Anglican Liturgy

Anglican Liturgy

Winter 2017

Course Synopsis

As the work of the people, Liturgy is an experiential and participatory form of community worship that draws the senses into concerted focus through sounds, smells, sights, tastes (in the case of Eucharist), and myriad tactile elements designed to bring the faithful into mindful presence with the divine.  From the earliest known forms of liturgy in the Didache to the contemporary rites that structure sacred celebrations in the continuing liturgical traditions of today, liturgy has shaped Christian communities for millennia.  Anglican liturgy was born from bridging the ancient traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the Reform minded theology of Thomas Cranmer in the 16 ^th century after Henry VIII’s break with Rome.  It has been revised, and continues to be revised, to meet the needs of its local populations and changes in theology since the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549.  Today there are local adaptations of the Book of Common Prayer in provinces throughout the world.

This semester, we’ll be taking a practical approach to Anglican Liturgy, examining each element from the Daily Office to Eucharist, Baptism to the Triduum, Marriage to Burial, the Ordination Rites, and Occasional Services.  As a process of discovery, we’ll be comparing contemporary rites in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (and Enriching our Worship) to ancient rites in the first Book of Common Prayer from 1549, and some of the most historically significant revisions that have brought us to where we are today.  Each student will choose one of these editions, as well as a contemporary BCP from another Province, to compare contemporary rites as a means to enrich discussion.  Along the way, we’ll examine some of the theory behind liturgy, some of the processual history that has moved liturgical revision across the Anglican Communion, some of the theology behind these liturgical revisions (including the World Council of Churches’ Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry ), the particular liturgical spirituality that contributes to the uniqueness of the Anglican tradition, and some practical guides to liturgical celebration as clergy.  Precisely because liturgy is experiential, we’ll also be having two in-person practicums to allow us the opportunity to practice liturgical leadership together (or with a local mentor if you do not live in the area—contact me to arrange this).

Objectives and Expectations

• Weekly Reflections – 30% ~500 words (2 pages double spaced)

Students will submit weekly reflections based on readings, due in the Canvas forum by Thursday morning at 5am (i.e. sometime before Thursday morning everyone’s reflection will magically have appeared in Canvas). Reflections over a day late will be considered as not submitted. More than two late reflections, or any missed (i.e. not submitted or over a day late) reflections will impact students’ grade. Up to two reasonable “absences” may be reported to the professor via email without impacting grades (you may choose whether or not to make up the reflection or take it as one of your “two lowest grades” – see below).

The reflections are intended to be fun and engaging –


• feel free to take on a persona that places you in the context of one of the reading assignments

• pick a creative spiritual tool/discipline/approach that sparks your interest

• get up on your soap box and preach us a homily that connects the readings to something significant in your own journey

However you approach it, get into it and enjoy it.  Reflections should be about 500 words (about the equivalent of two pages double spaced).  Grades will be assigned based on demonstrated engagement with the material, creativity, and strength of written expression. The lowest two grades will be dropped.  Students will select one (or more if you so choose) historical BCP and one (or more if you so choose) Anglican Province outside of the US to compare the week’s services.  Thus, when the syllabus reads, “BCP Comparison,” it means the 1979 BCP, the historical book of your choice (we’ll have a list so we at least cover all five of the major editions included in the book list), and the (non-Episcopal) Anglican BCP of your choice.

• Class participation – 30% Participate actively on discussion board and BE PRESENT for the TWO practicum meetings on Saturday February 11^th and Saturday February 18^th [TIME TBA]!

This portion of your grade is based solely on your regular contribution to class discussions and participation at the two Saturday Practicum meetings. While a minimum of three responses per week are expected, the quality as well as quantity of responses over and above what is required will separate the ‘average’ from the ‘above average’ and ‘excellent’ participation scores.  Since this is where our "conversations" take place, take the opportunity to respond to your peers as often as you're able—the quality of our "classroom" time together in discussion depends on it!  The two practicums are REQURED by Iliff’s Anglican Studies program and give us the face to face time to hone some of those essential liturgical leadership skills. 

• Final Project – 40% (due by 5am March 18)

As a future leader in the church, how can you help to develop and deepen your community's/parish's liturgical experience?  For your final project, please develop an instructed liturgy for your faith community.  If you are not actively involved in parish life, develop the liturgy for your seminary community at Iliff.  Ideally, this should be a liturgy that you’ll actually use, but its use is not mandatory (i.e. if you’re developing this as a hypothetical, it will look the same as if you were developing it as a practical project). 

