The 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office Revisited: A Reevaluation—Part 7

By Robin G. Jordan

In my previous article I suggested ways of streamlining the first half of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office—the Liturgy of the Word, and making that half of the liturgy more engaging and mission-shaped. In this article I am going to do the same thing with the second half of that office—the Liturgy of the Table.

The Offertory. As in the case of the introductory rite of a celebration of Holy Communion a key principle in the planning of the offertory rite of such a celebration is the liturgical principle of less is more. The offertory is one of those places in the liturgy that attracts clutter. This clutter does not add to the rite but detracts from it.

The 1928 Book of Common Prayer made a number of important reforms to the rites and services of the American Prayer Book. Some of these reforms were partial such as the rubric permitting the saying of the Lord’s Prayer at its original position in the Daily Offices if the Exhortation, shorter Invitation to Confession, the General Confession, the Absolution, and the initial Lord’s Prayer were omitted. Others were more complete.

One of the latter reforms was to withdraw permission to sing a presentation hymn or sentence at the conclusion of the offertory while permitting the singing of an offertory hymn or anthem. What this reform did was to restore one of the Propers of the Mass—the Offertory—to its rightful place in the liturgy. The offertory hymn or anthem functions as the Offertory.

Lionel Dakker who was the director of the Royal School of Church Music for a number of years suggests the use of “a longer, and more spacious, hymn for the Offertory.” It is one of two places in the liturgy where a hymn of up to eight verses may be sung. (The other place is a solemn procession with choir and full complement of liturgical ministers to mark a special occasion.) The offertory hymn or anthem should be carefully selected to fit with the lessons and the sermon and the place in the liturgy where it is used. It may serve as a response to the lessons and the sermon or as a reflection upon the season of the Church Year. It may also prepare the congregation for everything that follows. See Hymn 283 “Draw us in the Spirit’s tether,” Hymn 285 “Zion, praise thy Saviour, singing,” Hymn 287 “He gave his life in selfless love,” and Hymn 292 “I come with joy, a child of God.”

Despite its imagery Hymn 295 “Break thou the Bread of Life.” which is found in the Holy Communion section of The Book of Common Praise 2017, is not a Communion hymn. “The Bread of Life” to which the hymn refers is not the Sacrament of the Holy Communion. It is the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, which Jesus, the living Word, opens to us through the operation of the Holy Spirit. It is with God's Word that he feeds us.  While Hymn 295 would make good Sequence hymn, its wording is not suitable for use as an Offertory or before the Communion of the Priest and the People  It illustrates why we must exercise care in the selection of hymns for each part of the liturgy.

The Reformed Episcopal Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission who compiled the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Prayer Book or the General Councils that authorized the book did not understood the important of aforementioned reform or they ignored it. They retained the rubric permitting the singing of a presentation hymn or sentence at the conclusion of the offertory. The result is an offertory rite that is inordinately long—two songs instead of one—and which receives far greater emphasis than a secondary rite warrants.

As Percy Dearmer wrote in The Art of Public Worship, “The worst of revisions so far is that , while old mistakes have been in small part removed, new mistakes have been made, and this because the committees were weak in men who understood the business of liturologists.” Dearmer wrote The Art of Public Worship more than 80 years before the authorization of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Prayer Book. We obviously do not learn from our past mistakes.

The offertory can be compared to the porch of a house, not a porch that stretches the length of the building—the kind of veranda we see in the southern United States, but one that covers the entrance to the house—what is sometimes called an English porch. When we add a second song to the offertory, 1 Chronicles 29:11, and perhaps a second offertory prayer, it is the equivalent of building the porch of a house, which is disproportionate to the size of the house. Hugh porch. Modest-sized house.

The offertory consists of three sets of actions. Two sets of these actions are simultaneous—the ingathering of the people’s offerings and the preparation of the bread and the wine. The third set of actions follows the other two. The presiding minister receives the people’s offerings, humbly presents them, and places them on the Holy Table where they remain until immediately after the Prayer for the Church, at which time they may be removed by a server from the Table. Only one song, the offertory hymn or anthem that serves as the Offertory, is needed during the first two sets of actions if any song is needed at all. The third set of actions may be performed in silence. (Indeed the whole rite may be performed in silence.) The result is an offertory rite that is the right proportion to the “house,” the rest of the Liturgy of the Table. It is not unnecessarily long nor is it excessively elaborate or fussy. It shows the simplicity that is one of the finest qualities of Anglican worship.

