By Robin G. Jordan
The Creed. The
Apostles’ Creed should flow out of the Third Canticle. The Nicene Creed is best
reserved for the service of Holy Communion. It drags out the service at this
juncture.
The Prayers. At
the beginning of the Prayers is the most appropriate place for the Lord’s
Prayer in the service of Morning Prayer. The Prayers originally began with the
Salutation and the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer following the penitential
introduction originated as a private devotion before the Office. It was said
silently along with the Ave Maria.
The penitential introduction was not added until the 1552 Prayer Book. The 1662
Prayer Book requires the Lord’s Prayer to be said after the penitential
introduction and at the beginning of the Prayers. The 1929 Scottish Prayer Book
and the 1926 South African Prayer Book omit the initial Lord’s Prayer. The 1928
Prayer Book permits its omission if the penitential section is omitted. The 1928
Proposed English Prayer Book in its Alternative Orders for Morning Prayer and
Evening Prayer restore the Lord’s Prayer to its proper place at the beginning
of the Prayers. Almost all the most recent Anglican service books have done the
same thing.
The rubrics of the 1928 Prayer Book also do not require the
use of the five prayers printed in Morning Prayer after the Third Collect on
every Sunday. The minister may conclude the service with general intercessions
taken from the Prayer Book or with the Grace. Churches that use these five
prayers without variation are actually following the rubrics of the 1892 Prayer
Book, not the 1928. They may have also succumbed to the dismal tendency to read
a text simply because it is printed in the rite or service (see Early
in the Morning Our Songs Shall Rise to Thee: The Music and Conduct of Morning
Prayer, Part 4)
After the Service. A
hymn may be sung and then the minister may go out at the conclusion of the
hymn. Or the minister may go to a place in front of the altar at the conclusion
of the hymn, and standing there, to say “let us pray” and a Prayer for Missions
or some other suitable collect. After having in this way given the people time
to kneel down quietly and pray, the minister turns and says the Benedicamus. He
then goes out. If there is a second minister, he stands to one side while the
second minister bows and goes out and then follows him to the sacristy.
The following version of the Benedicamus comes from the 1928
Proposed English Prayer Book:
The Lord be with you.
And with thy
spirit.
Let us bless the Lord;
Thanks be to God
Alternately the minister may say these parting words:
The Lord bless us and keep us:
The Lord make his face to shine upon us
and be gracious unto us:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon us
and give us peace. Amen.
At the end of Morning Prayer is an appropriate place to sing
a hymn about the Church’s mission, a hymn of invitation, hymn of consecration,
commitment, or dedication, a hymn of faith, a hymn of supplication, a hymn
about Jesus’ salvific work or his lordship, and even a hymn of jubilant praise.
This final hymn should send the people out in no uncertain way. It is also a
part of the congregation’s take-home package. Ideally the people would be
humming the hymn tune or even singing snatches of the hymn lyrics as they go on
their way.
The following is a list of suitable hymns with tunes in the
Master Index of the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP and the Gulbransen
Digital Hymnal DH 200.
All Who Would Valiant
Be ST. DUNSTAN'S, MONK’S GATE
Arise, O God, and
Shine RHOSYMEDRE, DARWALL/DARWALL’S 148TH
This hymn was originally published in William Hurn’s Psalms & Hymns (1813).
1 Arise, O God, and shine
In all Thy saving might,
And prosper each design
To spread Thy glorious light;
Let healing streams of mercy flow
That all the earth Thy truth may know.
In all Thy saving might,
And prosper each design
To spread Thy glorious light;
Let healing streams of mercy flow
That all the earth Thy truth may know.
2 Bring distant nations near
To sing Thy glorious praise;
Let every people hear
And learn Thy holy ways.
Reign, mighty God, assert Thy cause
And govern by Thy righteous laws.
To sing Thy glorious praise;
Let every people hear
And learn Thy holy ways.
Reign, mighty God, assert Thy cause
And govern by Thy righteous laws.
3 Put forth Thy glorious power
That Gentiles all may see
And earth present her store
In converts born to Thee.
God, our own God, His Church will bless
And fill the world with righteousness.
That Gentiles all may see
And earth present her store
In converts born to Thee.
God, our own God, His Church will bless
And fill the world with righteousness.
4 To God, the only Wise,
The one immortal King,
Let hallelujahs rise
From every living thing;
Let all that breathe, on every coast
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The one immortal King,
Let hallelujahs rise
From every living thing;
Let all that breathe, on every coast
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
If the hymn is sung to RHOSYMEDRE, the last line of each
verse is repeated.
