Holy and Reverent
Author, The Rev. Jim Shumard is Rector of St. Francis of the Islands, Savannah.

While at Honey Creek recently, I was looking at the pictures of our past bishops which were hanging on the wall.  All of the bishops, except our current bishop, from the 1800’s on, had expressions on their faces that ranged from solemn to frown to "something seemed to be painful for them."  I believe that was their idea of being reverent and holy.  I imagine that depending on how each of us was raised, we all have differing ideas as to what being reverent is all about. Sanctuary of St. Francis of the Islands

Our time at worship needs to be a holy and reverent time.  We have come into the presence of the Lord to worship God with all our minds, bodies and souls.  That means that an appropriate response, reverence, might include any of the following: …smiles, silence, laughter, frowns, joy, sadness, singing, clapping, shock, surprise, kneeling, standing, sitting, exchanging the Peace, tears, coming to the altar rail, taking the Body and Blood of Jesus, bowing, crossing one's self and even placing money in the offering plate?  I believe that we bring all that we are to God and to our experience at church and Episcopalians worship with all our senses. 

 

I want to remind all of you to respect one another, recognizing that each of us has a different expectation of holiness and reverence.  There are some basic standards I would like to review with you.

 

  • SILENCE:  Some people gather 15 – 30 minutes early to sit in silence in the sanctuary.  Please keep a discipline of silence as you enter the sanctuary out of respect for those who are praying, who are preparing themselves for worship.  This is a sanctuary, not an auditorium.  The Prayer Book directs the times in the service for silence, listening, and responding.  Please follow those rubrics.  The sounds of children is a good and joyful thing, but if you feel that your child is becoming distracting, you may briefly take them to the narthex until they settle down.  You may leave them in the nursery until the Peace, at which time it is appropriate to bring them in for the Great Thanksgiving.  The sound of infants and children in Church is a good and joyful thing!
     
  • JOY:  Most of our opening and closing hymns are songs of joy, to be sung heartily, to be enhanced by more and more music instruments.  The priest is called the Celebrant and indeed Paul says the Joy of the Lord is our strength.  My prayer is that joy is an ongoing part of your life in the presence of God and especially in this Holy Place!  I guarantee you that God feels joy when He is in your presence.  I would guess that joyful laughter might be in his heart when in our presence as well!
     
  • FELLOWSHIP:  The time for fellowship is out on the porch before and after the service, in the parish hall after the service, and briefly during the exchange of the Peace and Announcements. 
     
  • AWE & PRAYER:  It is an awesome thing to pray to our Lord.  We are speaking to God.  This is a special time to pay close attention to what we are saying and to give 100% of our attention to God.  Some complain that our prayer list is too long, yet prayer is the most important thing we do and I highly recommend it to all of us!  Please do not enter or leave the church while the congregation is in corporate prayer.  The Ushers will let you know the appropriate times to enter the church if you arrive late.  Typical good times to move might be during hymns, during the Peace and announcements, before the Offering, before and after the sermon.  The basic custom to keep in mind is do not get up while praying or during the Great Thanksgiving.
     
  • THE ALTAR:  This is a particularly holy moment and some people come to the altar smiling, some with tears, anger, pain, some holding hands, some saying “Amen” or “Thank you” after receiving the bread or wine.  We come together to the rail as a common fellowship, not as individuals, but please be sensitive to those around you.  As a practical matter, please do not stand up from the rail until after the person ahead of you has received the wine.
     
  • CLAPPING:  Clapping is sometimes an appropriate and holy response to either the Spirit of God or a Baptism and only rarely after some especially wonderful event.  We are not here for entertainment but for offering ourselves to God and one another.  Please remember that for some, clapping breaks the sense of reverence and flow in the service.
     
  • LAUGHTER AND HUMOR: Anyone who really listens to some of the stories in scripture, must sometimes laugh out loud.  These are stories meant to be shared and responded to corporately.  There are appropriate times to shudder at some of the things we hear.  Anyone who pays attention to the life of the apostles and indeed the church, had better have a sense of humor.  Humor is part of our holiness and reverence and is appropriate at various moments and times in the service.  Anyone who listens to my sermons and doesn't laugh...well we won't go there!
     
  • SOLEMNITY:  We are a liturgical church and there are times in the service and indeed during special seasons of the year where solemnity is appropriate.  Lent is one of the obvious times, but depending upon the seasons and the times and parts of the service, there are other appropriate times as well. 

Let us all remember that each of us expresses our selves in unique ways and each of us has our own sense of being holy before the Lord.  Let us, to paraphrase St. Francis, be more concerned to meet the needs of those next to us in the pew, than complaining about what others are doing.  Let us help out the visitor by helping them through the Prayer Book.  Let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

 

The Peace of the Lord be with you!