Simplicity is not high church, low church, or broad church. It is just good Anglican practice. No foofaraw. Only what is important and necessary.

When the presiding minister presents the people’s offerings, he should not do so with ostentatious display, but “humbly,” as the rubric directs. He may slightly raise the basin. The rubrics of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office do not, however, authorize the solemn elevation of the alms-basin or the making of the sign of the cross over its contents. They also do not authorize the handing of the basin to the server immediately after the presentation.

The offertory rite of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office has an admirable offertory prayer in the form of the Prayer for the Church. Percy Dearmer in The Pastor’s Handbook reminds us:

This prayer is a part of the Offertory, being the liturgical offering of the alms and oblations. To interpolate any other words of offering is to miss the point of the appointed verbal oblation.

Any further offertory prayers are superfluous. This includes a “L.M. Doxology” and 1 Chronicles 29:11.

The elimination of the singing of the Doxology and of the recitation of 1 Chronicles 29:11 at the conclusion of the offertory not only simplifies the offertory rite and restores it to its right proportions but it also streamlines the Liturgy of the Table.

Two pastors with whom I served the longest had diametrically opposed views of the singing of the Doxology at the offertory’s conclusion.

The first pastor presented and placed the people’s alms and oblations on the altar in silence. He maintained that this practice was the most ancient and liturgical scholars support his view. He further maintained that the liturgy already had a doxology. It concludes the Prayer of Consecration: “…through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end. Amen.” Here he was also correct.

The second pastor, on the other hand, maintained the singing of the Doxology was an integral part of the offertory. But he was not able to point to any scholarly work supporting his view. The only argument that could muster in support of the practice was that the church where he was a lay reader before he was made a deacon had sung the Doxology.

Lionel Dakker was not acquainted with the practice of singing the Doxology at the conclusion of the offertory until he visited the United States on tour for the RSCM. Of all the liturgical scholars that I have read, only Howard Galley suggests that the practice might be not quite as problematic in the 1928 Communion Office as it is the 1979 Communion Office. He does not, however, recommend the practice.

The origin of the practice of singing the Doxology at the conclusion of the offertory is obscure. The text of the Doxology was originally the last stanza of Thomas Ken’s Morning Hymn and Evening Hymn. Ken was an English Non-Juror Bishop who was deprived of his see upon the ascension of William and Mary to the English throne because he would not transfer his oath of allegiance from James II to them.

The Episcopal Church’s The Hymnal Revised and Enlarged of 1889 has a list of doxologies that may be sung at the end of hymns. Thomas Ken’s Doxology is at the top of the list. These doxologies appear to have been provided for the use of congregations that wished to sing a doxology at the end of a hymn in imitation of the Ambrosian hymn. The 1892 Prayer Book does permit the singing of a presentation hymn at the conclusion of the offertory and late nineteenth century Episcopal churches may have substituted one of these doxologies for a hymn.

The practice of singing the Doxology at the conclusion of the offertory may also have originated outside the Episcopal Church. In a number of Protestant denominations—Baptist, Congregationalist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Methodist, and Presbyterian, in the more traditional churches, the Doxology is sung before the dedication of the offering. When the Doxology is sung in these churches, it is not usually sung in a celebration of Holy Communion. The denominations with which they are affiliated are for a large part non-liturgical. Unlike Reformed Episcopal and Continuing Anglican churches, these churches do not use a liturgy that comes with its own offertory prayer in which the people’s alms and oblations are dedicated to God.

Among the problems associated with the practice of singing the Doxology at the conclusion of the offertory is that it may result in the use of the same hymn tune more than once in a service. In some instances this repetition of a hymn tune may be unavoidable because a small congregation has a limited repertoire of hymn tunes but in most cases it should be avoided.

Louis Bourgeois’ Old Hundreth is the setting of three great hymns of the faith--“All people that on earth do dwell,””Before the Lord Jehovah’s throne,” and “Let all that dwells below the skies.” The use of Old Hundreth as the setting of these hymns a far better use of Bourgeois’ tune than its use as a setting of the Doxology. When the tune is used as a setting of the Doxology, congregations have a strong tendency to run it into the ground.