Be Thou My Vision
SLANE
Christ Be My Leader SLANE
Christ beside Me
BUNESSAN
Christ Who Called
Disciples to Him RHUDDLAN, KOMM, O KOMM, DU GEIST DES LEBENS, WESTMINSTER
ABBEY, SICILIAN MARINERS, REGENT SQUARE (Smart)
Church of God, Elect
and Glorious ABBOT’S LEIGH, NETTLETON, LUX EOI
Crown Him with Many
Crowns DIADEMATA
If a shorter version of this hymn is desired, stanzas 1 and
5 may be sung without mutilating the sense of the hymn.
Forth in the Peace of
Christ LLEDROD, DUKE STREET
God Is Working His
Purpose Out PURPOSE
PURPOSE may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
God of Mercy, God of
Grace LUCERNA LAUDONIAE, IMPACT
God, Our Author and
Creator NALL AVENUE, PLEADING SAVIOR
Go Forth and Tell! O
Church of God NATIONAL HYMN
Good News of God Above
DIADEMATA
Go, Tell It on the
Mountain GO TELL IT
This hymn is an adaptation of
a North American traditional spiritual, published in the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal – Fifth Edition (2000).
The new text transforms a song that is related to Christ’s birth and which is
sung during the Christmas Season into a song related to the Church’s witness
and mission and which may be sung throughout the year.
Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
1 O when I was a seeker
I sought both night and day,
I asked the Lord to guide me,
And he showed me the way.
Refrain
2 He made me a watchman
Upon a city wall,
To tell of his salvation,
That Jesus died for all.
Refrain
3 Go tell it to your neighbor
In darkness here below;
Go with the words of Jesus,
That all the world may know.
Refrain
Go to the World
SINE NOMINE, ENGELBERG
SINE NOMINE may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at a
distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
He Who Would Valiant
Be ST. DUNSTAN'S, MONK’S GATE
I Danced in the Morning
LORD OF THE DANCE/SIMPLE GIFTS
While this hymn is a trifle long—five stanzas, it works
surprisingly well as a final hymn due to the liveliness and rhythmicalness of
its tune, which move the hymn forward at a brisk tempo. It is published in a
number of hymnals, including Church
Hymnal, Fifth Edition, Complete
Anglican Hymns Old & New, Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard, Hymns Old and New: New Anglican, Together in
Song: Australian Hymn Book II, and Worship
and Rejoice.
I Have Decided to
Follow Jesus ASSAM
Jesus, Good Above All
Other QUEM PASTORES
Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us
with Your Love CHERAPONI
Jesus Our Mighty Lord
MONKS GATE, ST. DUNSTAN
Jesus Shall Reign
DUKE STREET
Lead On, O King
Eternal LANCASHIRE
Leaning on the
Everlasting Arms SHOWALTER
Lift High the Cross
CRUCIFER
Lord, Make Us
Servants of Your Peace DICKINSON COLLEGE [O WALY WALY]
Lord of the Church,
We Pray for Our Renewing LONDONERRY AIR #109
Lord, You Give the
Great Commission ABBOT'S LEIGH
Now Thank We All Our
God NUN DANKET
O Breathe on Me O Breath
of God ST. COLUMBA
O God of Love, Enable
Me ST. PETER
O Jesus I Have
Promised NYLAND/KUOTANE, MUNICH,ANGEL’S STORY
O Zion haste, thy
mission high fulfilling TIDINGS
Rejoice, the Lord is
King DARWALL’S 148TH, GOPSAL, LAUS REGIS, JUBILATE
Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us SICILIAN MARINER
Send Forth Your Word,
O God PROCLAMATION
Shine, Jesus, Shine
SHINE
So Send I You
TORONTO
Tell All the World of
Jesus FAR OFF LANDS
This hymn may be sung ELLACOMBE, LANCASHIRE, and other
suitable 76.76.D. tunes.
Tell It Out with
Gladness HYMN TO JOY
The Spirit Sends Us
forth to Serve LAND OF REST, CHESTERFIELD/RICHMOND (Haweis)
LAND OF REST may be sung as a round or a canon, normally at
a distance of one or two measures and a space of one octave.
We All Are One in Mission
KUOTANE/NYLAND
We Turn to Christ Anew LEONI
What Wondrous Love Is
This WONDROUS LOVE
Ye Servants of God,
Your Master Proclaim HANOVER, LYONS, PADERBORN
Ye That Know the Lord Is Gracious HYFRYDOL
A postlude reflecting or summing up the rite may be played
after the Benedicamus. Instrumental music based on the text which best sums up
the rite or introducing an unfamiliar tune is particularly appropriate. The
candles may be extinguished during the postlude.
