Is it possible to come up with a description of Episcopal or Anglican music? Is it really distinct from the music of other churches? other religious traditions? other music?
Before answering this specific question, perhaps its scope ought to be widened: is it possible to come up with a definition for music itself? So many definitions of music, including that of the Oxford English Dictionary include words like beauty or words to that effect. Southern Harmony calls music a "succession of pleasing sounds".
I don't think that this really holds up in a post-modern milieu. The similarities between Lauridsen and Lordi essentially end under the umbrella term (terme générique parapluie) "music".
And we must be careful defining music as noise, for as John Cage proved in a work that turned the umbrella inside out (paraparapluie), 4'33", a piece of music need not have any sound at all.
The list of Anglican church choirs who perform this Cageian masterwork is surely a short one, but the contemporary Anglican liturgy is no stranger to silence. But how modern is the advent of silence in the liturgy?
Aside from the verse about the Lord being in his holy temple from Habakkuk 2:20, the American 1928 Book of Common Prayer contains no mention of this absence of noise. Rubrics in the 1979 book, however, allow for it in several places, including after each lesson.
Now if rubrics generally reflect changing practices between publication, there must have been an increase in mainstream Episcopal liturgical silence between 1928 and 1979. And if this is an example of the church naturally filling its role as a counter-cultural institution, it could have been responding to an increasing level of noise in our culture.
So if music is not a "succession of pleasing sounds" or even a succession of sounds, then perhaps music, at it's essence, is simply a succession.
In the Anglican tradition an integral succession is the Apostolic one. And the Apostolic succession contains the resonance of that hymn the disciples sang in the upper room.
In this way the Episcopal Church itself is music.
And its liturgy, and that of our lives, the succession of each journey, gathering, procession, reading, singing, preaching, believing, praying, greeting, eating and departing -- and especially the succession of silences within them -- is music.
He Who is infinite light is so tremendous in His evidence that our minds only see Him as darkness. Lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. (The Light shines in darkness and the darkness has not understood it.)If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must pass beyond everything that can be seen and enter into darkness. Since nothing that can be heard is God, to find Him we must enter into silence.
Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation (New Directions, 1972) p. 131.
Labels: church music, liturgy, Thomas Merton
Today at the Eddington Festival of Music within the Liturgy premieres "Pater noster" by Nico Muhly.
Labels: church music, liturgy, Muhly
A proposal: could we just refer to Proper 8 as "Foundation Sunday"?
The collect:
O Almighty God, who hast built thy Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we may be made an holy temple acceptable unto thee; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
By design, Proper 8 falls near the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, and Peter was "the rock" on which Jesus was to build the church.
Reports conflict, however, regarding whether or not the church is actually resting on St. Peter. Flying buttresses are at issue. A full report is due out later this year.
Appropriate hymns are:
- Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
- How Firm a Foundation
- The Church's One Foundation
And really, Psalm 87 would be better than Psalm 89
Labels: liturgy
Today, my printed copy of the New York Times contained the following:
"Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic," Mr. Carville said, referring to Easter.
Wrong. Easter is not the day that Christians celebrate Judas's betrayal of his teacher, Jesus.
But the online version of First a Tense Talk With Clinton, Then Richardson Backs Obama has changed. It now reads:
"Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic," Mr. Carville said, referring to Holy Week.emphasis added
So the "day" James Carville is referring to is "Holy Week". That makes a lot of sense.
Why can't we let James Carville's words stand for themselves? Why do we have to let the New York Times clarify what he was talking about.
I am a bit miffed that the Times doesn't indicate that the current online article is a corrected version. Apparently these kinds of religious snafus are not worth mentioning, or getting right.
Here, for the benefit of the New York Times are some other things Carville might have been referring to when he mentions Judas's betrayal:
- Good Friday
- one of the events remembered by Christians during Holy Week
- The first day of the week beginning with F prior to the Sunday following the first full moon succeeding the vernal equinox
- Lent
- the month of March
- Passover
- the Bible
- the Easter Bunny
Labels: journalism, liturgy
I cannot commend enough the Episcopal Diocese of New York Liturgical Commission's document "Concerning Marriage".
It is a great source of clear thinking on the marriage liturgy.
One of the highlights for me was this explanation on why the Wagner and Mendelssohn aren't really appropriate for weddings.