A much better use of Thomas Ken’s Doxology is to occasionally sing it as a round after the Post-Communion Thanksgiving to The Eighth Tune (Tallis’ Canon) or Jimmy Owen’s Fairhill as an alternative to the Gloria in Excelsis. When the Doxology is sung a cappella to one of these tunes, it is an entirely different experience from the way the Doxology is too often sung at the conclusion of the offertory. The round, a simple form of canon, has a long history in English church music.

Pastors do not need to give the congregation something to do such as sing a hymn or hymn fragment while they do something else. Rather they should allow the singing of the offertory hymn or anthem to sink into silence and then let the congregation focus their attention on the act of presenting and placing the offerings on the altar. That simple act done in silence is far more profound than the singing of “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” for the umpteenth time.

The Intercession. When worshiping in a non traditional setting which has no kneelers, the liturgical assembly normally stands for the Prayer for the Church.

While the rubrics of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office make no specific provision for the presiding minister to invite prayer requests from the congregation before the Prayer for the Church, they do permit him to “ask for the secret intercessions of the congregation for any who have desired the prayers of the church.” The rubrics appear to assume that those who desire the prayers of the church will themselves request these prayers. “Desired” is an archaic way of saying “requested.” The choice of language appears to limit such requests to the members of the church.

Yet the Scriptures do not appear to confine our prayers to the family of the church. Those who do not know our Lord, those who are going through a life crisis, those suffering the effects of a natural disaster, those who are struggling with addiction, those who have lost loved ones, and the list goes on need our prayers. They need our secret intercessions.

An evangelistic church is a praying church. A caring church is a praying church. A discipling church is a praying church.

Despite the lack of a specific provision for the presiding minister to invite the prayer requests from the congregation before the Prayer for the Church, it is appropriate to invite such requests. A good place to invite these requests is following the reading of the church’s prayer list. This list should be regularly updated.

Providing the phone number of a cell phone to which congregants can text up-to-the-minute prayer requests should be available as an option to congregants as well as voicing their prayer requests in response to the presiding minister’s invitation. The presiding minister should check the cell phone for prayer request texts before and after making this invitation.

It is a good idea for the presiding minister to briefly share any answers to prayer with the congregation. This reinforces the idea that congregation’s prayers are important and they do make a difference.

In some circumstances it may be appropriate to invite a member of the congregation to come forward and the presiding minister and representatives of the congregation to lay hands on that person and pray over him.

The fact that the church is a praying church will not be lost on first-time guests. It may inspire them to return for a second visit and to bring a friend.

After the congregants have voiced their prayer requests, he has checked the cell phone for the last time, and he and the congregation’s representatives have laid hands on and prayed over anyone who needs this type of prayer, the presiding minister should read the Prayer for the Church.

“Read” is not really a good word to describe the way this prayer should be prayed. It should be dipped into the prayer of the heart and then offered. This is the advice that the seventeenth century Anglican poet priest George Herbert gives his fellow preachers in A Priest to the Temple, Or the Country Parson on what they should do before they preach a sermon. It is good advice for the prayers of the liturgy as well as for sermons, not only to pastors but also to the people. We should immerse them in the prayer of our hearts before we offer them. Our reading of the prayers should not be perfunctory or affected. They should be heart-felt.

When we pray this way, the Holy Spirit indwelling us will breathe life into the liturgy, transform it, and make it a powerful thing that touches not only our own hearts but the hearts of any outsiders who wander into our gatherings. We should also sing the hymns and songs and read the Scriptures in the same way.

Heart prayer-dipping everything and then doing it, not resisting the Holy Spirit but letting him energize everything we do, is the most important way that we can make the liturgy more evangelistic. But it is really not our doing. It is God’s. We are only opening ourselves to God. And even that is not our doing. It is the effect of God’s grace—God at work in us to will and do his good pleasure. It is also the most important way that we make the liturgy more engaging.

This said, an engaging liturgy is not just heart prayer-dipped and Holy Spirit-energized. It involves more people and involves people more.

How do we involve more people in the reading of the Prayer for the Church? If a church has a permanent or transitional deacon assigned to the church, the pastor of the church may want to request a license from the bishop for the deacon to read the Prayer for the Church at celebrations of Holy Communion. It is a biblical and ancient tradition that deacons take care of people in need and one of the ways they fulfill this duty is to read the Prayers of the Faithful, These intercessions are not only a way of entrusting people in need to God but also a way of reminding the church of these people. If the bishop is familiar with this tradition, he may be amenable to licensing a deacon to read the Prayer for the Church. In some cases the bishop, when assigning a deacon to a church, may grant to the deacon a license to read the Prayer for the Church. In any event the pastor will need to consult with the bishop in regards to what the deacon in question is authorized to do and whether it includes the reading of the Prayer for the Church.