It deserves mention that the candles on the altar are lit
only for celebrations of Holy Communion. The lights used at Morning and Evening
Prayer are normally pavement lights—candles on stands flanking the altar.
During Advent the candles on the Advent wreath may be lit and during Easter the
Pascal candle. Some churches have stands for the torches that the servers carry
during the ceremonial entrance of the ministers at the beginning of the service
of Holy Communion and use the torches as pavement lights at Morning and Evening
Prayer.
Conclusion.
Taking full advantage of the flexibility in length and content of the 1928
service of Morning Prayer and its adaptability to congregations and occasions,
the digital hymnal player’s Master Index of hymns and hymn tunes and the
digital hymnal player’s various settings (piano, violin, organ, etc), a typical
service of Morning Prayer in ordinary time might look like the following:
Prelude: DOVE OF PEACE (Instrumental)
Sentence of Scripture
Opening Preces
Canticle: O Come and Sing to God the Lord DOVE OF PEACE
Hymn: When morning gilds the skies LAUDES DOMINI
Psalm 63 (read by a single voice)
Gloria Patri: To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost MARTYRDOM
Old Testament Lesson
Silence
Canticle: All you works of God bless the Lord LINSTEAD
New Testament Lesson
Silence
Bidding Prayer
Sermon
Canticle: Now bless the God of Israel FOREST GREEN
Apostles’ Creed
Salutation
Lord’s Prayer
Suffrages
Collect of the Day
Collects for Peace and Grace
Intercessions
Grace
Hymn: O Zion haste, thy mission high fulfilling TIDINGS
Prayer for Missions
Benedicamus
Postlude: NETTLETON (Instrumental)
The music of the service would not be too demanding on a
small congregation with no choir. The music to be used in the service and new
tunes to be learned would be played as pre-service and post-service music. The
metrical canticles and the Gloria Patri would be initially repeated
throughout a season or for several consecutive Sundays during a long season.
Once the congregation had mastered them, they may be varied from Sunday to Sunday.
The hymn after the Venite and the
hymn at the end of the service should be varied from week to week.
A congregation should learn several metrical settings of the
canticles and a number of settings of the Gloria Patri. Otherwise, the singing of
the canticles and Gloria Patri will
become perfunctory and tiresome and will lose its power to stir the heart so
that the praise of the lips becomes the praise of the heart. When praise comes
from the heart as well as the lips, it gives vitality to the service, which not
only will make Sunday worship more inspiring and uplifting for the members of
the congregation but also has a positive effect upon visitors. God may use the
congregation’s praise to touch the heart of a visitor and draw that person
closer to Himself. When a congregation has several metrical settings of the
canticles and a number of settings of the Gloria
Patri in its repertoire, it also gives worship planners greater flexibility
to capture the mood of the season or occasion with their choice of songs.
On major feast days a metrical version of the Gloria in excelsis might be substituted
for the Gloria Patri and an anthem
sung after the Third Collect. While the 1928 Prayer Book makes no provision for
an anthem after the Third Collect at Morning Prayer, there is a long tradition
of singing an anthem at this point in the service. A small vocal ensemble could
be put together to sing a simple hymn anthem.
At festal Matins the principal leader of the service,
whether ordained or lay, wears a cope over his surplice. A small church needs
only one cope of best materials for such occasions. It does not need a
different cope for each season of the Church Year. In accordance with the
traditions of the pre-Reformation English Church the best materials for
festivals, “Lenten white,” or unbleached linen, for Lent, and other materials
for other days is a perfectly acceptable liturgical color scheme for a small
Anglican church.
On Christmas Eve solemn Evensong with a procession at the
end of the service or a Service of Lessons and Carols would be appropriate. Our
worship has become so centered on the Eucharist due to the influence of the
twentieth century Liturgical and Parish Communion movements that we have
forgotten how to celebrate the festivals of the Church Year without Communion.
In English parish churches solemn Evensong was at one time
not unheard of on Christmas Eve. I have memories of crossing the snow-covered
Great Common in the darkness on Christmas Eve as a small boy, opening the heavy
wooden door, and entering the brightly-lit interior of the parish church of
Iccleshall St. Andrew. The vicar served more than one church and traveled between
the churches on a motorcycle.
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