Associate Rector's Reflections: Evensong

O Lord God Almighty, as you have taught us to call the evening, the morning, and the noonday one day; and have made the sun to know its going down: Dispel the darkness of our hearts, that by your brightness we may know you to be the true God and eternal light, living and reigning for ever and ever.  Amen. - "Prayer for Light," Order of Worship for the Evening, THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, p. 110)

Dear Friends and Fellow Disciples,

Some of you may know that a group of Good Shepherd members, staff, and clergy have been working in a focused way on developing a Sunday evening worship service at Good Shepherd. We are very excited that we are nearing the date when Good Shepherd will celebrate our first service. Our Rector has mentioned this evening service at our announcement time and in other places. This service,which will take place every other Sunday beginning with November 22, is taking shape as an "Evensong" service, based on the Order for Worship for the Evening which is found in the Prayer Book beginning on page 109. This service is also known as "Vespers." In this act of worship we bring some of the most ancient rhythms and patterns of Christian worship into our contemporary experience. We experience the passage from darkness to light -a template for the experience of Christian transformation and resurrection faith- as we transform a dimmed church into a place of warm radiance, as we light candle after candle at the beginning of the service. We sing a hymn in praise to the Light of Christ, such as Hymn 25 in our 1982 Hymnal, "O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ," a paraphrase of the ancient Christian evening canticle, Phos Hilaron ("O Gracious Light"), set to a wonderfully sing-able canon, The Eighth Tune by Thomas Tallis. The service continues with Psalms, a Lesson or Lessons from Scripture; a meditation by the clergy or some other person, or reading from some other Christian spiritual writing (optional); one of the classic evening canticles, the Magnificat ("My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord...") or Nunc Dimmitis (Lord, you now have set you servant free, to go in peace...); prayers of intercession; a hymn; and a blessing and dismissal. Meaningful periods of silence are also a significant part of this service.

In discussing this service, we have also envisioned the opportunity to present some of our talented choir members, as well as guest instrumentalists and choral groups, in small group arrangements doing special choral and/or instrumental offerings as part of our evening worship, on occasion. Some of the chants from the Taize tradition (see: http://www.taize.fr/en_article338.html) are also likely to be used at times in this service. Our other Associate Rector, Miriam, will be traveling to St. Stephen's Church, Richmond, this weekend, to experience an evening worship service which they do in which elements of the Celtic worship tradition are woven in (see: http://www.saintstephensrichmond.net/Worship.htm). She'll be reporting back on the possibilities of incorporating some of that rich and wonderful tradition in our new service.

This service will be a special opportunity to get settled and centered as you get ready for another week - what is often spoken of as a "contemplative" experience of worship (for one description of a contemplative worship experience at an Episcopal Church, see: http://www.congregationalresources.org/ContemplativeWorship/Intro.asp). Our new Evensong service is also a chance to invite a new and different group of people who are not drawn to the traditional Sunday morning Eucharist in the Episcopal Church. Perhaps you know someone who is not currently a member of a Church but would find this kind of worship experience inviting. Our first Evensong is scheduled for Sunday evening, November 22, at 5:00 PM in the Church. This service is briefer than the Sunday AM Eucharist and does not include Holy Communion. At present there are no plans for child care, but if there is a substantial need for it, we will see what the best options are for trying to provide it. Please watch for more on this new service, and contact Miriam at Miriam.saxon@cgs-raleigh.org if you would like to travel up to Richmond with her this weekend or would like to be a part of planning or having a liturgical role in our new Evensong service.

Peace, Blessings, and the Light of Christ,

Bill

A Brief Glossary of Evening Worship in the Episcopal Church

(Click on links to AN EPISCOPAL DICTIONARY FOR THE CHURCH)

Evensong:  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_14334_ENG_HTM.htm

Evening Prayer: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_14333_ENG_HTM.htm

Vespers: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_15551_ENG_HTM.htm

Phos hilaron: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_15026_ENG_HTM.htm

Magnificat: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_14744_ENG_HTM.htm

Nunc dimittis: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_14878_ENG_HTM.htm