Students are encouraged to be creative in designing what might someday (or as immediately as over Holy Week) be used in a real community context.  Be sure to consider elements of theology, history, and global differences in liturgical practice as you describe each element of your instructed liturgy.  Also consider, carefully, what liturgy you’d like to instruct—this does not have to just be a Eucharist, but the variety of Eucharistic celebrations offer a rich opportunity for discussion (Easter Vigil, Baptismal Eucharist, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday—each of these has a rich tradition to mine for instructing parish families in why we do these special services each year).

An excellent project will include:

• Rationale: Why you chose the liturgy you chose and why your method of instructing it with your particular community will be beneficial.
• Description of Setting and Event: A brief case study of your community (including relative conservatism, demographics, size, level of commitment, current spiritual assessment, etc.), and a description of how your community traditionally celebrates the service you’ve chosen.
• Feasibility: Be realistic. This is your chance to design a liturgy that could reasonably be put to use in your current or future ministry.
• Creative/Innovative Solutions: You are a future leader in the church – how you conceive of new ways of engaging with communities will help shape the future of the church for the next generation. Give your method of instruction some real creative effort!
• Thought: The hope is that this will be fun, but regardless, this is your final exam for the course. Please take some time to put thought and effort into your liturgy. If you’re feeling stuck, please ask!
• Liturgical Soundness!: Demonstrate your understanding of Anglican liturgy in the methodologies you employ in your instructional elements. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your grasp of the theology, history, and development of these rites as they have evolved in the Episcopal and broader Anglican tradition.
  
  
• Samples: Provide a Bulletin for your service! You may want to include some of your instructional notes so folks can have something to keep or refer to both during and after the service.
• A fully developed Liturgy: This should be the FULL liturgy of your choice, and EACH element should be described. If you’re not clear on what “element” means, please ask.  Essentially, it is the different sections of the liturgy and the specific liturgical actions.  For example, “Prelude,” “Welcome,” “Liturgy of the Word,” “Response and Prayers,” “Peace,” “Liturgy of the Table,” “Blessing and Dismissal,” and “Postlude” represent the different sections of the Eucharist.  Additional liturgical actions include the call to worship, collect for purity, Gloria, collect, readings, sermon, Nicene Creed, Prayers of the People, Confession and absolution, bidding/passing of the peace, the offertory, setting the table, the different sections of the eucharistic prayer (sursum corda, proper preface, recalling of salvation history, anamnesis, memorial acclamation, invocation, Lord’s Prayer, Fraction, and invitation), communion, post-communion prayer, blessing, dismissal, announcements (yes, this can be instructed as well… it’s a good reminder that we’re a family!), and MUSIC (throughout).  Of course, there are additional elements that can include incense, baptismal font, stripping of the altar, etc.
• Lasting impact: Give some thought to what you really want people to take home from your instructed liturgy and how you will spark a passion within them that will carry through to long term results.

Other Project Details:

• Project length will be determined by the liturgy chosen, and will be evaluated on feasibility, quality (investment in the project, and strength of expression), creativity, strength of the information presented (the level of mastery demonstrated), and liturgical integrity.
• Project proposals will be due by 5:00am the Thursday of week 5, and will be posted to Canvas in addition to being submitted to the professor. This gives you the opportunity to review and make suggestions to one another, as well as giving me the same opportunity. (Yes a reflection is still due that week too.)
• Each student will arrange to meet with me individually (Skype/phone/IM/email) to discuss his/her final project between weeks 6 and 8 of the term.
• Any student wishing a second review must submit revisions in writing at least two weeks before the project is due to allow for any final revisions to the project itself.
• Joint projects will be considered on a per-case basis and will require the equivalent of 15-20 written pages per person in the group.
• No late projects can be accepted without filing an incomplete for the course (this is not recommended).

Additional Requirements

Introduction

Each student will be required to introduce themselves and provide a photo in their Canvas profile for the course. This is an opportunity for each of us to get to know one another a little better. Since there are no anonymous students in this class, it helps us to establish some common ground for our time together in the learning community.

Media Meditations

Starting in Week 3, students will contribute our opening meditations.  In week 1, the opening meditation will be a Liturgy from the National Cathedral.  In week 2, I will be posting a multimedia meditation on “multiple intelligences” and another meditation form (perhaps a song) relating to our reading themes.  Options to consider are multimedia productions, songs, videos, poems, etc., that resonate with your growing understanding of Anglican Liturgy as revealed in that week's readings.  ,… .  Guidelines are below.  The sign up sheet is a collaborative document in Google Docs, which is one of week 1's assignments.  