Inevitably, this brings us to the matter of the wedding march from A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn or the "Bridal Chorus" from Wagner's Lohengrin. The weight of secular custom behind these two pieces of music is so immense that we are aware our disapproving note may not be well-received. Clergy should consider, however, that neither of these pieces is, properly considered, sacred music. They are drawn from operatic contexts which are neither appropriate nor encouraging. The Mendelssohn piece occurs at the "wedding" of an ox to an ass, and the Wagner piece precedes the tragic death of the bride who has been unfaithful to her husband. If clergy decide to discourage their use, and we hope they will, it may be necessary to implement such a policy over a long time and in the face of considerable popular opposition.
I for one believe that the Great Litany really is great, and I live for the first Sunday of Lent (and any other occasions that it might be used).
And I love the latitude given by the Prayer Book:
"To be said or sung, kneeling, standing, or in procession; before the Eucharist or after the Collects of Morning or Evening Prayer; or separately; especially in Lent and on Rogation days."
Did you catch that? Kneeling, standing, or in procession! I've done it kneeling (Trinity on the Green, New Haven) and I've done it in procession, but I have yet to do it standing. I suppose procession is a type of standing.
Church of the Advent, Boston, also sings the Great Litany in Procession.
If you're on Facebook, check out the Great Litany Fan Club.
Labels: liturgy
Herself was away last evening, so one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had read all 147 pages (double-spaced) of Daniel McGrath's doctoral thesis, The Choir School in the American Church, which is a hearty defense of men and boys choirs and an advocate for their implementation.
McGrath wisely points out the checkered past of the men & boys choir phenomenon in England: moving from monastery to cathedral and being periodically suppressed by ornery monarchs. In the U.S. choirs of men & boys enjoyed a brief golden age from the 1890s to the early 1920s when there were well over 100 such choirs in the country, many accompanied by choir schools. Now there are about 25 and one school (St Thomas, New York).
McGrath gets a lot right in his dissertation, and his keen observations on rehearsals and structure of choir programs would be well worth a look to anyone in the business.
One of the irritating facets of the dissertation, however, is McGrath's insistence that the 1979 American Prayer Book is antithetical to the notion of a men and boys' choir.
[The] development [of the 1979 Prayer Book] has had a devastating impact on American choirs of men and boys because their repertoire uses the words of the classic Anglican liturgies, and thus the content of the liturgy, rather than the shape, is of greater importance. Some choirmasters of this era argued that it was “inconceivable” that four and a half centuries of great choral repertoire would have to be abandoned just because the priest was saying some thing new at the altar. However, music and the liturgy are so closely intertwined in the Anglican tradition that it is difficult to see how there could be any other outcome.
At face value this just doesn't seem factual or logical. Choirs of men and boys still exist at 25% of their Golden Age levels, and the repertoire they sing is still drawn from those "four and a half centuries". It should be noted that some of these churches still use the 1928 book, but it simply doesn't follow that "traditional prayer book parishes" are the only ones able to support choirs of men and boys.
At times it seems like McGrath's distinction between content (1928) and shape (1979) is an artificial dichotomy he constructs to further his preference for the 1928 book. In my mind, the shape of the Gloria, and its original place in the service (not the errant place it is given in the 1928 book!) has been preserved in the 1979 book. Whether the "content" of the choral Gloria matches the book is irrelevant; no Book of Common Prayer has ever included the Gloria in Latin, yet most choirs of men and boys sing a number of settings in that language.
The 1979 version of Evensong, however, does necessitate some revision in order for the traditional versions of the Preces and Responses to be sung. But to my mind, the 1979 Prayer Book accommodates these "content" changes within the "shape" of Evensong.
And even McGrath admits that places like Grace Church, Newark perform the 1979 liturgy "tastefully".
For all that is well reasoned in the dissertation, McGrath's personal contempt for the 1979 prayer book clouds his arguments in favor of the traditional liturgy. I am not convinced that the Anglican choral tradition is a propaganda tool with which to advocate a return to the traditional liturgy. In some sense, McGrath, whom I presume identifies as an Anglican, and not an American Episcopalian, comes dangerously close to suggesting this.
Nor am I convinced that present liturgical realities will permit a large-scale return to the traditional prayer book. Those cathedrals and endowed parishes in the Episcopal Church who have or desire to have choir "schools" will likely have them with Rite II liturgical language. But how do we prepare our choirs for the next prayer book revision? How do we reconcile the tradition with the theoretical "Rite III"?
