Picking the eyes out of this fantastic blog post and comments on Open or Closed Communion by Mike Morrell…
Byzantine/Anglo-Catholic liturgist Richard Fabian makes a brief-but-compelling case for reversing the well-tread order of Baptism and Eucharist in his essay First the Table, Then the Font.
“If the Church wants to insist on a closed, bounded-set meal based on one night of our Lord’s life, shouldn’t it work equally vigorously to celebrate the scandalously inclusive, no-strings-attached manner of eating our Redeemer practiced during the vast majority of his public ministry?” (…& even Judas got a gig at the last one!)
“I long to see creative, prophetic acts of public worship, like my friend Lucas Land proposes in Eucharist as Eat-In. If we unshackle Jesus from our exclusionary practices, the transforming love of God can spill into the streets and the ‘profane’ lives or ordinary people – through our supposed ‘means of grace’ that we keep shut up.”
“william cavanaugh explores the eucharist as an antidote to consumerism in his book Being Consumed.” – lucas
“So what do we do with this today? We make it about meticulous introspection before we sip a cup (or down a shot glass of grape juice) and eat a crumb. How atomized, individualized, and modern! I don’t mean to diss personal introspection for personal sin, but I feel like it’s become – literally and morally – “Honey, I shrunk the Eucharist.” It’s become a notional meal, a gesture of a meal, and our interpretation of Paul’s warnings in 1 Corinthians have likewise become individualized and not communal… (My scholarship on this is primarily informed by Australian scholar Robert Banks; his ‘Paul’s Idea of Community’ and ‘Going to Church in the First Century.’ Also BW3′s ‘Making a Meal of It,’ and for contemporary autobiography, Sara Miles’ ‘Take This Bread: The Story of a Radical Conversion.’)…
So for today: If we’re to have a redacted ritual (which I recognize is a practical necessity in many cases), it should be real bread (preferably baked by a congregant) and real wine, the Table should be open to all, but with increased responsibility placed on those who are known by the community, that the Body be properly discerned. This would doubtless extend to the Body partakers as they moved from curious to committed, and became better known themselves. But ideally – once a month maybe? – mission third way communities should host block parties, Love Feasts, that are healthy locally-produced potlucks where the neighborhood is invited. It’d be a come-as-you-are affair, but with Eucharist – thanksgiving for God’s bounty and gratuitous presence in our midst – as the center.
That’s what I’m working with these days anyway…Lucas Land has many more developed thoughts on this all the time via his What Would Jesus Eat? blog.” - zoecarnate
“To my mind, it’s a distraction to talk about “inclusivity” as if our Table practice were about being nice, or friendly. The fact is, we need strangers, because eating with the wrong people changes everything for the faithful– not just for the nominal outsiders and sinners whose presence is, at best, tolerated. We find salvation in eating with strangers: “Blessed be God the Word, who came to his own and his own received him not, for in this way God glorifies the stranger.”
The single best way to know that it’s Jesus’ table–not ours— is the presence there of someone completely inappropriate.” Sara Miles (see Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion)
The Pragmatism of the Didache: The Eucharist as you’ve never heard it before… Carl Gregg
Category Archives: rites & ritual
Link
In a broader article about the relationship between the law and religion, Andrew Worthley states…
Marriage as understood today is in fact a mismatch of various Roman customs, Christian principles, legislative reforms and societal norms. As such, any attempt to protect ‘traditional marriage’ as something concrete and constant is misplaced.
Link
Wendell has made some statements recently about gay marriage. I’ve had some great conversations and debates over the years about the tensions between Berry’s emphasis on fidelity versus his emphasis on respecting natural limits with regards to this issue.
My own journey toward being more optimistic about gay marriage has been deeply influenced by Wendell’s promotion of fidelity as a theoretical/ theological framework, ala the quote of Rev. Nathan Nettleton I once posted here.
We chose the hymn ‘Great is Thy Faithfullness’ from Lamentations at our wedding to celebrate the broader meaning structure in which we make any promises as humble, limited and often broken human beings.
I’m putting links and responses to Wendell’s statements below…
A report of recent comments at a Baptist Conference:
Comments in an Interview from 2005
Responses
Marriage is like a poem:
Please feel free to post more if you find them…
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=xa-4ac62c831543f22d
‘That Was The Worst Christmas Ever’ Confession
PoC (Prayer of Confession) based on ‘Who is my Family…?’ in the Mark 3 Lectionary reading (Ordinary 10B)
We reflected on the good and bad parts of our experience of family and the ways that we had succeeded and failed to be the ‘Family of God’ to each other.
For reflection we listened to the song “That was the Worst Christmas Ever” by Sufjan Stevens watching this beautiful filmclip made by John P. Gelety.
In time the snow will rise, in time the snow will rise
In time the Lord will rise, in time the Lord will rise
Silent night, Holy night
Silent night, nothing feels right
Taize in Flemington for Pentecost
Aside
Thursday May 24th 7.30pm -8.30pm
Seeking God in Silence and Song
Celebrating the power and presence of the Spirit at Pentecost
The village of Taizé in France is the home of a small religious community. The Taizé community has developed a distinctive style of singing. The village has become a centre for pilgrimage and their music has become widely known around the world.
Newmarket Baptist Church gathers at 12 Brighton Street, Flemington
Call Marcus for queries: 0421076804
Supper will be served following
Easter Sunday Resurrection Playlist
Aside
This is my current playlist for Easter Sunday at Newmarket Baptist Church… any other suggestions or favourites?
This will be background for our take on Si Smith and Ian Adams Stations of the Resurrection based on the ‘Raised in Leeds’ series available at Proost.