How do we involve people more in the Prayer for the Church? First, we can encourage them to voice prayer requests before the reading of the Prayer for the Church. In voicing these requests, they are entrusting those for whom the prayer of the church is requested to God. What they are doing is itself a form of intercession. The rest of the congregation can be encouraged to affirm their prayer requests. “Yes, Lord.” “Amen.”

Second, we can encourage the people to make spontaneous interjections like “Hear us, Lord” and “We beseech thee, Lord” during the reading of the Prayer for the Church rather than kneeling or standing in silence throughout the prayer. These short utterances are sometimes called “arrow prayers”–“quick prayers shot up to heaven in a single breath.” The Latin word for them is jaculum. They are longstanding part of both Western and Eastern Christian spirituality. The responses to the supplications of the Great Litany themselves are a form of arrow prayer. They are offered in a more structured context. We may also hear arrow prayers in prayer groups. While one member of the group is praying, the other members will interject these short prayers.

The presiding minister or the deacon reading the Prayer for the Church can pause after each section of the prayer to give the congregation an opportunity to utter these prayers. The congregation should, however, be encouraged to offer them irrespective of whether they are given such opportunity.

Spontaneous verbalized arrow prayers are a way of involving people more in the Prayer for the Church without modifying its text by inserting an appropriate congregational response after each section of the prayer.

In some Continuing Anglican jurisdictions whose canons differ from those of the Reformed Episcopal Church it may be possible to use adaptations of litanies like the Second Shorter Litany in the 1929 Scottish Prayer Book and the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church and the Prayers of the People in the Anglican Service Book (2007) as long as the doctrine of the source from which they are taken conforms to that of the 1928 Prayer Book.

We can also make the Prayer for the Church more mission-oriented in a number of ways. First, the presiding minister, when asking the congregation for its prayers before the reading of the Prayer for the Church should ask its members to pray for the unsaved and the unchurched in the community, for the other churches in the community, for the community’s schools and places of higher education, for upcoming events in the community, and service projects that community groups and organizations are undertaking. A church does not need to be partnered with these groups and organization in such projects in order to pray for them. As well as focusing the attention of the congregation outward—away from the church and toward the community, it will also convey to first-time guests that the church cares about the community. It is not wholly absorbed in itself.

Second, the presiding minister should ask the members of the congregation to pray for all new works as well as those in which the church may be involved and for all missionaries and not just those that the church is supporting. This will help to reinforce the importance of church planting and missionary work in the minds of the congregation.

Third, the time before the reading of the Prayer for the Church can be used to commission with laying-on-of-hands and prayer members of church planting teams, missionaries, and members of the congregation who are involved in significant ministries in and to the community.

Fourth, the presiding minister should report at regular intervals on the progress of the evangelistic outreach efforts for which the congregation is praying, including the number of adults and children baptized by the church and the number of people confirmed or received into the church. The presiding minister should also report on the progress of new works, the work of the missionaries and the progress of the community service projects for which the congregation has also been praying. These reports should be brief and to the point.

Fifth, the presiding minister may wish to insert into the Prayer for the Church the following petition from the Prayer for the Church in the Alternative Order of Communion in the 1928 Proposed English Prayer Book:

Guide and prosper, we pray thee, those who are labouring for the spread of thy Gospel among the nations, and enlighten with thy Spirit all places of education and learning; that the whole world may be filled with the knowledge of thy truth.

It follows the petition for the clergy. With the growth of secularism in North America, we not only need be praying for all gospel workers but also our schools, colleges, and universities in which secularism is often promoted.

Depending upon the jurisdiction and its subdivision to which they belong, pastors may wish to consult with the bishop before interpolating this petition into the Prayer for the Church.

The Preparation. When reading the Invitation to Confession in a non-traditional worship setting in which the congregation cannot kneel for the General Confession, the presiding minister should omit “devoutly kneeling” from the invitation. He should invite them to be seated for the General Confession and to bow their heads.