If we recognize the men and boys'/girls' choir as an outreach opportunity for the Church that edifies the moral and musical fiber of young men and women, we should seek to open that tradition to all who are interested, and not limit it to a singular understanding of the liturgy.
We limit not the truth of God
to our poor reach of mind,
by notions of our day and sect,
crude, partial, and confined.
no, let a new and better hope
within our hearts be stirred:The Lord hath yet more light and truth
to break forth from his word.George Rawson (1807-1889)
A new year has started -- a new liturgical year, that is.
If you're an Episcopalian in the United States (careful, because if you're in the Diocese of San Joaquin in California, you might not be any more) you, or a liturgical authority acting on your behalf has probably already made one resolution for you: begin using the Revised Common Lectionary rather than the prayer book lectionary.
This change was a "resolution" at several decision making gatherings of the Episcopal Church, and it "passed". But secular New Year's Resolutions are not often subject to a vote. Nor do they often pass, so to speak.
There's no need for liturgical resolutions to supplant those made at the turn of the calendrical year, but couldn't the liturgical church use the framework of liturgical year as an opportunity to do certain things?
The liturgical year resonates with its own rhythms of responsibility, but we would be remiss to refer to these as resolutions. Nor would it be a good idea to make resolutions based on these responsibilities:
- Advent - Light more candles.
- Christmas - Light even more candles.
- Epiphany - Ho hum.
- Lent - Work on getting wax out of pew cushions
- Easter - Celebrate wax removal with lilies!
- Pentecost - Start working on getting the pollen stains out. Notice that pollen fades over time and virtually disappears in candle light. Light some candles.
- Advent - Light more candles.
Liturgical resolutions are a great idea, and for Advent this year, I think I'll resolve to come up with some.
Labels: liturgy
Sinden.org has received the following in an email forward:
A Tribute to Anglo-Catholics
(tune: Aurelia: The Church's One Foundation)Our church is mighty spikey with smells and bells and chants,
And Palestrina masses that vex the Protestants.
O happy ones and holy who fall upon their knees
For solemn Benediction and mid-week Rosaries.
Though with a scornful wonder men see our clergy, dressed
In rich brocaded vestments as slowly they process;
Yet saints their watch are keeping lest souls be set alight
Not by the Holy Spirit, but incense taking flight.
Now we on earth have uni on with Lambeth, not with Rome,
Although the wags and cynics may question our true home;
But folk masses and bingo can't possibly depose
The works of Byrd and Tallis, or Cranmer's stately prose.
(Here shall the organist modulate)
So let the organ thunder, sound fanfares "en chamade";
Rejoice, for we are treading where many saints have trod;
Let peals ring from the spire, sing descants to high C,
Just don't let your elation disrupt the liturgy.
Labels: Anglicanism, hymn, liturgy, parody
At evensong tonight for the Feast of St. Luke we sang Psalm 67.
I'm not sure why we sang 67, but that doesn't metter much to this story. Actually, it makes this story much less effective. It's just that 67 isn't listed in my prayer book, so I'm just not sure where it came from. It is associated with evensong in the 1928 prayer book in as far as it is an alternate to the Nunc after the second lesson.
Anyway, Psalm 67 is also being sung at my wedding, so for me it was a Lukan Psalm convergence at my last evensong as an unmarried man tonight.
May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
how us the light of his countenance and come to us.
Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.
p.s. It's windy outside. It'll be 78º on Sunday.
I found this draft of a liturgy stuck in my Presbyterian Hymnal Companion. It's dated September 22, 2002 (the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time).
It's like my very own predestined time capsule!
The names of the innocent have been removed. The definite article has not.
THE WELCOME
THE CHIMES
THE PRELUDE
THE PREPARATION
Welcome! The prophet Isaiah reminds us that "those who
wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up
with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall
walk and not faint" (40:31). Let us claim that wonderful promise
as we present ourselves humble before God.
...IN PRAISE AND CONFESSION...
THE CHRIST CANDLE**
THE PROCESSIONAL
* HYMN NO.492 Bunessan
"BAPTIZED IN WATER"
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Come to the fountain of life.
All: Come to the streams of mercy.
