“What is the Church doing at Eucharist?” Sunday mornings beginning June 14, at 9am in the Fireside Room and on Zoom
A profound shift in the theology of the church took place from the mid-nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century that resulted in the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, and the liturgical forms of many Protestant churches including the Episcopal Church’s 1979 Book of Common Prayer. These shifts changed what the church understands what it is doing in Baptism, Eucharist, and daily prayer.
Although liturgical forms have changed, at least in the American context, most Christians still understand church as an individual activity, something one does in one’s own time, “going” to church on Sunday morning. Instead, this new theology understands the church as the continuation of Christ’s Incarnation in the world, for the salvation of the world.
Using Alexander Schmemann’s book, For the Life of the World, as a starting point this series will look at the dramatic shift in the services of Holy Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and daily prayer from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, to the ongoing series of new liturgies in Enriching Our Worship. We will investigate the doctrines of the Incarnation, Atonement, sin and redemption, and the mission of the church in the world as embodied in these liturgies. We will also look at current proposals for liturgical revisions before the General Convention of The Episcopal Church.