The presiding minister should observe a period of silence for self-examination before beginning the General Confession. The members of the congregation can be taught to ask the Holy Spirit to search them during this time and show to them any unconfessed sins. These sins the members of the congregation can be taught to then confess to God in the silence of their hearts. In this way they will be able to approach the Lord’s Table, having genuinely repented of their sins.

Pastors may want to consult with their bishop before they move the Prayer of Humble Access from the Prayer of Consecration (the Celebration of Holy Communion) or its position after the Lord’s Prayer (Alternate Form of the Celebration of Holy Communion) to a position after the Comfortable Words. Their bishop may be amenable to the transfer of the Prayer of Humble Access to this position since it is done in the 1928 Proposed English Prayer Book

If their bishop authorizes the change, pastors should carefully explain the rationale for the change to the congregation before implementing it. People who initially resist the change may modify their opinion of the change once it is implemented and they have joined with the presiding minister in saying the Prayer of Humble Access after the Comfortable Words for a period of time. This often happens once people become accustomed to a change. They conclude that it is not as bad as they thought that it would be.

The Consecration. When worshiping a non-traditional setting with no kneelers, the liturgical assembly normally stands for the Sursum Corda, the Preface, the Proper Preface, the Ter-Sanctus and the Prayer of Consecration. Old members of the congregation who cannot stand for any length of time should be permitted to sit.

After the Comfortable Words the presiding minister invites the congregation to stand. A direction to stand should be printed in the church bulletin. So should permission to sit. Whenever possible, the Ter-Sanctus should be sung. The Merbecke setting is not difficult. I am not familiar with Martin Shaw’s Anglican Folk Mass setting and I have not found a MIDI or MP3 of it online. Healey Willan’s Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena setting requires the support of a choir and a livelier acoustical environment than those found in most non-traditional worship settings.

Whatever musical setting is used should be accessible to the liturgical assembly and singable in the acoustical environment of the physical setting in which the church worships. The liturgical assembly should not be asked to sing something that it cannot sing because the pastor, the music director, or the choir likes it. The congregation should be taught the setting of the Ter-Sanctus beforehand and given opportunity to practice it. This can be done by having a weeknight congregational rehearsal, coupled with a church supper. This gathering can be used to teach and practice the setting of the Ter-Sanctus; to teach and, or practice one or two unfamiliar hymn tunes, and to sing some old favorites. Everyone should be encouraged to participate.

If the Ter-Sanctus is recited, the congregation should be encouraged to say it vigorously, in a loud voice, with feeling—not to mumble or whisper it. They should be reminded that they are joining with the hosts of heaven in proclaiming God’s majesty. It is not a time to hold back.

If the sanctus, or sacring, bells are rung during the consecration, they are rung during the singing or recitation of the Ter-Sanctus, This is the ancient custom. According to Edward C.Trenholme SSJE, at the Ter-Sanctus,"the bell is thrice rung."

The ringing of bells during and after the Words of Institution is a late medieval custom. While intended to draw the congregation’s attention to the priest’s elevation of the host and the cup, this practice suggests that the Words of Institution are the moment of consecration, a view that is at odds with the historic Anglican view that the whole prayer sets the bread and the wine apart for sacramental use.

When the Ter-Sanctus is sung to the Merbecke setting, one or more hand bells can be rung at the following points:

Holy (x), holy (x), holy (x), Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth arc full of thy glory (x). Glory be to thee, O Lord most High (x). Amen (x).

Hand bells are another way of involving more people in the liturgy.

If the first form, the Celebration of Holy Communion, in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office is used, the presiding minister and people should remain standing for the Prayer of Humble Access. A few members of the congregation may attempt to kneel on the floor. This should not be encouraged. They may need the assistance of their neighbors to rise to their feet again and in the process may become a distraction to the rest of the congregation. The focus of the congregation should be on what is happening at the Holy Table.

The presiding minister should briefly invite the people to join in him in saying the Prayer of Humble Access. A direction to join him in saying this prayer should be printed in the church bulletin.

The congregation should be encouraged to say the Amen at the conclusion of the Prayer of Consecration in a loud voice. It was the ancient custom to shout the Amen, with which the congregation expressed their agreement with the prayer and affirmed the prayer as that of the whole assembly.

