Altar prepared for the Eucharist (Photo by Steve Snodgrass from flickr, used under CCA2.0G license)
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve really enjoyed praying and reflecting on the liturgy of the Eucharist.
Adam Thomas, an Episcopal priest and author of Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in a Digital World, runs a site called DevotiONEighty: he crafts a daily three-minute devotional, or prayer exercise.
The devotions work like this: after opening ourselves to God’s presence, Thomas shares something that has been written—in books, or in film or television, or beyond—responding to God. He then offers a brief look at how to think more deeply about that, before closing with a prayer as we commit ourselves to service in our lives. Each one takes no more than three minutes.
I particularly enjoyed a twelve-part series looking at key moments of the Eucharist service. There are a few moments that are more closely tied to Thomas’s context of The Episcopal Church that look a bit different than in our Canadian context, but because he’s writing more about the structure—the component parts—than about the words, almost everything will be immediately recognisable.
Adam Thomas has kindly given us permission to feature this series here at The Community; I hope you’ll enjoy them. Here are the links:
Introduction: Three Functions of Worship
- Beginning: Transformation
- Opening Ourselves to God: Invitation
- Gloria: Rejoice Always
- Readings and Sermon: Live the Good News
- Creed: Tradition
- Prayers of the People: Prayer Is Central
- Confession: Be Part of the Solution
- The Peace: Practicing Peace
- Offertory: Giving Back
- Eucharistic Prayer: Giving Thanks
- Communion: Sharing Christ
- Blessing and Dismissal: Preparing to Serve
I’d love to hear what others think—how do these devotionals affect you?
How does praying about what we do when we gather change how you experience worshipping at the eucharist?
