The Anglican Liturgy

Those unfamiliar with liturgical worship often object that it is repetitive, and thus, devoid of the spontaneity they desire. But repetition is precisely the point of liturgy. C.S. Lewis wrote:

"Please do not do anything that you are not comfortable with as you get acquainted with our service."

"Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore. And it enables us to do these things best—if you like, it 'works' best—when, through long familiarity, we don't have to think about it. As long as you notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling. The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God." –Letters to Malcom. Chiefly on Prayer.

The pulpit at the Bishop Garcia Diego chapel where we worship.

Furthermore, spontaneity in worship and prayer can often be a pietistic dressing for spiritual self-righteousness. N.T. Wright said:

"There is nothing wrong, nothing sub-Christian, nothing to do with 'works-righteousness,' about using words, set forms, prayers, and sequences of prayers written by other people in other centuries. Indeed, the idea that I must always find my own words, that I must generate my own devotion from scratch every morning, that unless I think of new words I must be spiritually lazy or deficient — that has the all-too-familiar sign of human pride, of 'doing it my way': of, yes, works-righteousness. Good liturgy — other people's prayers, whether for corporate or individual use-can be, should be, a sign and means of grace, an occasion of humility and gratitude." –Simply Christian, pg 166

As we learn the words and actions of the liturgy and come to understand what they mean, we develop the ability to Pray from the heart.

The liturgy found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is very traditional and extremely rich with meaning but can be confusing to a newcomer. It is very easy to wonder what you are supposed to say and when you are supposed to say it, why people sit, stand or kneel, etc. Please do not do anything that you are not comfortable with as you get acquainted with our service. We have a liturgy commentary available if you are curious about why certain traditions have been developed or want to know the meaning behind certain parts of our service. You can also speak with Father Kemp after the service about any questions you may have about our worship.