ceremonies of the Eucharist. It is readable and an excellent exposition on the whole of the Eucharist as found in the BCP.

If you can find a copy William Palmer Ladd’s Prayer Book Interleaves is an excellent text that is not about rubrics but about liturgy. It was written with the 1928 BCP in mind but his ideas are, in my opinion, exceptionally solid. Also Allison’s Fear, Love, and Worship is a similar text but also sadly out of print.

When you are ready to jump into the deep end there are two texts by Lamburn: Ritual Notes and Anglican Services. I am not aware of any parish that actually goes about liturgy in the extreme high church methods Lamburn describes. If, however, you can get your mind around even the basics of these texts then really there is no liturgical situation, no matter how high or low, you should not be able to handle deftly.

Many ask me “why is it all high church?” and my response is that to do minimalist art well, like Picasso, one first has to learn to paint like Rembrandt.