The concluding Amen may also be sung. The Danish Amen, a three-fold Amen, is not a difficult setting, and may be used at the conclusion of the Prayer of Consecration on special occasions. It is one of the ways to mark such occasions. One or more hand bells can be rung at the end of each Amen.

If the first form in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office is used, the Communion of the Priest and People follows the Prayer of Consecration. If the second form is used, the Communion of the Priest and People follows the Prayer of Humble Access or the Lord’s Prayer if the bishop authorizes the transfer of the Prayer of Humble Access to the Preparation. If second form is used and the Prayer of Humble Access is said after the Lord’s Prayer, the presiding minister should invite the congregation to remain standing and join him in saying the Prayer of Humble Access. If the church is worshiping in a traditional setting with kneelers, he should invite the congregation to join him in saying the Prayer of Humble Access and then kneel.

In both forms a hymn may be sung before the distribution of the Communion elements. The congregation stands to sing the hymn if they are not already standing.

If we examine the hymns in the Holy Communion section of The Book of Common Praise 2017, we will discover that while some hymns in this section are suitable for singing before the distribution of the Communion elements, others are more suitable for singing during the distribution of the elements or after the people have received communion. We therefore must exercise care in what hymn we select.

We do not want to ask the congregation to sing a post-communion hymn before they receive communion anymore than we want to ask them to sing a hymn that expresses what they might be thinking and feeling before receiving communion after they have received it. Some Communion hymns are so worded that they cannot be sung anywhere except during the distribution of the Communion elements, not before the distribution or after it.

The words of a hymn are a prayer. if the words of a hymn do not fit with the place in the liturgy where the hymn is sing, we are not showing proper respect to God as well as asking the congregation to sing nonsense.

We should also consider the length of the hymn. We do not want to create too long a delay between the time that the elements are consecrated and the time that they are distributed. This does not present as much of a problem in the first form of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office than it does in the second form, the Alternate Form for the Celebration of Holy Communion. In the latter the Prayer of Consecration are followed by the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer of Humble Access. These devotions already lengthen the delay between the consecration of the elements and their distribution.

The Book of Common Praise 2017 contains a number of hymns that, while they are found in other sections of the hymnal, are also suitable for use before the Communion of the Priest and People. Some examples are Hymn 365,”Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,” Hymn 335 “Come, thou Fount of ev’ry blessing,” Hymn 616”Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,” Hymn 442 (vss. 1-4) “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds,” Hymn 445 “Jesus, Lover of my soul,” Hymn 444 “Lord Jesus, think on me,” Hymn 444 “My faith looks up to thee,” and Hymn 406 “What wondrous love is this, O my soul, o my soul!” All of these hymns lend words to the thoughts and feelings that members of the congregation may be experiencing at this point in the liturgy. They are also the kind of hymn that stir the faith of communicants and arouse their devotion to their Lord who they are about to meet in the Sacrament.

The singing or recitation of the Agnes Dei in place of a hymn is not recommended. The Agnes Dei is not sung at this point in the liturgy in the 1662 Communion Office on which the first form is modeled or in the 1552 Communion Office on which the 1662 Communion Office is modeled. The Agnes Dei is also not sung at this point in the liturgy in the 1549 Order of Communion upon which the second form is modeled. In the 1549 Communion Office the Agnes Dei is sung during the Communion time. It is not one of the devotions that precede the distribution of the Communion elements. While the Agnes Dei may be sung, it is not a hymn, but an anthem that accompanied the fraction in Roman rite from the late seventh century on. It was sung by the choir. In a number of the Eastern rites psalmody accompanied the breaking of the bread while in the Gallican rites a variable anthem accompanied the fraction. In the classical Anglican Communion Service the breaking of the bread does not occur at this point in the liturgy but earlier in the Prayer of Consecration. If a song is desired before the distribution of the Communion elements, a suitable hymn is more appropriate, not an anthem that has become detached from its original function of accompanying the fraction. The singing or recitation of the Agnes Dei also imparts an excessively penitential tone to what should be a joyous occasion, a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb. The Book of Common Praise 2017 has many great hymns that are suitable for use before the distribution of the Communion elements. The invariable use of the Agnes Dei at this point in the liturgy is an impoverishment of the liturgy, not an enrichment.