One: Come, dip in the reservoir of forgiveness,
All: Immerse yourself in the waters of healing.
One: Come, be renewed by the eternal springs.,
All: Be filled with overflowing blessing.
One: Come, walk beside still waters,
All: Be empowered by the rivers of justice.
One: Come, all you yearning for meaning,
hoping for truth, thirsting for God.
All: Here, find your thirst quenched and your joy expanded.
* THE PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
THE CHORAL INTERLUDE
THE PRAYER CONFESSION
Loving Jesus, strong Shepherd, your love for us reaches
from the cradle to the grave. there is no place or time or
situation in which we are cut off from your care.
Remind us of that love whenever we doubt our own worth,
forget our blessing in baptism or act out of fear or anger. Forgive
us for finding life boring or predictable, filled with routine and
sameness when you have placed us in a garden. Turn our world
upside down occasionally and surprise us with grace and joy.
Keep us forever amazed at your love. You restore our souls and
lead us to the house of love. Amen.
THE ASSURANCE OF GOD'S PARDON
Leader: Jesus gave the most extravagant gift of all -- the
offering of himself for us. Through this selfless gift, we
are set free, and our sins are forgiven.
People: Thanks be to God!
THE BAPTISMAL HYMN NO. 498 Kingdom
"Child of Blessing, Child of Promise"
Sacrament of Baptism
...LISTENING FOR GOD'S WORD...
THE ANTHEM
THE TIME WITH THE YOUNG CHURCH
THE READINGS OF SCRIPTURE Matthew 20:1-11
Pew Bible New Testament Pg. 21-22
THE GLORIA PATRI
THE MESSAGE
"The First& the Last"
...OUR RESPONSE TO GOD'S WORD...
HYMN NO. 338 African Melody
"Kum ba Yah"
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Prayers
Lord's Prayer Pg. 16 (Traditional)
Choral Response
THE PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
THE OFFERTORY
* THE DOXOLOGY
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Generous God, thank you for the gifts you bestow upon us
daily. Make us aware of each blessing that comes our way -- and
create in us the constant desire to be blessings for others. Bless
what we bring before you, we pray. Amen.
HYMN No. 525 Isaiah 6-9
"Here I Am Lord"
* THE BENEDICTION
*THE CHORAL RESPONSE
THE POSTLUDE
................................
* PLEASE STAND IF ABLE...........THANK YOU
**The Christ Candle is brought in at the beginning of the service
symbolizing the light of Christ that we seek to be illuminated by during
the service. The Christ Candle is taken out at the end of the service
symbolizing the light of Christ that we are able to take with us out into
the world.
.....................................
Congratulations to organist Scott Montgomery, who gave a recital in Charleston, West Virginia. A reviewer had this to say about the slow movement of Mendelssohn's Sonata No. 3 in A Major:
For me, this is where the music began. He handled the work like one might prepare a small fish, very gently.Justice, Rick. "Organ concert series begins with promising performance". Charleston Daily Mail 17 September 2007.
Um, what?
There's nothing fishy about Marilyn Mason's 60 years of service as a Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan.
A Houston music critic has a different fish to fry in his defense of traditional music and liturgy.
Though traditional Christian liturgy and music may seem flattened by the steamroller of "praise and worship" and other contemporary styles of worship, they remain the backbone of historical Christian services. Their roots lie in orders of worship formed at the start of Christianity and, for Western European and American denominations, music as old as the Middle Ages.Ward, Charles. "A sacred tie that binds. Houston Chronicle 14 September 2007.
Here's a breakdown of the services I was at this weekend.
Saturday: 2:20, 0:50
Sunday: 1:15, 1:20, 1:50.
That's 3:10 on Saturday, and 4:25 today.
I've been in liturgical events for seven hours and thirty-five minutes in the last two days.
Does life get any better than this?
Labels: liturgy
"When people tell me that they find Mass boring, I want to say to them: It's supposed to be boring, or at least seriously underwhelming."
"Christian worship is predicated on the understanding that there is nothing left to achieve."
"[Worship requires] no whipping up of emotions in order that we glimpse the crucified and risen Lamb. Exactly the reverse. The crucified and risen Lamb is just there."
