We all recognise an elephant when we see one but, as has been assiduously pointed out to one generation after another, it is not so easy to describe it. Size to start with. Flapping ears, big with African type, small with Indian, ivory tusks, tiny tail, trunk, ponderous flat feet, colour etc. As with those far off days when every schoolboy kept up to date with aircraft identification, and he would recognise the general sit of an aircraft soon after watching for precise characteristics, we have instant recognition.
Something of the kind is true about worship. A child entering a service of worship may have little understanding of the components – hymns, readings, homily, ritual (sophisticated or simple) but the general impression is hugely important. The notion of homage is sensed, even if it is not clear how those components are assembled.
When we attempt to examine those components, we can say that prayer is bringing a shopping-list to God. We can also say that it is a love-letter, an apology, an indication of our hopes and plans and our concerns for others. (The Litany expresses those concerns rather well.)
Among the many ways of looking at what we are doing when we worship one stands out. ‘Thank you’ must have a special place. The general thanksgiving in the Book of Common Prayer provides a good template for this. (It is also one of the best things in the prayer book.) It is a model in that it surveys the ground and does not attempt the exhausting business of listing all the things we should be grateful for – down to finding a lost book or getting a computer fixed.
It is good, too, to be able to express thanks when we have not been sure about what we ask for. We can imagine how a ‘thank you’ must delight God the Father just as it delights those of our relatives to whom we send thank you letters. It is scarcely surprising that the principal form of worship for Christians is the Eucharist, the thank you service.
CRAMLINGTON HUB
Hope Centre is a social ministries hub organised by Cramlington parish church, Northumberland. It houses a food bank and a school uniform bank amongst its many facilities. It also has in hand arrangements to keep its website (a Wix product with lovely video shots of members of the congregation) up-to-date. Leading the ministry team is Wulliam Docherty.
MEET MARPLE!
Daniel Currie, who leads the ministry team at All Saints’, Marple, Cheshire, conducts a website visitor on a whirlwind tour to meet the congregation. Not one of them is camera-shy. The pace is brisk, so say the least, and the effect is electrifying.
If you have a comment on this post please send an email to Revd John King at johnc.king@talktalk.net Edited extracts may be published. To forward this to a friend click on the chain icon below.
Comments