laudable Practice

Resuming extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we come to the Venite. Shepherd here offers a very good case for the Venite being the unchanging opening canticle at Morning Prayer, in contrast to most contemporary Anglican versions of the daily office. Proposed alternatives lack that which Shepherd identifies in the Venite, "a very proper introduction to the succeeding parts of the service, which consist of praise, prayer, and hearing of God's holy word". In this psalm, we are first called upon to praise God, from the consideration of his infinite power, which extends to all places, and has dominion over all creatures. We are then required to pray to him, with the most humble adoration, as being our Saviour and Protector, and exercising the same care over his people, as the shepherd exercises over his flock. We are lastly exhorted to hear his holy word, and not to harden ou...

Having considered the exposition of the Exhortation (on penitence and worship ) at Morning and Evening Prayer by John Shepherd in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), a footnote provided by Shepherd is significant.  It is a footnote to a line in his discussion of how the Exhortation sets before us the gift of absolution and reconciliation: For forgiveness and justification we are indebted solely to the "infinite mercy and goodness of God," through the meritorious sufferings, and efficacious mediation of our Lord, and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Shepherd's footnote quotes the Homily on Justification as an example - no doubt to the surprise of many Anglicans today - of moderation , a "general" account of justification free of the "speculative points" concerning predestination which had disturbed the peace and unity of the Reformed Churches: We are forgiven, acquitted, absolved, and ...

Continuing the exposition of the Exhortation at Morning and Evening Prayer by John Shepherd in his  A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the second part of the Exhortation, addressing the worship offered "when we assemble and meet together". Again we are struck by the Exhortation providing a meaningful, attractive, and compelling account of public worship, an account which we heard week by week at Sunday Mattins. In this sacred place we meet together for the purpose of performing the four principal parts of public worship. 1. To "give him thanks" for his innumerable blessings and benefits, for all his goodness, and loving kindness to the children of men. This we do in our general Thanksgiving, and in several of the Psalms. 2. To "set forth his most worthy praise," to laud and glorify his holy name, which we do in Psalms, Hymns, Anthems, and Doxologies. 3. "To hear his most ...

In the days before and after Ash Wednesday , laudable Practice  considered the words of the Absolution at Mattins and Evensong through the commentary provided in A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), by clergyman John Shepherd. We now turn to the Exhortation in those offices. Shepherd expounds how the Exhortation draws us to a meaningful repentance, flowing from the penitential sentences, addressing heart, mind, and soul, in an exercise of the presbyteral ministry of reconciliation. Note, too, how Shepherd - writing in 1796 - emphasises that the ministry of the presbyter is not derived "from the Legislature".  This is yet another example of how Old High teaching consistently reaffirmed the divine authority of the ordained minister , decades before Newman (bearing false witness) declared in  Tract I that Anglican clergy relied on "secular advantages". Shepherd's commentary also demonstrates the i...

In the fifth of his 1844 Bampton Lectures,  An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England , Jelf  - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - turns to reflect on Holy Scripture, "whether read or preached", as a means of grace (significantly alongside Holy Communion), " the food appointed for the sustenance of this spiritual life": "To know Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is the grace of graces, "life eternal" begun on earth ; and all and every part of the one Volume of inspiration - the whole history, every Psalm, Prophecy, Gospel, Epistle, are, collectively and singly, means of grace, contributing, in their several appointed degrees, by and with the Holy Ghost their Author, to kindle and keep alive in our hearts the grace of illumination; as living parts of that Word, which "is a lantern unto ou...

What practices from 18th century Anglican might have relevance for contemporary Anglicans? Below, three suggestions prompted by some recent hints at such practices having continued relevance. And flowing from this, a proposal for how these could assist in sustaining and renewing Anglican life, presence, and witness. Firstly, this photograph (from the Prayer Book Society Facebook page ) of Evensong at Coombes Church , in the Diocese of Chichester, wonderfully captures how Evensong does not require an organ and large choir.  There is something in the photograph reminiscent of the 18th century West Gallery tradition and its less formal approach to music in divine service.   The vibrant, popular West Gallery tradition was intensely disliked by Victorian parsons under the spell of the Ecclesiological Society, pushed aside in favour of organs and robed choirs. It does not take much imagination, however, to think of its relevance for contemporary smaller churches, without organi...

