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Reflections on collects

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2 thoughts on “Reflections on collects”

  1. Hi Bosco,

    I think by now you are enjoying retirement, like me! My retirement project is providing my subscribers with a free weekly posting of a selection of 8 or more hymn texts per week appropriate to the Sunday. I’m about to embark on suggestions for Trinity Sunday and had a quick look at the Lectionary to assist that process. I read the Collect set down for the day. Call me old-fashioned, but isn’t it faulty to write:
    God, glorious in Trinity,
    no dimensions can define you
    or thoughts contain you.
    Beyond stretch of time and space
    you unfold the cosmos,
    from the rising of the sun,
    to its setting, blessed are you,
    trinity in unity.
    This we ask through Jesus Christ our Mediator. Amen.

    …but we aren’t asking anything in this collect, surely?

    Shalom,

    Ian

    1. Thanks, Ian, for providing hymn texts that fit with the readings.
      Yes – sadly, NZ Anglicanism appears to have little to no understanding of the nature and role of the Collect. It has mostly become yet another nice little prayer said by all who have gathered – rather than functioning as part of gathering the community by the one who has been ordained to that ministry of gathering!
      NZ’s confusion has been made even worse since the publication of the 2020 book called “A New Zealand Prayer Book He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa”, but which clearly isn’t: huge sections of it haven’t even gone through a first reading at General Synod Te Hinota Whanui – let alone followed the process from there for formularies!
      This “draft” Prayer Book has removed collects that are part of our formularies!
      There were six people assigned to produce new collects. I produced, for this Year C, the ones for the non-feast Sundays in Ordinary Time (ie. decidedly NOT this Trinity “collect”). You can see the origin of the “collect” you refer to at that link. You are correct – this “collect” has been made even worse since its last use in 2019 through a revision which has added “This we ask” when there is nothing being asked (asking, of course, is essential to a collect!). I may yet blog on this.
      Easter Season Blessings.

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