If a hymn is sung before the distribution of the Communion elements, the presiding minister should not receive communion until after the hymn has been concluded. The communion of the priest should not be separated from the communion of the people. As Paul wrote the church at Corinth, “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). While we may lose the symbolism of one loaf when we use wafers in place of a loaf of bread, it is important to do as much as we can to preserve the sense that the liturgical assembly is one body when the assembly shares the bread and wine of the Holy Communion. The rubrics of both forms in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office are also quite clear that the communion of the priest as well as the communion of the people should follow the hymn.

The Communion of the People and the Priest. After the hymn before the distribution of the Communion elements is concluded (if a hymn is sung), the presiding minister should invite the communicants to come to receive the Holy Communion, using these or similar words:

Draw near and receive the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for you, and his Blood which was shed for you. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

The presiding minister should first receive the Communion in both kinds himself and then distribute the Communion elements to any assisting ministers and then to any licensed Lay Cup Bearers and servers. After they have received the Communion, he, with the assistance of one or more of the assisting ministers or licensed Lay Cup Bearers, should distribute the elements to the people.

Whether any hymns and anthems will be sung, instrumental music played, or silence observed during the distribution of the Communion elements will be largely determined by local custom. The rubrics of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office are silent on this question. Considering the nature of the occasion, congregational song is appropriate as an expression of joy and unity. It is also a way of involving more people and involving people more in the liturgy at this point, that and the use of licensed Lay Cup Bearers.

Even in small celebrations of the Holy Communion in which the congregation is not very large and the presiding minister can distribute the Communion elements without any assistance of a licensed Lay Cup Bearer, it is desirable to have licensed Lay Cup Bearer to assist him. This shows that the distribution of the Communion elements is also a part of the work of God’s people, the laos from which word liturgy is derived. It is not solely a function of the clergy.

After all have received the Communion, a period of silence should be observed, in which the priest and the people are allowed an opportunity to pray.

The Thanksgiving. In the first form—the Celebration of Holy Communion—the Thanksgiving contains five elements –the Lord’s Prayer, the two Post-Communion Thanksgivings, the Gloria in Excelsis or a some other suitable hymn, the Blessing and an optional final hymn. The most problematic feature of this part of the liturgy is the rubric directing the presiding minister to say both of the Post-Communion Thanksgivings, not just one or the other as in the 1662 Communion Office on which the first form is based. This may have been an oversight. It is more likely one of those “new mistakes,” as Percy Dearmer called them, which are made when attempting to remove what are perceived as “old mistakes.” It adds to the length of what is already a lengthy part of that form.

One proposal for the revision of the 1662 Prayer Book that was made in 1923 and which merits our attention was to reverse the order of the two Post-Communion Thanksgivings and to have the priest say what the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office refers to as the Prayer of Thanksgiving and then to have the people join the priest in saying what that office refers to as the Prayer of Oblation. This proposal was not adopted and the final version of the 1928 Proposed English Prayer Book that was approved by Convocation retains 1662 order of the two Post-Communion Thanksgivings and the 1662 rubric directing the priest to say one or the other but not both. An Australian Prayer Book (1978) permits the priest to say one or the other or both but A Prayer Book for Australia (1992) restores the 1662 rubric. Holy Communion, Order Two, of Common Worship (2000) retains the 1662 rubric. The rubric in the first form in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office is something of an anomaly.

Pastors who are using the first form and who wish to reduce the length of the Thanksgiving will want to adopt the liturgical usage of the 1662 Communion Office and omit one of the two post-communion prayers. Those who desire to make the liturgy more engaging will want to invite the congregation to join them in saying whichever one of the two thanksgivings that they choose to say. A few pastors may want to reverse the two thanksgivings and try the proposal made in A New Prayer Book for which none other than William Temple, then Bishop of Manchester, wrote the forward. Those who are hesitant about omitting one of the post-communion prayers or reversing the two thanksgivings may want to use the second form—the Alternate Form for the Celebration of Holy Communion—in 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office. It comes with its own problems.

Pastors who are using the second form and who wish to make it more engaging should invite the congregation to join him in saying the Post-Communion Thanksgiving (presuming that they are not already saying it with him.) A direction to join the presiding minister in saying the prayer should be printed in the church bulletin.

