The Book of Common Prayer was last revised in 1979 - nearly forty years ago. It was and remains a gift to the Church, and not just for Episcopalians. (I am often surprised how friends in other denominations use resources found here.) At the heart of the vision that led to that revision was a commitment to Holy Baptism and lay ministry, to what Verna Dozier once called the dream of God. In spite of continued clericalism in my denomination, this dream permeates the words that Episcopalians have been reading, marking, learning, and inwardly digesting for four decades now.
Even so, it doesn't all stand the test of time evenly, and I've come to realize that the Celebration of New Ministry Service found on pages 558-565 probably needs to be scrapped. It feels, as written, almost like another ordination and the focus is all on the clergy. Thankfully, we are beginning to rectify this with newer rites that have been approved for usage and those rites are being used. In the past few months I've been privileged to be at services that have offered renewal of Baptismal Vows and held up the shared ministries and vision of the congregation. One recent celebration included confirmation and another was intentional about celebrating the community beyond the parish. These newer approaches make it clear that in celebrating new ministries we are joining in with a community of faith that now has a new cleric - in almost all cases that community was there before the cleric arrived and will still be there, by God's grace, after the cleric leaves. Rather than lifting up the new cleric above the community of faith, we are finding ways to pray toward God's dream for the Church and the world. Thanks be to God!
One piece of the liturgy that has stood the test of time, however, is that Letter of Institution that I get to read. (BCP 557) Every time I read these words from the Bishop to the priest, I get chills:
Having committed yourself to this work, do not forget the trust of those who have chosen you. Care alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor. By your words, and in your life, proclaim the Gospel. Love and serve Christ's people. Nourish them and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come.For my money, that is about as a good a summary of parish ministry that I know of, and clergy forget this at their peril. Sadly, it happens. I've come to believe that congregations can forgive just about anything: boring preaching, poor administrative skills, even control issues. But you can't fake love. You either care for your people or you don't. And you don't get to just care for some of them.
Do not forget the trust of those who have chosen you. And yet it happens, for lots of reasons. Trust can be violated in perverse ways, but it can also just erode over time. Clergy tend to like some parishioners more than others; we can't help it, we are only human. But it's not about like; it's about love. If we hang around only the young and strong and rich, people notice. But the converse practice of just loving the old and weak and poor is only marginally better. Sometimes we think this makes us more like Jesus, but recall that while Jesus had high expectations for the young and strong and rich, he still loved them. (See Mark 10:21)
It is the great privilege and responsibility of clergy to nourish and strengthen all those among whom we are called to serve. We are not called to lord it over anyone. It's hard work. Some days, it's almost impossible work, but always we do it with God's help. Those not interested in doing so, however, would probably be better off in another line of work. For those who are so called, it is an amazing privilege and responsibility.
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