"Because he is just there, our liturgy is an ordered and relaxed way of habitually making ourselves present, as worshipping group, to the one who is just there, already surrounded by festal angels and our predecessors in the faith. If you like, it is an orchestrated detox of our mimetic fascination with each other which is the only way we are going to be able to glimpse the other Other who is just there, and who has been inviting us, all along, to his party."
Cool!
These quotations (via The Ekklesia Project) all come from James Alison's latest book Undergoing God which I somehow didn't hear about when it was published last fall.
Alison is unparalleled as a theologian, and I am particularly excited to read his thoughts on liturgy.
Labels: James Allison, liturgy
MusicaSacra is hosting the Liber Usualis online. Note that this is not a link to the file itself, which is 115 MB.
(via Hot Lutheran on Lutheran Action)
Labels: liturgy, Roman Catholocism, web
A number of churches choose to publish their wedding customary online:
- All Saints' (Fort Worth, TX) [PDF] - see page 11 for organ music details, including the "nuptial recital" the best name I've seen for the extended organ prelude to wedding.
- All Saints' (Lakeland, FL) - not actually the customary, but a place to request that the customary be snail-mailed to you. Weird. I suggest we all start requesting their customaries multiple times a day. Then, perhaps, they will just put it online like everyone else.
- Advent (Boston, MA) - stricly liturgical.
- Christ Church Cathedral (Houston, TX) [PDF]
- Diocese of New York - Contains a "Simple Wedding Ceremonial" and some common sense thinking about weddings. The reccomendation of "Ave Maria" as choral music is not explained.
- Emmanuel (Athens, GA)
- Palmer Memorial (Houston, TX) [PDF]
- Redeemer (Bryn Mawr, PA) [PDF] St. Andrew's (Canton, NC) - Organist paid only $100 for wedding and rehearsal. Ouch.
- St. George's (York Harbor, ME)
Listen to any musical setting of the Te Deum worth its salt, and you'll hear three sections of text.
- We praise Thee, O God . . .
- Thou art the King of Glory . . .
- O Lord, save thy people . . .
This last section can't be found in the current Book of Common Prayer -- that is to say, not as part of the Te Deum, anyway. "O Lord, save thy people . . ." appears on BCP page 55 as an alternative set of suffrages for Morning Prayer (it's original use, apparently).
It was first appended to the Te Deum in 1549.
You can find the current Te Deum on BCP page 52.
Happy Feast of the Annunciation!
At this point, you might have two questions.
- What's the Annunciation?
- Is it really today?
Answers:
- The Annunciation is that yearly festival of the remembrance of Gabriel's announcement that Mary is pregnant with God's son.
- Well, not really, and herein lies some controversy. Mary, a human mother, carries her child for nine months (before Christmas, that is). In the liturgical calendar, however, a feast that normally falls on a Sunday (25 Mar 2007) is transferred to the next available day (26 Mar 2007).
This has ramifications for Christmas 2007. Will the liturgical Jesus, born on that day, actually be one day premature? Does he have the efficacy of a Jesus fully developed in utero?
A connection might be made here with the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby in which the central character, Ricky Bobby, has a liturgical preoccupation with "little baby Jesus", to whom he addresses prayer.
What does fictional NASCAR sensation Ricky Bobby reveal about American culture? Do we, in fact, desire to pray to a younger Jesus? Do we desire a underdeveloped Jesus to kill and resurrect?
Does the shortening of Jesus' pre-natal period indicate the creeping liberalism of the Episcopal Church through deviously devised deviations of the Ordo?
There are also vague liturgitheological questions that arise. How soon after Mary's divine impregnation is Gabriel made aware of the event? Is it responsible for him to delay the announcement (see all Jesus' teachings about just going ahead and doing stuff on the Sabbath anyway, i.e., not "transferring")?
Labels: Annunciation, liturgy
A lot of people think that liturgy has no practical purpose, or no real application to real life.
Wrong.
Here are some ways to incorporate the Solemn Procession into everyday situations.
