Canterbury at Cal

have a great holiday!

Grad students and young adults (20’s 30’s) are invited to participate in a weekly discussion group. We will be using the monthly publication Context by Martin Marty, emeritus professor of religion at the University of Chicago. Context publishes excerpts from a wide variety of journals, periodicals and newspapers all focusing on important themes of culture and faith. Even if you miss one week you don’t have to catch up just show up. Beverages and light refreshments will be provided.

Each Thursday at 6:30 there is a prayer in the tradition of Taizé each week in the canterbury house.  This form of contemplative prayer comes from the community of Taizé in Burgundy, France.  Visited each summer by tens of thousands of young adults, the monastery of Taizé explores reconciliation, simplicity of life and contemplation of God as a community experience.  Visit the website at www.taize.fr

Each week Canterbury continues a tradition dating back at least to the 6th century in which Christians sing the final prayers of the day known as Compline (from the Latin for completorium or completion).  Our community uses ancient melodies from eastern and western traditions combined with prayers developed by the Anglican Province of New Zealand.  The melodies ground us in our past while the prayers unite us with the ever expanding realities of faith in the world around us.

We will gather for dinner at 6:30 and follow this with a planning session for the Eucharist which is beginning in Advent.  Please come so that you can make your input.

Each week Canterbury continues a tradition dating back at least to the 6th century in which Christians sing the final prayers of the day known as Compline (from the Latin for completorium or completion).  Our community uses ancient melodies from eastern and western traditions combined with prayers developed by the Anglican Province of New Zealand.  The melodies ground us in our past while the prayers unite us with the ever expanding realities of faith in the world around us.

We will gather for dinner at 6:30 and follow this with a planning session for the Eucharist which is beginning in Advent.  Please come so that you can make your input.

In order to present at the Deanery meeting we will not have a discussion group this Thursday but will resume next week.  Please join us to present in Oakland though.

There was a group meeting on Tuesday, November 3, to begin planning for the Eucharist Service that will commence in December.  Below are the results from this meeting.  Please post your own thoughts and additional responses to these thoughts so they can be compiled to make for a meaningful celebration of Holy Communion.  Next week we will consider music.  Please note the special “homework” assignment.

What sorts of things do you want to have as a “feel” for  a service?  ie. how you feel afterwards and what the worship should contain

A sense of Community,

Being energized, ready to face the world,

Engagement with tradition

Peaceful

Good music

Elements that can make this happen:

Incense

holding hands during some of the prayers or other liturgical parts

receiving communion in the round

candles

the opportunity to bake bread for the service and opportunities to put

Christian images on the bread that provide a connection with the loaf.

Nighttime worship

understandability of the service

Location:

The nave of St. Mark’s around the altar, maybe use some of the space before the chancel steps

How can we make the service accessible?

Put a sign outside the door describing what is happening

Put pictures on the sign with images evocative of the experience

Perhaps lighting for the sign

Make sure that the safety/security of the building is not compromised by having an open door.

**HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT**

Everyone is to research the wording and approach that other churches use for announcing

their worship and what sort of signage they have.

Being Welcoming:

We need to think about how the worship is made accessible, what sort of format to use in liturgy.

We can have a “buddy system” to make sure that people aren’t lost during the liturgy.

Make sure there are greeters who can engage people outside who might be curious and also

welcome people when they come inside.  One or two people should be “follow-up” people to

make contact with visitors later in the week, take them to coffee.

Put a big welcome mat beside the sign outside.

Perhaps some sort of “red carpet” on the sidewalk.

Other things:

We should begin to think about some sort of system that gives people specific tasks within the community

such as sacristans, flowers, welcomers, readers, follow up, clean up, etc.

Grad students and young adults (20’s 30’s) are invited to participate in a weekly discussion group. We will be using the monthly publication Context by Martin Marty, emeritus professor of religion at the University of Chicago. Context publishes excerpts from a wide variety of journals, periodicals and newspapers all focusing on important themes of culture and faith. Even if you miss one week you don’t have to catch up just show up. Beverages and light refreshments will be provided.