Anaphora

Having heard it regularly for over six months in my attachment parish (which has a catholic tradition), I have become quite fond of Eucharistic Prayer III in the Roman Missal, which is not (of course) explicitly authorized for use in the Church of England. It seems a pity for the prayer not to be enjoyed by Anglicans, so I have revised it to conform to (English) Anglican stylistic and doctrinal norms. It is very much a first attempt and the Preface is a Church of England one, from Patterns for Worship. Anyway, here goes:

Prayer Z

The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

Here follows an extended Preface or the following

Living God, Father of light,
Hope of nations, Friend of sinners,
Builder of the city that is to come;
your love is made visible in Jesus Christ,
you bring home the lost, restore the sinner
and give dignity to the despised.

In the face of Jesus Christ
your light shines out,
flooding lives with goodness and truth,
gathering into one a divided and broken humanity.

With people from every race and nation,
with the Church of all ages,
with apostles, evangelists and martyrs
we join the angels of heaven in their unending song:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Father, you are holy indeed,
and all creation rightly gives you praise.
All life, all holiness comes from you
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
by the working of the Holy Spirit.
From age to age you gather a people to yourself,
so that from east to west
your name may be glorified.

And so, Father, we bring before you this bread and this wine.
By the power of your Holy Spirit
may they be to us the body and blood of your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
at whose command we celebrate this eucharist;

who, in the same night that he was betrayed,
took bread and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper
he took the cup and gave you thanks;
he gave it to them, saying:
Drink this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.

Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died:
Christ is risen:
Christ will come again.

Father, calling to mind the death your Son endured for our salvation,
his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven,
and ready to greet him when he comes again,
we offer you through him our sacrifice of thanks and praise.

Look with favour on your people
and see the Son you love,
whose death has reconciled us to yourself.
Nourish us with his body and blood
and fill us with his Holy Spirit,
that we may be one body, one spirit in Christ.

May he make us an everlasting gift to you
and enable us to share in the inheritance of [N and] all your saints,
in whose company we rejoice to sing your praise.

Give peace and salvation to all the world;
strengthen in faith and love your pilgrim Church on earth;
and hear the prayers of the family
you have gathered here before you.
In mercy and love unite all your children
wherever they may be;
and bring us at the last to the vision of your glory,
through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come;

by whom, and with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

By way of conclusion it is, perhaps, worth noting that this Prayer is (obviously!) not authorized for use in the Church of England!

Where to begin?

I was fascinated by Frank Field's criticism of the Faith in the City report, quoted by Laurie Green in Urban Ministry and the Kingdom of God (p. 38):

"While the report is a first-class piece of work ... it could have been produced by any group of decent minded individuals. What should have made it special and different from secular efforts was its theology - of God's vision of the world, the nature of man and his part in working out this design. Instead of this starting-point, the theological analysis is tacked on to the end."

How much modern theology starts with the human sciences and then uses 'theological reflection' to justify conclusions already made? The 'Pastoral Cycle' almost demands such an approach. Yet here is an MP wanting more theology, not less.

Barth started his Church Dogmatics with the Trinity. Perhaps God's Self-Revelation would make a good starting point for modern practical theology, too.

Psalm 45 and the Passion

We have not had a post for a while. We have not had a new hymn for even longer. The intended tune is MACPHERSON'S FAREWELL, a traditional Scotch melody. Feedback is, as always, much encouraged.

A NOBLE THEME STIRS UP MY HEART
in honour of my King:
my tongue is like a writer's pen
composing songs to sing.
His beauty and his words of power
befit his sovereign grace
and, captivated by his love,
I gaze upon his face.

His face is scarred, his head is crowned
with thorns of piercing pain:
upon the throne of Calvary's cross
God's King is shamed and slain.
His body bears the wounds of hate
and from his side flows blood;
and yet this tortured, helpless man
reveals the face of God.

Your beauty is not glamorous
like pride of wealth and youth,
but painful, giving everything
for justice, love and truth.
And so your Church declares your fame
in every time and place,
and nations come to Christ the King
and praise you, face to face.

(c) Liam Beadle 2009

Gospel Imprint

I draw your attention to GOSPEL IMPRINT, who produce a range of free, considered and helpful pamphlets for local reproduction.

London Christmas

Like C S Lewis's Snow Queen, I should be happy for it to be always winter and never Christmas: Advent always seems a much richer and more pleasurable time of year. Nevertheless, my diocese has seen fit to launch a (very good) Christmas website, which can be found HERE. The Children's section of the site is particularly entertaining.

The Bishop of Coventry on evangelicals and worship

Occasionally I read something which seems so obviously true that I wonder whether it really needs saying at all, and then reflect that what is actually happening is that the author is expressing, with greater eloquence, reading and skill, what I thought all along. Bishop Christopher Cocksworth's article on evangelical Anglicans and worship, which can be found HERE, is such an article. It is similar in theme to the content of his superb book, Holding Together: Gospel, Church and Spirit, which I read over the summer; but rather shorter.

The Brown Calculator

My friend Mark Wallace (an Old Novo) has developed A GAME which I recommend.