Bishop’s Pastoral Letter Issued

The bishop has released his pastoral letter regarding blessing same-sex unions and ordination of persons in committed same-sex relationships. (Both will be allowed.) Details can be found here.

Sad News

I just learned that Heather Roman, wife of Andy Roman, died yesterday in Florida. There will be a service for Heather at St. Paul’s at a time to be determined with the bishop as officiant. I expect that an official announcement from St. Paul’s will soon be forthcoming.

Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Is Youth Ministry Killing the Church?

That provocative title is not mine, but the title of a 2010 blog post from Kate Murphy that has received a lot of attention lately in the Episcopal blogosphere. The question seems silly, of course, but Murphy makes an interesting case. Given that St. Paul’s has had a long-time commitment to youth ministry, that case should be given consideration. Her point is that strong youth programs tend to isolate youth in their own ghetto, rather than integrating them into the overall life of the church. When they graduate from high school, young people no longer have a connection to the church. Read her essay and see if you don’t agree with the problem she identifies. Is our youth program on the right track?

On Feeling Needed and Being Yourself at Church

A recent issue of Episcopal Journal, a privately published monthly newspaper that tries to replace the defunct Episcopal Life, carried two essays by Lisa Fox. The essays first appeared on Fox’s blog, My Manner of Life, where they carried the titles “No one needed me there” and “Ministry of denim/ministry of pearls.” In Episcopal Journal, they appeared under the title "On feeling needed and being yourself at church.”

These thoughtful essays make interesting reading for St. Paul’s parishioners. “No one needed me there” argues that we should not only welcome newcomers but should also give them something to do, so that they can get to know others and feel a part of the parish community. “Ministry of denim/ministry of pearls” tells the story of ushering in jeans with a companion usher dressed to the nines. Fox’s message: “If we want to claim to welcome everyone, we need to make that visible.”

Sound System for Dummies

Choir members have been quietly grumbling about the inability to hear what is going on in church. The new sound system has two small speakers in the chancel, but the sound level they produce is clearly inadequate. It is difficult to hear the scripture readings or sermon. Yesterday, I finally decided to say something about the problem, but before I did so, I took a look at the new equipment in the ambulatory. Although there are level controls accessible for sound system inputs (wired and wireless microphones), I could find no output level controls either on the front panel of the system or in back. Instead, there are pushbuttons for soft, medium, and loud sound.

I spoke to Paul Barker about the problem with the level of sound in the chancel, and he said that it was necessary to call in a technician to change the balance of the system. (Making the overall sound louder was clearly not the right solution.) This is ridiculous. Our new sound system seems designed for dummies who cannot be trusted to make even the most minor adjustments to the system. Instead, we have to call in a technician, who,  I assume, we have to pay for.

I was audio-visual coödinator at St. Paul’s for nearly two decades and often thought about what a new sound system should look like. I even served on two committees that solicited bids for a new system. The system we have now is nothing like what I thought we needed or what was bid by the vendors we spoke to.

The new sound system has its virtues, but it also has some serious limitations. That it was designed under the assumptions that we’re all idiots at St. Paul’s is certainly one of its faults.

A Heretical Creed

From the viewpoint of one who loves The Episcopal Church, its prayer book, and its liturgy, St. Paul’s’ 8:45 Sunday service has little to recommend it. For a service described as “Family-Friendly,” it does little to inculcate appreciation for our Anglican heritage in young people.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of the service is the singing of “The South African Creed” in lieu of reciting the Nicene Creed. The words to this song are the following:

I believe, I do believe, truly I believe it,
Truly I believe it, truly I believe it.
I believe, I do believe, truly I believe it,
Truly I believe it, truly I believe it.

I believe in God the Almighty Lord Creator,
Mighty Lord Creator, Mighty Lord Creator.
I believe in God the Almighty Lord Creator,
Mighty Lord Creator, Mighty Lord Creator.

I believe in Jesus the Savior of the people,
Savior of the people, Savior of the people.
I believe in Jesus the Savior of the people,
Savior of the people, Savior of the people.

And I do believe in the Power of the Spirit,
Power of the Spirit, Power of the Spirit.
And I do believe in the Power of the Spirit,
Power of the Spirit, power of the spirit.

As a statement of faith, this formulation is both boring and nearly devoid of content. In four verses, it articulates three concepts. The Nicene Creed offers more content in its first sentence. Even if one harbors reservations about orthodox Christian dogma, we are hardly doing our children a favor by “protecting” them from knowledge of it. All this creed does is acknowledge the Trinity, and that imperfectly.

David Mills, writing for Touchstone, had this to say about the South African creed:

At any rate, the South African creed is certainly sung to a very singable tune and does get the singers to declare their belief in God. It suffers only in being heretical. For though it has a trinitarian form, it does not say anything about the nature of the Trinity itself and the relations of the three Persons. God is Father before he is Creator, and Jesus is Son before he is Savior, and the Holy Spirit is he who proceeds from the Father before he is the giver of power to men.

I recommend reading all of Mills’ essay.

Somehow, the use of “The South African Creed” seems to have become an essential feature of the 8:45 service, a fact that provides an excellent reason to avoid the service and to keep our children away from it as well.

Summer Singers and the Bulletin

The Summer Singers, a group of professional musicians that rehearse at St. Paul’s in the summer, provided an exciting prelude and postlude last Sunday. I heard the group rehearsing “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” just before the choir rehearsed in the church. I was impressed, though I couldn’t hear the group as well as I wanted to from my chair behind the singers. I was hoping to hear them better when they sang during the service.

I checked my bulletin to learn when “Joshua” was going to be sung. I could not find the spot in the service order. As it happens, the postlude was left off the bulletin. (It was later pointed out to me that the information I was seeking was mentioned under “Music Notes,” though it should have been listed after the dismissal as well.) Anyway, the more I stared at the order of service, the more confusing it seemed. As it happens, the problem was that the music for the Memorial Acclamation and The Great Amen were simply in the wrong places.

The errors in the bulletin were surprising, since we used Eucharist Prayer A both this week and last, so the only differences between the two bulletins should have involved music. However the problems crept into the August 11 bulletin, here is the offending text (click for larger image):

I rushed out to the nave after the dismissal, and was in a good position to hear the very exciting rendition of “Joshua.” The Summer Singers are presenting a concert at St. Paul’s at 7 PM next Sunday (August 18). It should be well worth attending.