One of the brightest features of the Thanksgiving in both forms in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office is its retention of the rubric permitting the singing of a hymn as an alternative the Gloria in Excelsis. This has been a feature of the American Prayer Book since 1789. It has been a feature that has been adopted in a number of the more recent Anglican service books, including the 2004 Irish Book of Common Prayer. While sometimes mistakenly regarded as an American innovation, the use of a variable hymn of praise has an ancient precedent. The Gallican rites used a variable canticle where the Gloria was sung in the Roman rite. The singing of the Gloria was sung only on certain festivals at Masses celebrated by the pope until as late as the eleventh or twelfth century. It was not sung in parish churches. For churches that worship in non-traditional settings which lack the right of acoustical environment for singing the Gloria and other canticles, for those for whom the existing settings of the traditional version of the Gloria are not bright enough, and for those which do not have a choir, the option of singing hymn as an alternative to the Gloria is real boon. For a list of suggested hymns for use as alternatives to the Gloria, see the fifth article in this series.

The late Peter Toon saw a need for dignified modern settings of the psalms and canticles and the creative use of traditional music. I concur with his observation. A number of the musical settings that work in traditional worship settings do not work in non-traditional worship settings. We need more musical settings that can be used in the latter. This includes metrical versions of the psalms and canticles and informal worship songs based on the psalms and canticles.

In both forms in 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office the Blessing serves as the dismal of the people. That office makes provision for the singing of a final hymn after the Blessing and nothing else. The rubric permitting the singing of final hymn may be a concession to what Lionel Dakkers describes as “the concept of a hymn as the grand finale of a service,” “a custom which dies hard in some churches.” He suggests that singing a hymn before the dismissal, which in 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office is the Blessing, is preferable to dismissing the people and then backtracking by singing a hymn. Some pastors want want to experiment with using the hymn sung as an alternative to the Gloria in Excelis as the final hymn of the service. Or,if a Prayer for Missions or some other closing prayer is said before the Blessing, the final hymn might be sung after this prayer. The presiding minister and the other liturgical ministers can exit to instrumental music or in silence. Or the presiding minister may simply leave his place and greet the people. The server can extinguish the altar candles and join his family. We do not need to have a formal exit anymore than we need to have a formal entrance. This is particularly true in many non-traditional worship settings. In these setting we may need to be more relaxed and less formal than in traditional worship settings. Stiff formality is out of place and may evoke a negative reaction from first-time guests.

Dakker’s suggestion for a final hymn is “a fairly short final hymn which sums up the service and sends us into the world in no uncertain way.” Mission hymns (e.g., Hymn 621 “God is working his purpose out”) are good choice for the final hymn as are hymns of dedication and resolve (e.g., Hymn 527 “I have decided to follow Jesus”) and hymns of encouragement (e.g., Hymn 571 “Fight the good fight”). Despite its length “I danced in the morning” works surprising well as a final hymn.” In selecting a final hymn the tune as well as the word as is an important consideration. The words must fit with the conclusion of the service and the tune should be an upbeat one. Too often a hymn more suitable to the beginning of the service is picked and the tune to which it sung falls flat on its face. The best final hymns send the congregation forth rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit to love and serve the Lord. It sets their hearts racing. The people come away from church excited about sharing God’s mission in the world.

When we are planning worship, one of our goals should be to pave the way for the Holy Spirit to transform those who come to our church so that they leave a changed person. The change may not be a large one but they will not be quite the same person who came to our church that day. This is not something that we do in our own power but it is something that the Holy Spirit does through us. The part we play is to be open to the Holy Spirit and to his guidance.

Everything we do is prayer. Even the lessons and the sermon are a form of prayer, an act of worship. In the lessons we proclaim God’s mighty deeds. We tell his story. In our sermons we draw the implications of what he has been doing for those who are listening, how it impacts their lives. In our celebrations of the Lord’s Supper we declare in word and sign the mightiest of God’s deeds, the atoning death of his Son, God made flesh, on the cross for our sins. We honor our Saviour and Lord when we receive, in accordance with his word, the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper and proclaim his death until he comes again with glory. What we do more than anything else in the liturgy is glorify our God and the One He sent.

To truly glorify Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb our prayer must be heart-felt. We must not let our celebrations of Holy Communion degenerate into mere ritual. Those who come to our Holy Communion celebrations can sense when we are doing our utmost to honor God and His Son, imperfect as it may be, and when we are going through the motions, when our heart is not in what we are doing. We can and should do all that we can to streamline our celebrations and make them more engaging and more mission-oriented. But our efforts are going to fail if this very important ingredient is missing.