Some reflections on worship when singing is out of the picture:
https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2020/07/17/no-singing/

Here was my last post on Covenant:
https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2020/05/20/a-plea-to-the-preacher/

My post for the Covenant blog:

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is excellent:

Here is something I wish I had written:

"Is Jesus the "son of Joseph, whose mother and father we know?" Or is he the one who has "come down from heaven?" In Sunday's gospel lesson (John 6:35, 41-51) we read that that was a question on the minds of the crowd who was following him, trying to understand his confusing, other-worldly preaching. I'll suggest, however, that it's a question for today, too. Who is Jesus? Is he a purely historical figure--the archaeologically verifiable Jesus of Nazareth who was the focus of the Jesus Seminar and whose legend grew as the faithful shared increasingly exaggerated stories about their master? Or is he really and truly the Jesus of the gospel--the one who "was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary?""

Read the whole post here.

Today's Covenant blog post here

Nancy and I joined the Episcopal church in Colorado under a priest that would have appreciated this post. We had incense on high days (Easter, Christmas) and bells most days. I'm pretty sure he "faced East" when it was proper.

Our church here in Minnesota has been decidedly "lower."

Sometimes I miss the high church look, and other times I can't be bothered.

What I'd like is a church that had both high mass (preferably with contemporary music) sometimes, and other times traditional "hymn sings." Yes, I want it all!

Of course, what I want is at one level irrelevant. It is not about me. But I believe that worship should treat us as "whole" people. We are not just brains on sticks - we have emotions, too. We also belong to a Church that stretches across the centuries and around the globe, and should reflect the many cultures it encompasses.

Today's post on the Covenant blog has some great reflections on liturgy, especially liturgical prayers.

It is a powerfully dignified and thoughtfully worded intercession, but I like to think of how in this prayer there is a journey through space and time. Allow me to explain: the prayer takes us through space by moving from the universal to the particular — we pray first for the universal Church throughout the world. Then, there are prayers for civil and religious authorities — the leaders of our nation, our state, and our Church. Then, we commend to God those whom we know to be suffering in any way, and then finally, we remember the departed and ask for grace to follow their good examples. Through the course of the prayer, we move from praying for the world to remembering the needs of our local cities, towns, and communities, and finally to the needs of our own homes and families. In this way, we travel through “space.”

Liturgical prayers help to "cover all the bases," not just our favorite things.

But I think using the language of Rite I is like singing in a foreign language. We should do it periodically to make ourselves pay attention, and to help us remember the awkwardness that others experience when they come into our gatherings and experience something new and different. Most of the time, however, should be spent praying (and singing) "in the language of the people."

Read the whole post here: