By Robin G. Jordan
Singing and loud talking may play a significant role in the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control drew that conclusion after investigating a cluster of COVID-19 cases that were traced to a choir rehearsal in Mount Vernon, Washington. Researchers in Germany drew a similar conclusion after a cluster of new COVID-19 cases was also traced to a choir rehearsal at one of Germany’s cathedrals. The Ecumenical Consultation on Protocols for Worship, Fellowship, and Sacraments subsequently recommended a temporary moratorium on choral singing, congregational singing, and corporate recitation. The State of California offered this guidance for places of worship:
Discontinue singing (in rehearsals, services, etc.), chanting, and other practices and performances where there is increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets. Consider practicing these activities through alternative methods (such as internet streaming) that ensure individual congregation members perform these activities separately in their own homes.England, Scotland, and Wales have placed restrictions on singing and chanting in church due to transmission risks. Northern Ireland in its guidance has warned churches of these risks and, while permitting singing, encourages a reduction of its use in church services and discourages loud, exuberant singing. Germany has banned singing and chanting in churches due to the transmission risks.
In this article I am going to look at what churches can do to work around these restrictions on Sundays and other occasions as churches are permitted to reopen their buildings for services of public worship. I am not recommending that these restrictions should be ignored as a small but highly vocal group of church leaders and churchgoers has been urging churches to do. What I will be proposing are alternative forms of worship that churches may wish to consider as substitutes for choral singing, congregational singing, and corporate recitation.
An initial step is for those who have responsibility for planning a church’s services of public worship to take a close look at how music was used in these services before COVID-19. All music used in a service is not used as an aid to worship. It may be used for other purposes. In determining how music was used, these questions may be helpful.
How much was music used as a part of the service itself?Often as not these questions will reveal that far more music used in a service than was needed. Omitting this superfluous music may be the easy part. I say “may” because congregations frequently become attached to such unneeded music. From a liturgical point of view it may be redundant or unnecessary but you may have an argument on your hands when you point that to the attention of members of the congregation. At the same time the restrictions on singing and chanting do provided an excellent opportunity to prune away the clutter that parts of the service such as the opening of the service, the presentation of the people’s offerings, and the conclusion of the service tend to accumulate.
How much was it used to embellish the service?
How much was it used as to fill the awkward silences?
How much was it used to cover the actions of the ministers?
Churches that follow a set pattern of worship taken from a liturgical book (e.g., The Book of Alternative Services, The Book of Common Prayer, The Roman Missal, etc.) will have less difficulty narrowing down what music in the service may be viewed as “essential” and what may be regarded as “unessential.” These patterns of worship contain optional elements that may be omitted. A church may use several options at once due to parish custom but their use is not essential to the rite and in accordance with the liturgical principle, “less is more,” their omission may add to the dignity of the rite and give full expression to the noble simplicity that characterizes the rite at its best. For example, a church does not need to use an entrance song, the Kyries, and the Gloria in Excelsis at the beginning of a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It only needs to use one of these elements. The ministers, for example, can enter to instrumental music. A cantor can sing the Kyries and the congregation can repeat them in the silence of their hearts. Alternately a mp3 or a video of a cantor singing the Kyries can be played and the congregation can repeat them without vocalizing them.
These churches are likely to have a tradition of services that are normally conducted without music. Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches have such a tradition. Early morning and weekday celebrations of the Holy Eucharist in these ecclesiastical traditions generally do not have music. Weekday Eucharist celebrations may not have a homily or sermon. Some Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Roman Catholics prefer these quiet celebrations to those that have hymns, psalms, service music, and anthems. C. S. Lewis was one such individual. He had a low opinion of church music.
These churches are also likely to have a tradition of silence in their services—silence after each Scripture reading, silence after the psalm or canticle between the first two readings, silence after the sermon, silence after each petition of the Prayers of the People, and silence at the conclusion of the distribution of communion.
Further on in this article I will look at several alternative forms of worship that a liturgical church can use to replace any songs which it has determined are “essential” to the service.
Churches that may find the restriction on singing more challenging are those that have a localized pattern of worship, one that has been influenced by what is sometimes referred to as “contemporary worship.” Contemporary worship, however, is a misnomer because this pattern of worship has its roots in the revivals and camp meetings of the nineteenth century. At those gathering a “music service” featuring gospel songs preceded the “preaching service” at which one or more preachers harangued the gathering. The music service was intended to prepare those present at the revival or camp meeting for the main event—the preaching service. In the modern-day version of this worship pattern the sermon is preceded by a “worship set”—a medley of praise and worship songs and perhaps a contemporary version of a traditional hymn or gospel song. Among the elements noticeably missing from this type of service are Scripture readings, prayer, and congregational singing. As this pattern of worship has grown in popularity, it has been accompanied by a decline in congregational singing. The worship songs used in this type of service are increasingly chosen for their suitability for performance by the praise band.
The praise band that sings the songs of the worship set is amplified to the point that the congregation can “feel the beat” and not hear themselves sing. The congregation may sing along with the praise band or listen to the band. The music of the praise band is too loud for the members of the congregation to hear each other, much less to sing with one voice. It is not congregational singing in the true sense of the word or corporate worship. It is what may be described as parallel worship. The praise band and the congregation may occupy the same room but they are not worshiping together. Parallel worship is akin to parallel play observed in small children. They may be playing beside each other but they are not playing with each other.
Parallel worship was common in the Medieval Catholic Church. At celebrations of Mass the priest chanted or said the readings and the prayers of the Mass in the Latin. A choir sung the Ordinaries and Propers of the Mass, using elaborate polyphonic settings which were so composed and arranged that the congregation could not properly understand the words even if they knew Latin. The members of the congregation either stood and chatted while awaiting the highpoint of the Mass—the elevation and showing of the consecrated elements for their adoration—or they knelt on the straw-covered floor of the nave and said their private devotions, reciting the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria.
Those singing along with the praise band at a contemporary worship service tend to try to match their voices to the voices of the vocalists in the band even though the songs may be sung at too high a key or pitch for congregational singing. This tendency means that they are breathing deeply and singing loudly. If there are COVID-19 coronavirus particles floating in the air, they are more likely to inhale them than the other members of the congregation who are listening to the band. If they are infected with the virus, they are more likely to exhale virus particles. If the room in which the service is held is poorly ventilated and the air in the room is recirculated, the members of the congregation are not wearing face masks, they are not sitting or standing at least six feet apart, and the service is not kept short, you have a high risk situation. It takes only one super-spreader, a person who is infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus and whose body is producing high numbers of virus particles for reasons that we do not yet fully understand, to turn a church service into a super-spreader event. That is why it is critical not to rely on one precautionary measure but to apply the principle of levels of intervention and to put several precautionary measures in place.
Most churches that have contemporary worship services and praise bands are attractional. The service and the band are a major part of its attraction. Restrictions on singing and the use of praise bands reduce the church’s attraction which accounts at least in part for why its church leaders and attendees may oppose these restrictions. Other precautionary measures also reduce the church’s attractiveness. A workaround like recording videos of the praise band, using methods that All Souls Langham Place has pioneered with its choir and its orchestra, and then playing them during the service in place of a live band, have a major drawback. it eliminates a major attraction of the church. If you are an attendee, you are likely to ask yourself, “Why did I come today?” I could have stayed home and watched the church’s service on Facebook.
One of the reasons that some church leaders and churchgoers are fighting the restriction on singing and other precautionary measures is that they want a quick return to “normalcy” or at least the illusion of “normalcy.” With the explosion of new COVID-19 cases across the United States, any return to the days before the COVID-19 pandemic is not going to happen. We are just in the first round of the pandemic. Pretending that the pandemic is not as serious as the health experts say, a view that the White House has been encouraging for political reasons, is not going to make the COVID-19 coronavirus go away. It is whistling past the cemetery.
President Trump and his top advisers believe a reinvigorated economy will boost his chances of re-election so they are eager to have people return to work and children to school despite the surges of new COVID-19 cases in a number of states. In the Commonwealth of Kentucky the number of new cases continues to climb. Governor Andy Beshear announced 576 new cases on Tuesday, edging the statewide total up to at least 20, 223. Among yesterday's 272 new cases are 11 children under the age of five. The number of new cases in Calloway County where I live has been steadily climbing. As of Monday afternoon the Calloway County Health Department reported 5 new confirmed cases. The total number of confirmed cases is now at 112. As Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control has warned, for every single confirmed case, there are 10 more unconfirmed cases. These individuals may be experiencing relatively mild symptoms or they have not yet exhibited symptoms. However, they are infectious. Super-spreaders, individuals who are exhaling so many virus particles into their surroundings that they have been likened to the chimney, or smoke stack, of a virus factory, may have mild symptoms or they may be pre-symptomatic. They can go undetected. They have also been described as “silent spreaders.”
For churches that have contemporary worship services and praise bands, the best option may be outdoor services—drive-in services and lawn services. The platform should be large enough to accommodate the members of the band standing at least six feet apart and separated by Plexiglass or Perspex dividers and should be more than sixteen feet away from the nearest household group. The ground should be marked off into squares with a walkaway running between the squares. Each household should occupy a square which would be large enough for them to maintain social distancing from the surrounding household groups. Each household should be assigned a square and should be required to wear face masks. The service should be oriented to the prevailing wind. The worship set and the sermon should be kept short. Keeping a service short reduces the likelihood of exposure to the virus. My former church experimented with using an outdoor amphitheater at a local city park. It held one service at the amphitheater and then went back to streaming its services online.
Churches that may be described as “semi-liturgical” and which have a localized pattern of worship incorporating liturgical elements, should scrutinize their services in the same way as liturgical churches and identify and eliminate any superfluous music. They should then explore alternative forms of worship with which they can replace any remaining songs.
Singing is not the only way that Christians worship God. While some Christians may equate the worship of God with singing, they have an inadequate view of worship. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob that God desires true worshippers, those who worship him in spirit and in truth. What does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth? It means to orient our lives to God and honor him with every thought, feeling, word, and action. Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah in his condemnation of the practices of the Pharisees and the scribes. This is the passage from the Book of Isaiah that he cites.
“The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote….”We can sing songs of praise and adoration to God but our hearts can be far from him. We are not worshipping him in spirit and in truth. Singing can affect our brain chemistry and give us a temporary emotional high. While churchgoers can become addicted to this high and experience withdrawal without their “weekly worship fix,” it is not worship. A song leads to genuine worship when it shifts our mental focus away from ourselves to God and we praise and adore God from our innermost being—from what the Bible calls our “hearts.” It reinforces our orientation to God and lends words to our praise and adoration of God.
While “hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs” play an important role in our services of public worship, they are not the only ways that we give expression to our praise and adoration of God, encourage each other, instruct each other, exhort each other, and build up each other’s faith. Here are some other ways that we do these things.
Read Scripture Aloud. The apostle Peter reminds us in his first epistle that we have been called out of darkness into God’s marvellous light in order to proclaim his mighty deeds. Scripture readings can be pre-recorded and the recordings of the readings played while the words of the readings are projected onto a screen or shown on a large flatscreen monitor. Or the recordings of the readings can be played by themselves. The readings should not be lengthy ones which would defeat the purpose of keeping services short so as reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure. A translation that is easy for all ages to understand should be used. Members of the congregation could be invited to read a particular passage of Scripture and record it. It would be one way of involving members of the congregation who are sheltering in their homes because they fall into one or more of the high risk categories or otherwise are unable to attend public services of worship. For example, a member of their household may fall into one or more of the high risk categories. They themselves have been diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus and are self-isolating. If a reader does not have an easy to understand translation of the Bible, a script may be emailed to them which they can read while recording themselves. If a reader does not have internet access, they might be recorded over the phone. Involving church members who cannot attend a service of public worship for any reason signals to them that they are a part of a church’s community. They have not been forgotten.
Testimonials. A number of churches already make a video recordings of the testimony of newcomers and church members and play these recordings at services of public worship. Newcomers and church members who are not comfortable making a video recording of themselves at home may be interviewed over the phone. They should be given advanced notice and permission for the interview obtained. Some newcomers and church members may be able to record their testimony on their phone and then submit it. These newcomers and church members and those who are comfortable making a video recording of themselves at home should be provided with guidance in regard what they should include in their testimony and how long they should record themselves. Sharing with other newcomers and church members how God is working in their lives during the pandemic may be very encouraging to them.
Pre-recorded Songs, Instrumental Pieces, and Prayers. Hymns, psalms, canticles, worship songs, service music, and anthems may be prerecorded at home or in an improvised studio and then played during services of public worship. All Souls Langham Place has pioneered recording musicians and choristers at home and then assembling the recordings into a single video. Youtube has a number of videos offering tips and guidance on virtual choirs and music ensembles. As well as members of the choir and the music ensemble, members of the congregation and friends of the church who have music talent may be invited to make video recordings of a song or instrumental piece and submit them. The recordings can be not only played during an in-person service or gathering but also streamed online. A church will need to invest in a comprehensive CCLI or Licensing copyright, performance, and streaming license. Churches can also purchase high quality videos and mp3s of music that can be streamed online as well as played during in-person services and gatherings. If the music in question is not covered by existing licenses, churches will need to secure permission for its use. This may involve the payment of a reasonable fee. Permission to use the music may come with the original purchase.
Prayers may also be recorded at home or in an improvised studio and then played during services of public worship. Extempore prayers should be kept short and should not be turned into mini-sermons. Set prayers should not be rushed. They should be offered prayerfully and from the heart. A brief pause for silent prayer should be observed after each petition of a litany or other form of general intercession.
Pre-recorded songs, instrumental pieces, and prayers are also another way of involving members of the congregation who are sheltering in their homes because they fall into one or more of the high risk categories or otherwise are unable to attend public services of worship.
Body Movements, Postures, and Gestures. We not only worship God with our lips but we worship him with our whole bodies. We raise hands, palms upturned, in praise and supplication. We bow our heads. We kneel in prayer and adoration. We prostate ourselves before the Lord. We stretch our hands in blessing. We sign ourselves with the cross. The restriction on singing may actually save us from the habit of praising God with our noses stuck in a hymnal and of singing to our feet. It may also save us from the habit of standing with our hands at our sides or in our pockets or looking at the glowing screen of our phones while the praise team sings. It may ring the death knell of the concert that passes itself off as a service of public worship. We should not underestimate the importance of body movements, postures, and gestures in our worship.
In the 1970s and the 1980s the Fisherfolk teams of the Community of Celebration introduced the use of various hand gestures, mime, and dance into the worship of the Anglican and Episcopal churches around the world as the winds of renewal swept through the Anglican Communion. Their introduction of hand gestures in worship brings us to the next way of worshiping God, one which has been overlooked in the debate over singing in church services
Signing Hymns, Worship Songs, and Prayers. How many churches have a signing service for members of the community who are hearing impaired and communicate with sign language? How many churches have a skilled interpreter who can translate into sign language readings, sermons, and prayers? The COVID-19 pandemic and the restriction on singing is providing a wonderful opportunity to learn sign language and to use it in our worship of God, thereby making our services more inclusive of individuals who are hearing impaired. Sign language is a visual form of communication developed by and for people who are hearing impaired. It uses hand shapes, movements of hands, arms, and body and facial expression to convey meaning. It is used worldwide but differs from region to region in the same way spoken language differs. American Sign Language (ASL) is used in the United States. The preceding information was taken from the Dictionary of Hymnology’s article, “Signing Hymns.” The Episcopal Conference on the Deaf has an article on its website, “Singing Songs in Sign Language,” which offers ideas for using sign language as a form of worship. The ECD is working on a Prayer Book translation in ASL. Abingdon Press has produced in cooperation with the United Methodist Conference of the Deaf Hymns for Sign—American Sign Language. A description of this resource may found on the Abingdon Press website. Pinterest “Worship in Sign Language” page has links to videos of what it describes as 44 of the best sign worship songs.
Subvocalization. Subvocalization, or silent speech, can be defined as follows:
“… the internal speech typically made when reading; it provides the sound of the word as it is read This is a natural process when reading, and it helps the mind to access meanings to comprehend and remember what is read, potentially reducing cognitive load.”Subvocalization is not confined to reading. When we pray silently, we are subvocalizing. As well as saying the words of prayers inaudibly, we can also sing the lyrics of hymns, psalms, canticles, worship songs, service music, and anthems inaudibly. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was often my practice to go to church early and listen to the choir practicing hymns, anthems, and service music for the service. I would sing along with the choir inaudibly. In this way I learned the tunes of hymns and service music with which I was not familiar as well as the melody of the different parts of the anthem that the choir was singing that Sunday.
The apostle Paul’s advice to the members of the church at Ephesus “to sing and make melody in their hearts can be understood in terms of subvocalization. He is encouraging them to give God thanks and praise with their inner voice. It also can be understood in terms of contemplative adoration.
When a cantor, whether live or pre-recorded, sings a song of praise or adoration or a prayer song, members of the congregation can add their voices to the song but inaudibly. In this way they make the praise, the adoration, or the prayer their own. A number of songs in the Roman Catholic repertoire have verses with irregular settings. They also have refrains that have an easy-to-learn melody and in which the congregation can join. In this way they make the song their own. If these songs are used often, the congregation also may learn the settings of the verses. This type of song has a long history in the Christian Church and can be traced to the worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. The call-and-response song as this type of song is also called plays a large part in African indigenous church music. The refrain and repetitive parts of these songs can be sung by the congregation inaudibly.
If you have attended a charismatic church, you may have heard members of the congregation making spontaneous interjections of praise and thanksgiving. You may have also heard the entire congregation breaking into spontaneous praise and adoration at the conclusion of a song. These practices have migrated to non-charismatic churches so you may also have encountered them in a non-charismatic church. These ejaculations, sometimes called ejaculatory prayers or aspirations, have a long history in Christianity. They can also be subvocalized. The Puritan theologian and writer William Perkins urged those studying underneath him to "pray continually" through "secret and inward ejaculations of the heart".
Subvocalized singing does not require the deep breathing that vocalized singing requires. Consequently, members of the congregation who are singing inaudibly are less likely to inhale any COVID-19 coronavirus particles that are floating in the air. A member of a congregation who has the COVID-19 coronavirus and who is singing inaudibly is not going exhale as many COVID-19 coronavirus particles as he or she would if she were singing loudly and exuberantly.
Clapping and Foot Stamping. Clapping and foot stamping are also forms of worship. In songs like Gloria a Dios (Glory to God), sung to the tune GLORIA PERU, hand-clapping provide the accompaniment to the melody. In Stephen P. Starke’s metrical version of the Benedicite, “All You Works of God Bless the Lord,” which is set to Doreen Potter’s adaptation of the Jamaican tune LINSTEAD MARKET, hand-clapping provides the accompaniment to the refrain. In some forms of indigenous African church music rhythmic foot stamping is the only accompaniment. One caveat should be mentioned. Vigorous hand-clapping like other forms of vigorous exercise involve deep breathing. Deep breathing, as I have already noted, increase the risks of COVID-19 transmission.
A church might explore the use of hand-held percussion instruments like claves and blocks, which does not require as vigorous movements as hand-clapping. In the Coptic Church the butt of a wooden staff struck against the floor of the church is used to keep time when psalms are chanted. Since the restriction on singing includes chanting, this practice might be put to some other use. As in the case of vigorous hand-clapping any activity that causes deep breathing should be avoided.
Silence. Silence has a long history in Christian worship. Times of silence may be used to contemplate the attributes of God, his mighty deeds, and most importantly his grace—his mercy and goodwill toward his creatures, ourselves. Times of silence may be used to reflect upon a Scripture reading that has been read, a psalm or canticle that has been sung, or a sermon that has been preached. At St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco, a church known for its colorful, experimental worship, the time for silence for reflection, which follows each reading is “ushered in by the ringing of Tibetan singing bowls and gently ended by the ringing of Tibetan meditation chimes.” For those who might not be comfortable with singing bowls and meditation chimes, a clapper-less handbell might be struck lightly with a wooden mallet to signal the beginning and end of the time of silence. Times of silence may also be used for silent prayer.
A particularly suitable time for silence is immediately after the invitation to prayer that precedes the Prayers of the People or the Prayers as Anglican and Episcopal liturgical books call them or the Prayers of Intercession as Lutheran liturgical books call them. It is also appropriate to follow each petition with a time of silence immediately before the congregational response if there is one. This time of silence, like the time of silence immediately after the invitation to prayer provides an opportunity for members of the congregation to offer their own petitions and thanksgivings. A time of silence for the same reason should also precede the concluding collect or the Lord’s Prayer, whichever prayer rounds out the Intercessions.
The rubrics of The Roman Missal direct that a time of silence should follow the distribution of the communion elements and a number of Anglican, Episcopalian, and Lutheran churches have adopted this practice.
Bells. Bells have been used to call Christians to prayer and to call them to worship since the fifth century. The early Celtic monks used a square, iron bell struck with a wooden mallet to summon the local villagers to join them in prayer. The solemn ringing of one or more bells or the playing of a recording of bells ringing may be used not only to signal the beginning of a service but also to take the place of an entrance song. Bells were also rung at one time during the singing or chanting of the Sanctus, hence the term “sacring bell” or “sanctus bell.”
Sermons. Sermon and homilies that exalt God and his attributes; which draw attention to his might deeds, particularly the salvific work of Jesus Christ; and which encourage churchgoers to frame their lives around Jesus, his teachings, and his example are a form of worship. They orient us to God and give honor to God. In order to reduce the length of in-person services and gatherings and the possibility of exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus, sermons and homilies should be kept short. As an added precautionary measure it would be wise to erect a Plexiglas or Perspex screen in front of the pulpit. While it may be difficult to preach in a face mask, preachers should wear face masks at all other times.
Sacraments. The sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are forms of worship. They both point to what God has done for us. In their observance we seek to orient ourselves to God and to honor God. Due to the transmission risks that may be associated with their celebration, I am going to address the celebration of the sacraments in a separate article.
Let us take a brief look at how these forms of worship might be used in a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Earlier in this article I suggested paring the music used in the service to what might be regarded as “essential.” Let us assume the congregation has taken their seats and the liturgical ministers theirs. A video of one of the church’s musicians playing an instrumental piece on the cello has just concluded. A bell tolls and a deep silence falls over the gathering. A cantor separated from the congregation by a Plexiglas or Perspex shield sing a simple, familiar setting of the Kyries. During the singing of the Kyries the congregation is also singing but inaudibly. When the singing of the Kyries conclude, the presiding minister offers the Prayer of the Day.
A video of the first lesson read by an older member of the congregation and recorded at her home is played. After the reading a clapper-less bell is struck with a wooden mallet and a profound silence once more falls over the gathering. The cantor sings the refrain of a responsorial psalm and the congregation repeats the refrain but inaudibly. The cantor sings the verses of the psalm, the congregation join her on the refrain, singing it silently in their hearts. At the conclusion of the psalm the bell is again struck with the mallet and silence descends over the gathering. A video of the second lesson read by a member of the congregation with a pre-existing condition and recorded at his home is played. After the reading the bell is again struck and silence descends. A mp3 of a lively alleluia is played, the kind of alleluia that if you cannot sing it, you can hum along with the tune and tap your toe to it. The presiding minister goes to the pulpit and reads the gospel. A Plexiglas or Perspex shield separates him from the congregation. After the reading the bell is struck and silence falls. At the conclusion of the silence the presiding minister prays for the empowerment of his words by the Holy Spirit and then begins the sermon. Silence follows the sermon.
After the period of silence that follows the sermon the presiding minister reads the Nicene Creed which is also projected on the screens. After each section of the creed, the presiding minister asks the congregation if they believe what it says. The congregation responds, “I do.”
From his seat an assistant minister, standing, invites the congregation to pray. After a short period of silence the assistant minister begins the Prayers. After each petition, he pauses for silent prayer. The Prayers conclude with a period of silence and the Lord’s Prayer. A mp3 of instrumental music or a video of an anthem is played as the table is prepared.
A shortened eucharistic prayer is said by the presiding minister, a brief prayer of thanksgiving followed by the Words of Institution. The communion is only in one kind. The bread for the people’s communion is kept separate from that for the presiding minister’s communion and is kept in a covered container. The presiding minister wears protective gloves during the consecration of the elements. He also wears a face mask. He only lifts his face mask to eat two pieces of his wafer and to drink from the cup. He then takes off the protective gloves, sanitizes his hands, and dons a new pair of protective gloves.
The communicants come forward one at a time and receive a wafer from the presiding minister or an assisting minister who is also wearing a face mask and protective gloves. The communicants are wearing face masks and maintaining at least distance of six feet between themselves and the next communicant. The communicants receive standing. The minister places a wafer on their outstretched hands without touching their hands. They turn away from the minister, lift their mask, and eat the wafer. They then return to their seats.
After all have received communion, a period of silence is kept, all seated. The presiding minister rises and then says a short post-communion thanksgiving. He then blesses and dismisses the congregation.
As you can see this is a rather austere celebration of the Holy Eucharist. There is no entrance song, no entrance procession, no presentation of the gifts, no recessional song, and no exit procession. The only music is the penitential Kyries, the gradual psalm, the alleluia before the gospel reading, and instrumental music or anthem during the preparation of the table. The latter is not to cover the actions of the liturgical ministers but to prepare the congregation for what follows. An mp3 of instrumental music or a video of a communion song might be played during the distribution of the bread. It is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist that a small church could pull off, using pre-recorded music. The only person who sings in the service is the cantor and the cantor can be replaced by recordings.
I hope that with this article I primed the pump so to speak. When you prime an old-fashioned pump, you pour water into the pump and then start pumping. You may have to add more water. What you are doing is creating a column of water in the well, which will eventually bring fresh water gushing from the spout of the pump. The moratorium on choral singing, congregational singing, and corporate recitation forces us to be more creative in the ways that we worship God, I do not see that as a bad thing. While we may not be able to sing aloud at church for a season, we can sing aloud at home. The shift from singing in church to singing at home I believe is a good thing. Churches can post lyrics on their websites and mp3s and videos of the music to which the lyrics may be sung and encourage member households to sing at home. This shift could eventually lead to a revival of congregation singing.
The image that I am posting with this article is an image of a singing bowl. It is a standing or resting bell which may be played by striking or by rotating a mallet around the outside rim to produce a sustained tone. This tone is what earned the singing bowl its name.