On a Sunday off in early July I visited a friend's parish church. The main service that Sunday was Mattins with hymns and a sermon.  Mattins was according to the Church of Ireland Book of Common Prayer 2004, Order 2: a contemporary rite, albeit identifiably Cranmerian in structure.  A smaller parish, the congregation of approximately 50, led by a small but good parish choir, chanted the psalm. The hymns were appropriate and sung with gusto.  The canticles were reverently said.  The sermon (on the Gospel reading appointed in the three year lectionary, the Parable of the Good Samaritan) was solid, thoughtful, and engaging. Mattins is the main Sunday service in the parish every other Sunday, alternating with Parish Communion. Reflecting on the experience later that Sunday, it did make me question how laudable Practice has, in the past, encouraged and contributed to a 'we lost Sunday Mattins' narrative.  Here, after all, was a parish, a short drive from my home, wh...

A recent article by Alison Milbank - whose The Once and Future Parish will be published in the Autumn - in New Directions (the magazine of Forward in Faith) offers an excellent summary of the cause at the heart of the Save the Parish movement. She captures how the parish is a sign of the sacramentality of place: "Place itself is sacramental for a Christian and an Anglican Christian especially".  This reflects the insight of John Hughes , his identification of "a particular piety and sensibility which could be seen as characteristically Anglican: a sense of all creation being in God and God being in all creation, through Christ". Also of significance is how Milbank relates the parish to the Book of Common Prayer: the way of life of a traditional parish cherishes liturgy itself as rhythm, inhabits custom and ceremony, values natural and human bonds, and is inherently sacramental.  The widespread adherence to the Book of Common Prayer among rural congregations is ev...

From an 1845 collection Practical Sermons by Dignitaries and Other Clergymen of the United Church of England and Ireland , Volume I, R.W. Jelf's sermon 'The Efficacy of Christian Repentance'.  Jelf - one of those whom Nockles lists as the 'Zs', the post-1833 continuation of the Old High tradition - here provides a wonderful description of the Confession and Absolution at Mattins and Evensong.  It also gives an insight into how an Old High piety regarded Sunday Mattins in general, to be approached - like the Lord's Table - "with reverence and godly fear". How wisely then, how appropriately is the passage before us placed at the commencement of our Liturgy, on the very threshold as it were of God's House of Prayer. This exhortation, followed as it is by the General Confession and by the Absolution, is admirably calculated to place the worshippers in a due frame of mind for the remainder of the service. Repentance gives rise to confession, and confess...

... hugely inspiring worship ... dramatic liturgy ... awe-inspiring architecture ... The finest choral music in the world ... or making music with fellow musicians in a worship band has been even more profound. My sense of being led by the Holy Spirit in a common purpose has taken me to a level which one could only experience worshipping God. The words are from a recent blog post examining experiences of public worship, entitled ' Boring Ourselves to Death '. While the above extracts emphasise experiences of the inspiring and the dramatic, the post also addresses quite different experiences in the Church of England: That said, I’ve also been bored and, at times, deeply frustrated at what passes for worship. Sometimes, preaching has been dull, or liturgy has been badly led. Other times, music has been poorly executed. Occasionally, I’ve sensed a complete lack of joy or engagement from those leading or worshipping. As suggested by the title, 'boring' worship is the target...

The Prayer Book Office has been the principle means of grace for Anglican Christians since the break with Rome - Oikodomeo .  I have previously referred to this phrase from Oikodomeo but it is certainly worthy of further comment as it helps to deliver past generations of Anglicans from - to use a term of the Marxist historian E.P. Thompson - the " enormous condescension of posterity ".  Rather than viewing Sunday Mattins, the mainstay of Anglican public worship from the 16th to the mid-20th century, as a form of deep spiritual impoverishment, Oikodomeo rightly identifies it as a "principle means of grace". In what way was it a "means of grace"? How did Sunday Mattins sustain a vibrant Anglican piety over centuries? If we consider the various constituent parts of the liturgy of Mattins and their meaning, we perhaps can begin to identify how Sunday Mattins functioned as a "means of grace". As laudable Practice has pointed out in the past , th...

