When in doubt spell it out

I went to an Anglican service today which, having grown up in an Anglican church, was a little bit of a trip down memory lane. However, it has been awhile since I've been to an Anglican service and I quickly noticed some of the wording had been changed since my last visit. (Don't want to think how many years ago that might have been.) I also noticed some of the sung liturgical responses were a bit more upbeat than the responses I sang as a child. A nice touch but again it reminded me it's been awhile.

I think it's a good idea to get out to other services whether a different denomination or the same denomination as your own because it's good to be reminded what it's like to be the new person. Once we are used to how a service is planned we can forget what are the things that need to be explained or what may seem foreign to a visitor. We can very quickly get in our own comfort zone and stay there.

Today we were invited to celebrate Holy Communion during the service. My experience with the Anglican church is to take a wafer and then share the cup which the Priest holds. (This may inform you of when I last visited an Anglican church) I've never enjoyed the cup sharing tradition but figured "when in Rome...." Now, it may be at this point that I should have watched what other people were doing but I had discussed it with the friend next to me (also a visitor on the day) and we had agreed it was a cup sharing Eucharist. It wasn't until after my friend and I had taken Holy communion that we noticed that some of the people were dipping their wafer into the cup!! (Something which had crossed my mind as a sensible idea but hadn't thought to put into action.) It was at this point I thought it would have been good for the Priest to explain the options before us, especially when it was a service where many visitors were expected.

I just use this example as it was my experience but I know it could happen in my own church where we may take for granted that people know what to do. It was a good reminder to me that even though I may feel like I repeat myself it's actually very helpful for people who are visiting to know what to expect, especially when it is a ritual of the church or if you ask people to the front of the church. We shouldn't lead a service expecting that everyone there will know what to do.

It gives me food for thought as I prepare my next communion service.