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Thoughtfully Keeping the Sacraments Weird

2017 November 1
by Diocesan Staff

Parishioners more fully feel the seasons of the church calendar as church decorations change with the move from Advent to Pentecost. I have been reflecting on this in light of Rachel Held Evans encouraging Episcopalians to “Keep the sacraments weird” when the two of us provided keynote addresses last year at the Church Leadership Conference at Kanuga. Last night I worshipped with the students at our Episcopal Campus Ministry at Georgia Southern and saw a wonderful example of this in the liturgy crafted by the Rev. Charles Todd using a Service of Light with the liturgy for the Eve of the Feast of All Saints as the Liturgy of the Word. Truly liturgy done well that was completely faithful to our Prayer Book and the Book of Occasional Services.

One way to do this is thinking through the changes of the church year anew. Advent and Lent both offer opportunities to make changes week by week in the season. The shift can begin even before Advent as these last weeks of the church year offer an opportunity to move from flowers grown in a greenhouse to incorporating local foliage like a stem of fall leaves. Though challenging in south Georgia where pine predominates the landscape, I have still been able to find some branches to cut that help make the move from the vibrant flowers of summer toward the harvest season which marks the move into the waiting and expectancy of Advent.

An unfolding journey
Both Advent and Lent can benefit from making changes week by week that reflect the journey of the season. So a Christmas tree bare other than “angel tree” tags will remain green through the fourth week of Advent and then get decorated for Christmas. Some churches use Chrismons, symbols of Christ created by Frances Kipps Spencer to be used in this season of preparation as they tell the story of Christ.

The move to both Christmas and Easter need to mark bold changes from a more austere space to an exuberantly decorated church befitting the joy of those Feasts. (Pentecost at King of Peace is shown here)

At King of Peace, we would change the cross in the back of the nave from a Christus Rex to a plain rough hewn wood cross in Lent. At Pentecost, a long bright red cloth bolt of cloth draped over the cross behind the altar would mark the day with a splash of color which matched the parishioners wearing red.
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A helpful reference
An important reference for me on this as a parish priest was H. Boone Porter’s book Keeping the Church Year. Published in 1977, the book sought to help make the changes in the then new prayer book visible. His thoughts remain helpful. Though out of print, the book is readily available in used copies online.

One more tip: whatever you do to mark the season, write up a brief description and put it in a binder. Keeping up with what your church does through the seasons need not set the template for the next year, as you adapt and change. But it helps to recall exactly what you did do when you come back to planning a year later. 

The goal is to make the journey through salvation history visible as we use all of our senses in worship. No matter your current pattern, getting a group together to think through how the seasons might be more fully marked within the space in which you worship is well worth your time.

Frank
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary

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