Borat
Start in Kusek, Kazakhstan. Go to New York, make your way out to California. Come back the way you came and end up back in New York. Return to Kusek.CD
Start at track 12, but don't listen to it. First listen to track 6, then 3, then 9, then 12.Grocery store
Once you have a cart full of goodies, the procession is ready to begin. Start at a checkout aisle of your choosing, then process to the rear of the store. From there, head over to the frozen food section. Then work your way all the way back around back to the produce section. Swinging around to the back of the store again, choose a center aisle that will land you back at the checkout.Houston freeways
Start downtown. Take 288 South. Get on the 610 Loop heading west. Follow it around as it heads North. Get in I-10 heading East. Exit onto 610 Loop (the East side) heading South. Take 45 North back into downtown. Be very wary of executing this procession in rush hour traffic. Perhaps the lead car could be a "PT Crucifer"?Internet
Start out at one webpage, go to a few others and then head back to that original webpage. You're probably already familiar with this technique.Movie theater
Start at the box office, buy a ticket. Then head to the bathroom. Then go into the theater where your movie is playing. Then purchase some items from the concession stand. Then head back to the box office. (Keep your ticket stub if you still plan on seeing the film).McDonalds
Start at the register. Head out through some tables and then turn right. Turn right, walking past the register again, and follow the perimeter of the restaurant around to the right. Head back through the tables and back up to the register to order.McDonalds drive-thru
Start in the drive-thru, but don't order (awkward if behind other cars). Drive through (ha!) and around the restaurant. Head over to the gas station (gas optional), then drive back to the drive-thru. Politely decline whatever new product they try to push on you.Middle East
Start by blaming Osama and attack Afghanistan (important: don't find Osama). Then mention Saddam a lot and head over to Iraq. Start threatening to go after Iran. Don't forget to go back to Afghanistan.Previously: procession - solemn
This week at work, I learned about the solemn procession.
I have to admit, this was not something I was aware of, but they exist -- and yes, they are more solemn than just walking in from the back. And no, you don't walk twice as slow.
So, rather than just processing in from the back, you actually begin the procession from the altar.
The liturgical customary of Church of the Advent (Boston) confirms this liturgical act in their notes on their solemn procession.
To help you picture the procession, they enter from the liturgical north side, which, as you are facing the altar, is to the left. (N.B. If you don't have a door on the north side, you shouldn't try to enter that way.) Then they head to the altar.
Before the procession itself, they do a bit of censing here at the altar, and then they "bid the procession", which isn't actually that uncommon. Most parishes bid the procession at least once a year: Palm Sunday.
Deacon Let us go forth in peace.
People In the name of Christ. Amen.BCP, 271
Just a note here, the deacon says "us", which is not a clerical "us" the way I read it. It's a liturgical us. Whether or not your feet are moving, the procession marks everyone's journey to a place "before the presence of God".
Now, let's assume that you have two sections of seating with a center aisle. And frankly, who wouldn't? This arrangement is so hot right now. Let's also assume that you're still facing the altar. And frankly, why wouldn't you be? Looking back into the narthex is really frowned upon, especially by Nigerian bishops.
Assuming the above, the solemn procession snakes from the altar
- up the center aisle
- left at the back
- down the left aisle
- right across the entire front
- up the right aisle
- left at the back
- down the center aisle
These descriptions always sound dumb. I tried taking out the cardinal directions, and still doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Really, it's just a series of right hand turns. Here's a map:
In Anglican parlance, this is known as a pretzel.
Yes, we borrowed that term from the Lutherans.
No, you can't get a free sample like you do at the mall.
This latest discovery at Stonhenge (namely, that it had a wooden counterpart) made me think of the stand-up comedy of Eddie Izzard.
Izzard briefly imagines three "henges", each constructed by a pig:
- stone
- wood
- straw
Sometimes life imitates art, but here, "art" -- if you can call comedy that, and I think you can, sometimes -- was imitating life that it didn't even know about.
Sometimes the ridiculous can become real; the absurd, actualized.
Nothing is more far-fetched than sentient porcines building housing out of materials of various durability, and yet, we find something in that narrative that resonates with us.
An increasing quest for permanence leads the pigs to gather in the stone house. That's really a spiritual message if you think about it. Community, durability.
I am, of course, shying away from scape-goatingwolfing as a community-building exercise.
Like the pigs, Neolithic humans also enacted a journey, though theirs was of a more metaphorical/liturgical variety: a "Good Friday" sunset seen through wood (the cross), and an "Easter" sunrise through stone (the open tomb).
It looks this community on Salisbury plain had developed liturgical impulses similar to our own around 2000 years before Jesus was born.
Labels: archeology, Eddie Izzard, liturgy, pigs, stand-up comedy
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