Instruction I (follows the opening hymn)

      Our liturgy, the work of the people, actually began this morning with the opening voluntary, the organ music prior to the opening hymn. The purpose of the voluntary is to set a tone of worship and invite us to an awareness that we are entering a holy space. God is, of course, everywhere, but there is a difference between the Parish Hall and the Church. There is a difference in our intention and in our focus. The voluntary reminds us that our purpose is worship, and it provides us with an opportunity to prepare ourselves so that we can be as present as possible in the worship. It is a common custom in the Episcopal Church to maintain silence after coming into the Church and to kneel and say a prayer of preparation asking God to help us focus and be present in worship.

      As you enter the Church there should be two things that command your immediate attention. The first is the baptismal font. It sits in the middle of the aisle way to remind us that it is through the waters of baptism that we come into membership in the Body of Christ. It is our baptism that draws us together as a worshipping community and it is our baptism that holds us together.

      The font is meant to be "in the way" so that it is a permanent and constant reminder. It is a call to us.

      The second, and equally important, focal point in the Church is the altar. The Eucharist is the central act of Christian worship. Baptism is where we begin, the altar is where we are nourished.

      Above the altar are windows and crosses. The purpose of the Cross is to bring focus to the altar and to remind us of who we are - we are the community formed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

      We are a Church with a Lectionary, that is there are certain Scripture lessons, called Propers assigned for each Sunday on a three-year cycle. In that way we have a disciplined exposure to the full message of the Bible and not just the parts that we like. One of the reasons you will find the Episcopal Church reluctant to pick up the themes of our culture, such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, is that we have a theme already defined for each Sunday by the Propers.

      The processional hymn is an effort to express that theme in music and verse. The choir, when in procession, represents the congregation and does not sing FOR them; they symbolize our entry into worship behind the Cross of Christ.

      Effort is made to select hymns that people can sing, but great care is taken so that the hymn is a part of the message of the Sunday. Lent is a time of reflection and preparation as well as contemplation on the sacrifice of Christ. Hymns in Lent will often be more subdued and inward looking than other seasons. Your participation in the hymn is an important part of the liturgy. It is only in following the words and joining in the hymn that you can really enter the beginning of the worship. It isn’t important that you sing well. The Bible says to make a joyful noise to the Lord. It doesn’t say anything about the quality of that noise. Those of you who attended our first two Lenten Programs know that we are moving to incorporate other types of hymns into our worship. We are taking great care to make sure that these new hymns will enhance our already strong musical parish and music program.

      After the opening hymn the celebrant will say an acclamation, and the congregation will respond. It is like saying, "Good morning" in the name of the Lord. There are three different acclamations that are used depending on the season of the Church year. During Lent we use an acclamation that emphasizes our repentance, "Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins." During the Easter season we will use one that emphasizes the good news of resurrection.

      This year during Lent, we are using the Penitential Order as the opening to the liturgy of the word; including the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments. The use of the Penitential Order reemphasizes the nature of the season of Lent and will serve as a weekly reminder of our call to repentance. Imagine after these 5 weeks of Lent how joyous our entry into Easter worship will be.

      Whether using the Penitential Order or not, we then sing usually, though sometimes we speak it, a song of praise. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving and we mark that at the beginning of the liturgy with an expression of gratitude. There are three choices in the Prayer Book, though any hymn of praise may be used. In fact during the season of Easter hymns will be sung in place of the Gloria. We most often sing the "Gloria", but during Lent we use the second choice which is more in keeping with the penitential season. We are using the Greek form of "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy" "Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison", during Lent so that hymns of praise at Easter will be more prominent.

      The Collect of the Day follows - this is a prayer appointed for the particular Sunday on a one year cycle, and also a part of the Propers. The word collect comes from an old form of the word collect and in it we collect our theme for the day and offer it to God. It is a way to prepare ourselves to hear the Word of God. Paying attention to the Collect of the Day can inform our understanding of the readings from Scripture.