WEEKS 31 – 40

Week 31: Why are announcements at the beginning of worship?

Announcements are important for maintaining community but can interrupt the flow of the worship service, so we have chosen to have them at the very beginning of the worship service.

If you’ve missed some details, or want to learn more about an announcement, there are some other great ways to stay connected – there’s the weekly bulletin and the monthly newsletter to start.  And if you’ve tossed either of those, this website has links to the bulletins and newsletters on both the Members page and The Visitors page.

Week 32: Why do we do Joys and Concerns?

Our Book of Order (read: the constitution for the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.) defines the order of worship to include Gathering around the Word, Proclaiming the Word, and Responding to the Word.  It is in the Responding part that we both give thanks for life and life’s transitions, as well as lift up prayers of intercession and supplication.  And so in our Joys and Concerns, we commemorate important events in our lives and the life of our church, and we also pray for guidance and support, wisdom and assurance, and comfort and healing for those in need within our extended church family.

Week 33: Why do we have a Christ candle lit in worship?

The Christ candle (also known as the Paschal candle) is lit for worship each week to serve as a reminder that Christ is the light of the world, and also as a reminder of his presence as we worship.

The use of the Paschal candle is traced back to the Easter Vigils of the fourth century.  In our current liturgical practice, modern Paschal candles are often adorned with the cross and inscribed with the date of the current year.

Week 34: Why do we have flowers for worship every week?

Our Reformed heritage calls upon us to worship within a place of simplicity of form and function, to direct attention to what God has done and to the claim that God makes upon human life.

The Book of Order tells us that “artistic expressions” (like flowers) are appropriate when they awaken us to God’s presence.  Each week, our arrangement of flowers is there to remind us of the reality and grace of God.

Week 35: Who is called to worship by the “Call to Worship”?

The call isn’t for God – God is always present so there’s no need to call.  The “Call to Worship” is like the call we used to get from our moms when it was time for dinner.  It is a reminder that we are to leave what we have been doing – working or cleaning or playing or watching TV – and to focus on our time of worship.  And just like dinner, our worship provides sustenance to us on a regular basis.

Week 36: What do we call the different areas of the church?

Sanctuary, Chancel, Narthex, Nave – these may sound like book titles or prescription medications, but they are the traditional names for parts of a church.  “Historical” church denominations Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc – still bear the stamp of early Christian worship and so we use those traditional words to define our worship space.

Originally during worship the leader sat at one end of a rectangular room on a raised platform, and the rest of the people stood.  (Pews were invented about the time of the Protestant Reformation, because along with Protestantism came some very long sermons.)  The word sanctuary can mean either the raised platform or the entire worship space.  The chancel specifically means the raised platform at the front of the church.  The place where worshippers sit is often called the sanctuary, but more technically it is called the nave; it is considered the “ship of faith” and is named as such because a traditional nave had a keel shape to its vaulted ceiling.  The narthex is the entrance or lobby area – with an original purpose to allow those not eligible for admittance to the nave to still hear the service – that is now simply the point of entry into the church.

Week 37: Who serves communion?

The Book of Order (part of our Presbyterian constitution) tells us that “the bread and the cup may be served by ordained officers of the church, or by other church members on invitation of the session.”   Here at Newlonsburg we have both elders and deacons assisting the pastors with communion – typically eight assisting at the sanctuary service, and two or more assisting in Fellowship Hall.  Wayne Shick of the Affirmation Committee schedules the folks that you see moving up to the front right before the celebration of the Last Supper.

Week 38: Can you find the antependium, and what do the symbols mean?

Antependium, literally meaning “to hang before”, is the decorative piece of fabric that is hanging at the front of our pulpit in the sanctuary.  Traditionally it is the same color and fabric as the vestments worn by the clergy.  The color of the antependium follows the liturgical colors – so in this period of Ordinary time, you will see the green cloth to symbolize growth.

For Ordinary time, the symbols are three interlocking circles, signifying the trinity.  Other symbols you’ll see on antependia throughout the year include the cross and crown, on white; the Chi Rho (the monogram of Jesus), also on white; a Jesse Tree for Advent and a cross with grape vine on the purple antependium.

Week 39: Why do we say offering instead of collection?

We may tend to use the words synonymously, but there’s a subtle difference that, among other things, broadens the definition of our offerings of “self and substance.”

The Christian life is an offering of one’s self to God.  In worship we are presented with the costly self-offering of Jesus Christ, are claimed and set free by him, and are led to respond by offering to him our lives, our gifts and abilities, and our material goods.

Collection can connote the gathering of currency to pay the church’s bills and do good works; offering expands that concept to offer a portion of all of the blessings God has given us.  Our offering is not only represented by our money, but all of our gifts that we share.

Week 40: What exactly is the Doxology?

Doxology comes from the Greek “doxa”, meaning glory, plus “logos”, meaning word or speaking.  It’s a short hymn of praise to God in Christian worship services.  The tradition derives from a similar practice in the Jewish synagogue, where some form of the Kaddish ends each section of the service.  Among Christian traditions a doxology is typically a sung expression of praise to the Holy Trinity.

The doxology that we sing, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken, an Anglican Bishop, and was originally the final verse of two hymns used for morning and evening worship.   It is sung to the tune “Old 100^th”, a hymn tune written over one hundred years earlier in 1551; the tune was originally associated with Psalm 134 but its name comes from a later association with the 100^th Psalm.