Please submit opening meditations to me by Saturday at 5pm (two days before the course week you're introducing) so I can post it to our "assignments" in time for Monday's class (i.e., if you sign up for the week of January 23, please have your mediation to me by 5:00 pm on Saturday, January 21, so I can add it to our class over the weekend and have it ready for Monday's start date).

Media Meditation Guidelines

The opening meditations for our class are intended to get ideas flowing and stimulate conversation around the readings and themes of the day.  Selections should creatively/artfully introduce the material for the day.  This is your opportunity to creatively engage “intelligences” outside of the normal range engaged in lecture (see media meditation #1 in week 2 for what is meant by "intelligences").  Having experienced three such presentations before the first student-led meditation, you should have a reasonable idea of what is expected.  However, PLEASE feel free to ask for help if you need it.  For your reflection on weeks when you have done the meditation, please discuss how your meditation represents Anglican Liturgy to you in the context of the week’s readings in lieu of a normal reflection post.  The meditation is graded based on effort, appropriateness to the day’s material, and description in your reflection for the week.  Time commitment is expected to be approximately the same as for writing a two-page writing assignment.

Audio/Video/Print Disclaimers:

Video, including still images, may not contain any content of a graphically violent, abusive, demeaning, profane, racist, sexist, discriminatory, or otherwise Iliff prohibited nature.  If you’re unsure if the image/video will be acceptable, please ask ahead of time.

Similarly, audio may not contain any content suggesting or constituting violence, abuse, racism, discrimination, nor be demeaning or inflammatory.  Please review the lyrics for your version of any song that you intend to use to ensure that it is appropriate.  Again, refer to the Iliff standards as your guide and ask if you’re unsure. 

For print media, you may use poetry, short story, word art, news, media flyers, literature, etc., as part of your meditation (please respect copyright laws if using non-original material!).  The same limitations in audio and video above apply to print media.  Refer to the Iliff standards as your guide and ask if you’re unsure.

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community. 

Required Texts

Buchanan, Colin, What Did Cranmer Think He Was Doing? (2004) ISBN: 090753631x [to purchase new for ~$5 plus shipping, visit https://grovebooks.co.uk/products/ls-7-what-did-cranmer-think-he-was-doing]

Burns, Stephen, Liturgical Spirituality: Anglican Reflections on the Church's Prayer (Weil Series in Liturgics) (2013) ISBN: 9781596272545

Church Publishing, Altar Book (2000) ISBN: 978-0898690842 (borrow one unless you really want to have one of your own—they’re expensive!)  [OR – the inserts are only $40: The Holy Eucharist Altar Edition Inserts Loose Leaf (2000) ISBN: 978-0898690064]

Church Publishing, Enriching Our Worship 1: Morning and Evening Prayer, The Great Litany, and The Holy Eucharist (2000) ISBN:  089869275x

Church Publishing, Enriching Our Worship 2:  Ministry with the Sick or Dying, Burial of a Child (2000) ISBN:  0898693438

Church Publishing, The Book of Occasional Services 2003 (2003) ISBN: 978-0898694093

Cuming, G.J., ed., Hippolytus: A Text for Students (Joint Liturgical Studies) (1991) ISBN: 1851740562

Foley, Edward, and Robin Faulkner, From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist (1992) ISBN: 0929650417  (Kindle Edition)

Hovda, Robert W., Strong, Loving and Wise: Presiding in Liturgy (1981) ISBN: 0814612539

Michno, Dennis, A Priest's Handbook: The Ceremonies of the Church, 3rd Edition (1998) ISBN: 0819217689  [OR you may select another handbook]

Mitchell, Nathan D., Eucharist as Sacrament of Initiation (Forum Essays #2) (2007) ISBN: 0929650816

Sykes, Stephen, John Booty, Jonathan Kight, eds., The Study of Anglicanism (2003) ISBN: 080063151x

Weil, Louis and Charles Price, Liturgy for Living (2000) ISBN: 0819218626

Online Texts:

The Didache (Or “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles to the Heathen”) [Available online for free]

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom [Available online for free]

World Council of Churches, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry: Paper #111 (Faith and Order) (1982)  ISBN: 2825407097 [available free online]

http://www.justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/index.html:

The Book of Common Prayer (1549)

The Book of Common Prayer (1552)

The Book of Common Prayer (1662)

The Book of Common Prayer (1928)

The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

Recommended Texts

Stuhlman, Byron D. A Good and Joyful Thing: The Evolution of the Eucharistic Prayer (2000) ISBN 0898693381

Additional Texts

Additional materials in the form of journal articles, chapters from out of print (or not yet in print) texts, etc., will be supplied at least two weeks ahead of their due dates.  If you require the materials earlier than two weeks ahead of time, please email Dr. Leininger to request them.