Sufjan Stevens Transfiguration
Aside
9 Lessons and Carols: Seeds Network
My now traditional ‘People’s Table Project’ run of Advent/Christmas services extended to three ‘Seeds’ neighbourhoods this year for the first time ever!
The service was based on the traditional Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols which has its origins in Cornwall.
I downloaded the Proost video series Nine to which I added a few videos from our own context including Christop’s fantastic Adam and Eve for the first Genesis reading. We lit a candle at the central table for each reading of the lesson followed by video/audio or a carol. People could respond by lighting candles throughout.
The service was reflective and the ‘sit back, listen and watch’ vibe seemed to work well for people in the hectic week before Christmas . We only managed one carol in Norlane (sung off an iphone!) and four in Bendigo and Footscray which was plenty with all the other content.
One of my highlights was projecting the nativity line drawing animation (see You Tube clip below) on the organ pipes of the Peace Memorial Pipe Organ in the Footscray Baptist Church Sanctuary. The ‘thread’ of light appearing to weave in and out of the pipes was real nice.
Set up at Norlane Baptist Church
Set up at Footscray Baptist Church
Candle lighting at St. Matthews, Long Gully, Bendigo
Placenta Baby Blessing: Dedicating Isaac Varenica
The kids join in the burial of the placenta!
We enjoyed participating in the blessing of Anthony and Ruth’s little one Isaac in the backyard at Footscray. I hadn’t done much around placenta burial in a ritual sense and it was interesting to explore different traditions and work on the words below.
Rachael helped ‘midwife’ Isaac through a long labour and so her emotion whilst saying the words of blessing was a special and powerful highlight of the afternoon.
Dedication of Isaac Varenica
December 11, 2011
Opening Ritual
We acknowledge that we gather on the land of which the Murrun Bulluk of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation have been custodians from time immemorial.
We acknowledge their elders past and present.
We honour this history and commit ourselves to care for the land with them. May our lives be work for reconciliation with people and with the Creator Spirit.
This ritual is a time where we acknowledge the generations and our connection and dependence upon each other. Welcome to family elders present…
Water is an important symbol of this connection…
Short explanation of water in biblical and local history
(silence while water is poured for cross marking blessing later… I liked the plastic watering can from Ming Mings Bric a Brac with $2 texta price still visible…very Footscray!)
2. Welcome: Marcus
Purpose of dedication: Thanksgiving and Commitment
3.Reading; Psalm 139:13-16- Rach
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
4. Introduction of the Elements – Marcus
We are gathered here as a family, with the creatures of the earth who are waiting to receive the placenta.
The Yucatan of Mexico call the placenta “el companero“, the companion. Lots of cultures deal with placentas after the birth in ritual ways, though their reasons look to me, a modern westerner, to be superstitious and sexist.
Ritualising the disposal of the placenta hasn’t been a part of the western Judeo-Christian culture, perhaps because of the Jewish fixation with cleanliness, and the association of birth, menstruation and blood with the “unclean.” Despite what Jesus said about cleanliness, most churches have followed the Jewish lead. In recent times birth has been reclaimed as clean and wonderful.
Now it is time to claim some meaning for the disposal of the placenta. And we do this at a time when we desperately need to remind ourselves of our connection to all life.
The Judeo-Christian tradition is of some help here, beginning with a creation story which calls humans the ‘adamah’, the earth creatures.
The earth, like the womb, is our origin
The earth, like the placenta, sustains us.
At funerals we remind ourselves that we are made of dust, and return to the dust.
By burying the placenta, the birth companion, and honouring it rather than handing it over to cosmetic companies as is common practice in Australia, we remind Isaac, and everyone, of our intimate link with the earth and with all creatures who come form it and return to it.
So Isaac-
though you don’t yet understand it, we’re here to bury your birth companion.
Once it linked you to Ruth, your sustainer,
Now it links you to the earth which sustains us all, even as it sustains the olives on which we hope will soon grow and feed us.
Once it allowed your intimate relationship with one life,
Now it speaks of your intimate relationship with all life.
May creation provide all the nutrients, faith, hope and love you need to live as one who knows where he came from, where you belong, and how to live in fidelity with this reality.
(words based largely on reflection found at ecofaith.org here)
5. Burial of Placenta
6. Commitment Ritual
Ruth and Anthony what are your hopes for Isaac:
- We hope that Isaac grows to know and follow Jesus.
- We hope that he grows up with a heart that loves and can be loved.
- We hope that he finds joy and fulfillment in the simplicity of life.
- We hope that Isaac develops an awareness of the troubles of the world and has the courage to take action.
- We hope that he develops a spirit of hospitality, mercy and generosity.
Ruth and Anthony what are your commitments to Isaac:
- We commit to creating an atmosphere where Isaac can explore faith openly.
- We commit to loving Isaac for who he is and not who we expect him to be.
- We commit to doing our best as parents even though we won’t always get it right.
- We commit to prayer and seeking advice from our community of faith and family as Isaac grows.
- We commit to standing with Isaac during failure, adversity and suffering.
7. Watering of the Tree
Grandparents first then Family and Friends
(Song: Return of the King, ipod)
8. Blessing for Isaac: Rach
Isaac. For you Jesus Christ has come and has lived; life in all its fullness. For you he endured the agony of Gethsemane and the darkness of the cross; with which we mark you now. For you he has uttered the cry, ‘It is accomplished!’ For you, he has triumphed over death; for you he prays at God’s right hand; all for you, little child, even though you do not know it.
The blessing of the God of Sarah and of Abraham
The blessing of the Son, born of Mary,
The blessing of the Spirit, who broods over us
As a mother over her children
Be with you now and forever
Amen.
9. Benediction
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
