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February 2015

Song of Songs: A contemplative guide

The Song of Songs: A Contemplative Guide [Paperback] Song of Songs: A contemplative guide [Kindle Edition] by Graeme Watson SPCK Publishing 156 pages I have mentioned, previously, meeting the author of this book, Rev. Graeme Watson, and his wife, Liz, and spending a delightful evening with them at the home of fellow blogger, Fr Ron

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The whole church

Liturgy – Work for the People

Popularly, people say (I’ve said it myself) that the word, “liturgy” (λειτουργία or λῃτουργία) derive from the Greek, “λαός” (Laos – people) and ἔργο (ergo – work) – so that liturgy, we say, means “work of the people”. But maybe liturgy is not “work of the people” but “work FOR the people”. Robert Hendrickson wrote

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The Sign of the Cross

The letters interpretation by Father Matthew is unfamiliar to me. I’m much more used to the thumb, index, and middle finger together being a sign of the Trinity, and the remaining two fingers, together touching the palm, being a sign of the human and divine natures of Christ. Believe it or not, “The enforcement of

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Notice Board

The Prayer Book is Not Contemporary?

You may have seen it – I have seen it enough to become concerned: Church notice boards that describe services something like this 9:30am A Prayer Book Service 11am A Contemporary Service By “A Prayer Book Service” they don’t mean “1662” or “1928” (church noticeboards or advertisements that advertise with in-group language of “1662” or

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immediate baptism

Immediate Baptism

As many will know, there is a debate whether to encourage all at a service to receive communion or whether to hold to tradition that only those baptised are welcome at the table. [Let’s leave to one side, for the moment, limiting communion to those confirmed and/or those in one’s own denomination]. Some churches break

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copilots

Who is Leading?

A “liturgist” in NZ Anglicanism is not (as on the rest of the planet) a person who studies liturgy; here a “liturgist” is a lay leader in the “first part of the service”. Whatever I might think about this way of running a service, in practice this is deeply embedded in NZ Anglicanism. And, whatever

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