Week 1:  Anglican Liturgy/Worship/Spirituality/Life—synonyms of a sort J (166-186 pgs).

Weil: Chapters 1-7, 10 & 11 (79 pages)

Didache ch 7-10, The Living Testament (.5 pages) (PDF)

What did Cranmer Think he was doing? (all) (28 pages)

“Prayer Books” 131-142 in Sykes (11 pages)

AND Choose Two of the following (optional: read ALL):

Hippolytus (30 pages)

Serapion: pp1-59: Introduction (optional); Required pages: 60-93 (33 short pages ~17 normal pages)

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom pages (75 short pages ~40 normal pages)

Sarum Mass (online—about 40 normal pages)

Week 2:  The Daily Office (137 pages + review of BCP services across prayer books)

The Daily Office (Books of Common Prayer Comparison) 37-137 BCP (100 pg review)

EOW 1 pages 1-45 (45 pages)

Weil chapter 12, “Daily Office” (9 pages)

“Lex Orandi Lex Credendi,” pages 187-201 in Sykes (13 pages)

Moods of Prayer 1-70 Liturgical Spirituality (70 pages)

Week 3:  Baptism (173 pages + review of BCP services)

Baptism (Books of Common Prayer Comparison) 299-315 BCP (16 page review)

Weil chapter 8: “Baptism” (11 pages)

“Initiation,” page 293-307 in Sykes (14 pages)

“Baptism” 2-9 Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (7 pages)

Eucharist as Sacrament of Initiation (140 pages)

Week 4:  Eucharist (144 pages + brief review of BCP services)

Eucharist (Books of Common Prayer Comparison) 148-251, 316-400 BCP (187 pg review)

EOW 1 pp 46-71, 80-88 (8 pages)

Weil chapters 13-15 on Eucharist, pages 119-154 (35 pages)

“Holy Communion,” pages 308-320 in Sykes (12 pages)

“Eucharist,” pagse 10-19 Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (9 pages)

“Sacramental Actions,” pages 71-150 in Liturgical Spirituality (80 pages)

OPTIONAL: A Good and Joyful Thing (Stuhlman)

Week 5:  Presiding 1 (178 pages +Presider Book review)

Review Presider’s Book; 

Strong, Loving, and Wise; (85 pages)

A Priest’s Handbook Michno 29-92, 171-201 (or other chosen handbook);

(Also peruse the sections that interest you—KEEP THIS as a future reference.) (93 pages)

Practicum Prep Rite 1 (i.e. PREPARE to preside over a Rite I Eucharist for Saturday.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11, 8-11am:  Practicum 1: Presiding Rite I

Week 6:  Presiding 2 (186 pages)

Review Presider’s Book; 

Age to Age (186 pages)

Practicum Prep Rite 2 (i.e. PREPARE to preside over a Rite II Eucharist for Saturday)

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18, 8-11am: Practicum 2: Presiding Rite II

Week 7: The Church Year and Occasional Services (110 pages + brief review of BOS)

Review BOS: Triduum, Way of the Cross, Other Occasional Services (10-253)

Weil chapter 16 “Christian calendar,” pages 155-173 (18 pages)

“Seasons of Celebration,” pages 151-220 in Liturgical Spirituality (69 pages)

“Ministry,” pages 20-32 in Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (12 pages)

“Ministry and Priesthood,” pages 321-332 in Sykes (11 pages)

Week 8:  Pastoral Offices (169 pages + brief review of BCP services)

Pastoral Offices (Books of Common Prayer Comparison) 420-510 BCP (90 pages)

EOW 2 (all of it) 5-155 (150 pages)

Weil, chapters 17-18 on Pastoral Offices, pages 174-193 (19 pages)

Week 9:  Episcopal Services (130 pages total)

Episcopal Services (Books of Common Prayer Comparison) 413-419, 511-579 (74 pages)

Weil chapter 19 “Episcopal Services” and chapter 9: “confirmation,” pages 194-205, 78-92 (25 pages)

“Episcopacy,” pages 333-350 in Sykes (17 pages)

Review “Initiation” 293-307 Sykes (*14 pages review)

Week 10:  Conclusion (2 pages)

Weil chapter 20, “Living the Liturgy,” pages 206-208

Closing week—no other new readings.  Work on final!