Hello St. Michael’s,

Many of you already know that the Book of Common Prayer we currently use in our worship services was authorized in 1979, some forty-three years ago (that’s before I was born!). I love our prayer book; using it anchors me, and I feel it connects all of us with a tradition that spans 1500 years. I also love that our church sits atop a “three legged stool,” that says Scripture, Tradition AND Reason are important for Anglicans at every point in history (https://www.anglicancommunion.org/theology/doctrine.aspx).

In this particular case, it is Reason that I want to invoke today as we embark on a new tradition this Lent. There have been many changes in our culture over the past 43 years, front and center are sexuality and gender conversations, and an awareness that sexism, patriarchy, and empire are not the Christian way. While our Prayer Book is good, it is still from 1979, and cannot engage easily with our modern understanding and conversation around these topics.

In 2018, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church authorized additional material to supplement our prayer book, staying close to tradition, but updating language around pronouns and empire. For Lent, I want us to use these new liturgies at St. Michael’s; I plan to return to the familiar Rite II for Palm Sunday. If well received perhaps we can return to them at a later point in time. What to expect:

On Sunday, March 6 at the 10am service, the service will be very similar to what we currently use, but you will notice quickly the congregational responses are different. Lean into it- what can God reveal to us when we can no longer run on auto-pilot on Sunday mornings, and thus have a heightened sense of awareness? How does the updated pronouns and language around empire resonate with our image of God?

There will be times when we all mess up and say the wrong thing, and that’s OK; trust me when I say I will be the first to say the wrong thing after 13 years of priesthood. However, I hope you are able to walk with me through a new experiment. The 8am service will remain Rite 1 (unless the congregants convince me to change it!).

For more info, the Diocese of Arkansas has this on their website: http://episcopalarkansas.org/expansive-language-eucharist/

Ready for something new? Maybe this subtle change can increase our awareness of all of the new things God is doing in our lives and our church.

In Christ,

Jesse+