Yesterday, 1st August, was Lammas Day, commemorated as a Black Letter Day in the 1662 Calendar.  That, of course, means that 1662 provides no liturgical provision for the day.  Despite this, however, there is much in the ordinary form of Mattins and Evensong to mark the day. The opening exhortation reminds us that it is right in public prayer "to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul": petition for a good harvest is, therefore, right and meet.  At Mattins, the Venite's praise for the God in whose "hands are all the corners of the earth ... and his hands prepared the dry land", roots our praise on Lammas in the truth which also affirm in the Apostles' Creed: "Maker of heaven and earth". Lammas being the first day of August, the Psalter begins again.  Psalm 1 evokes rich natural imagery, indicating the spiritual significance of harvest (after the example of the Lord's teaching, for "the kingdom ...

Two Tweets on a subject of beloved of laudable Practice - Sunday Mattins - caught my attention recently.  The first was by Church of England priest and theologian Angela Tilby : The second was from Eric Parker , a priest and theologian in the Reformed Episcopal Church in the United States: What is particularly striking about these comments is the recognition of the - to use a word employed by the latter - wisdom  of Sunday Mattins.  This wisdom is seen in various ways.  Firstly, there is the prudence of Sunday Mattins.  Angela Tilby's mention of it being a more inclusive liturgy than the Parish Communion is certainly suggested by the contemporary appeal of Choral Evensong in the Church of England context.  If there is an ambition to see Anglicanism evangelise and grow in North Atlantic societies, we might ask ourselves if the Parish Communion is really the appropriate principal liturgy on every Sunday when non-Eucharistic services (Choral Evensong, Remembr...

With the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions allowing for a restoration of the normal parish worship schedule, I have been preparing for the return of parish Mattins by reading Mant's Notes (1820).  The Notes assembled commentary on the Prayer Book services from Old High Church sources of the 17th to early 19th centuries.  Reading the commentary on the Te Deum, it is interesting to note how the various sources point to this canticle as as providing an answer to Tertullian's jibe.  To begin with, we might consider how the Te Deum - with its Trinitarian and Christological emphasis - is an appropriate response to the First Lesson from the Old Testament: The propriety of singing or reading the Te Deum after the first lesson must be evident to every observer. The Scriptures of the Old Testament set before us God's exceeding great and precious promises, the rectitude of his moral government, and his wonderful dealings with his church and people from the earliest times. If we ...

In his Candles in the Dark: Faith, hope and love in a time of pandemic (2020), Rowan Williams suggests that the experience of observing the Eucharist being celebrated online recalls a practice that was common for many Christians over centuries: We look back with puzzlement at the days when - in both Western and Eastern Churches, well into the twentieth century - relatively few people actually took Communion regularly.  They went to church to gaze at the drama of God's work in redemption and to adore and give thanks. This often represented a distorted model of the Eucharist, one that went all too comfortably with a pattern of clerical domination and privilege.  Yet, to speak personally for a moment, I have found that the experience of concentrating on 'spiritual communion'; of quieting myself down to focus on the great gift of God in Jesus, absolutely present in this act, these things; of doing all this in the quiet of home, in a moment of physical stillness and silence - a...

In yesterday's post I mentioned Bishop Stephen Conway's recent contribution to All Things Lawful and Honest , welcoming its support for a renewed recognition of the place of Canon Law in the Church's life.  Alongside this, however, there was a reference to non-eucharistic worship that requires some examination: I recently preached at a service of the word led by lay ministers on Zoom. The design of the liturgy was exemplary, as was the choice of pre-recorded hymns. The intercessions were beautifully composed and illustrated by well-chosen photographs of people and landscapes. At their heart was the current crisis and tragedy of the pandemic. It was inspiring for me, having spent my fourteen years as a bishop in two largely rural dioceses. During this time, I have been promoting good quality non-eucharistic worship which lay people can lead and deliver ably to the glory of God.  It is heartening to read a bishop expressing the desire to promote "good quality non-eucha...