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WHERE WE WORSHIP
BAPTISM BY IMMERSION
In an age when many new churches are going high-tech
and amplified, complete with PowerPoint® presentations
and laser pointers, the Advocate is, as much as
possible, "unplugged." Though the Advocate’s
core values may reflect a socially progressive,
21st century Gospel, our worship – which
our tradition calls “liturgy” –
is ancient and modern, progressive and traditional,
reverent and informal. In worship, we seek to
make God’s presence known through word,
music and sacrament and through our coming together
each week as a community. The central act of Christian
worship, Holy Eucharist (“thanksgiving”),
is celebrated every Sunday, as we share the bread
and wine of communion with one another.
The word 'liturgy' literally means, in Greek,
‘the work of the people.’ Liturgy
at the Advocate is therefore very participatory,
encouraging (but not requiring) everyone present
to take part through fully engaging in song, prayer
and fellowship. Chairs generally face each other
or go in a horseshoe around the altar, giving
a sense of the people gathered around. At the
beginning of the liturgy each Sunday afternoon,
a member of our congregation greets the people
assembled with these words:
Our liturgy today will be what it will be because
each of us is here today. So when you sing, sing
boldly; when you pray, pray loudly; and when you
are quiet, be present and aware of God and others
around you.
In short, the liturgy isn't something we come
to watch; it is something we gather to do together
as the People of God.
Most often, the text of our liturgy is drawn
from the Episcopal Church’s Book of
Common Prayer or Enriching Our Worship,
but we often also use other texts from the prayer
books of other churches in the Anglican Communion,
including those of New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa
and Canada.
Music at the Advocate is another way we encourage
participation in worship. Our songs come from
a variety of sources: the (Episcopal) Hymnal,
Lift Every Voice and Sing (a collection
of traditional African American sacred music);
Wonder, Love, and Praise (the Episcopal
Church’s more contemporary music); music
from the Taizé community; early American
shape-note singing; plainchant, Anglican chant,
and more. Though we have no choir sitting apart
from the rest of the congregation, we have a cantor:
a lay leader who leads the congregation in song.
We are typically accompanied by a piano (there
is no organ at the Advocate), a flute, and a djembe
(African drum). Sometimes the piano accompaniment
on a hymn may drop out entirely in favor of a
cappella singing from the congregation. In the
discipline of listening and tuning that comes
from singing together without accompaniment, we
find a resonant symbol of our fellowship with
one another in Christ.
Our participation in worship and Christ's presence
among us is also made manifest by the processions
of cross and Gospel book weaving through the midst
of the congregation. For baptisms, we process
to the font as a congregation, singing. Palm Sunday
and the Easter Vigil provide occasions for even
longer processions and help us move from being
observers to participants in the sacred story.
A lot of thought goes into planning the liturgy
from Sunday to Sunday and season to season. But
we also make room for the personal and the unplanned:
singing for birthdays and anniversaries, a small
child spontaneously dancing in fairy wings. We
cultivate a creative "ordered chaos"
that allows unexpected moments of ordinary grace
to arise and be welcomed. Every Sunday liturgy
is both ancient and brand-new as we seek to embody
our praise of God and communion with God and one
another through Christ. We invite you to join
us: come and see, come and do, come and be present
with us. The liturgy will be different because
you are there.
Gabe Lamazares
WHERE WE WORSHIP
BAPTISM BY IMMERSION
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