I attended the early service this morning in my Anglican church. We combined with two other churches in the parish at Easter. The church where we are now based is high church, as opposed to us low church, or enjoy-it-enough-to-almost-be-called-‘happy-clappy’-if-we-weren’t-all-too-frightfully-British-to-actually-clap-in church.
The early service is extremely formal: the Gospel reading requires everyone to stand, and is made in the middle of the congregation. I suppose the thinking is that it’s at the centre of everything. It is made with people – I don’t know what they are called – in long, white robes holding crosses on sticks, surrounding the vicar, who reads the scripture from the biggest Bible I’ve ever seen in real life. It is all rather solemn and old-fashioned.
The reading was from Matthew; the parable of the sower. The vicar read, And he told them many things in parables, saying, at which point he drew breath, just as the only baby in the room said, Dada.
I’ll tell you what is definitely not old-fashioned – a giggling vicar.
The Laughing Housewife 
Dada
Cute baby :). Love it when they do that. They cheer up any formal/serious situation.
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He was adorable 🙂
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Nice one. I am ( hope) unreliably informed that at the nuptial Mass in Brompton Oratory for my mother’s youngest sister, the sanctuary bell tinkled at a very solemn moment and a 2-yr-old Viv shouted out “assa telephone.”
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lol! Brilliant!
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LOVE THIS! Our church is definitely not HIGH CHURCH, but I sometimes especially love attending high church services – they bring back some of the awe and majesty and mystery of our Creator. Anyway, I am somewhat familiar with the terms for the participants: The one who carries the cross is generally referred to as the crucifer, or more correctly (in latin) the “crucis signifer” the light-bearer is the lux signifer, (sometimes – really! called the “lucifer”) the bearer of the Word (bible) can be called “Scriptura signifer,” or simply the “Bible bearer,” or “Word bearer.”
The garments worn by clergy and some participating laity in the church are generally an alb, that may or may not be yoked with a stole pertaining to the liturgical season, or completely covered by a chasuble and stole, as the boy (Spud?) in the picture is wearing.
BTW, us “middle-church” (not esp. low or high!) United Methodists are generally clappy happy, but we have our more reverent parts of worship, too! 😀
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I think most churches do, because you’d be hard put to find a more disparate bunch of people anywhere else 🙂
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And the one who swings the incense (sp?) is the thurifer.
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Yes, it’s Spud, in an old sheet, an old shirt and some gold sticky paper 🙂
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Okay, not that’s funny.
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Yoda? Is that you?
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Perfect timing! Glad the vicar had a sense of humour!
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I TOTALLY love the idea of a giggling vicar!
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At Christmas one year one of my (very young) nieces – having been told it was Jesus’s birthday – asked in a piercing voice when the cake was coming.
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Brilliant! 🙂
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Wonderful, a really human vicar
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That’s one good version of Old-fashioned. Even in my church, we have the traditionals who celebrates the mass the old way and the younger generation priest who are more modern and usually gives sermons that the younger group can relate too. Either way, they’re both meant to uplift our faith.
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Yes, it’s why we have two services; but also one joint service, once a month, to remind us that we are one congregation.
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Priceless Tilly!!!
Kiwi Daughter was a instigator of one such incident too: http://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/kids-and-funerals-in-progress/
But it did run very close to being an “ouch: moment.
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Just read it – hilarious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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That. Picture. Oh my, I don’t know what to think.
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It’s my son as a little boy 🙂
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Viv’s reference to the thurifer reminds me of a fantastic story told about Talullah Bankhead. She was getting on in years, and at Christmas one year, she decided to attend the high Christmas mass at St. Patrick’s cathedral in NYC. She sat near the back and watched the long liturgical procession up the center aisle. Among the very last in is the Bishop, and he is dressed in all the formal regalia: silk white alb, heavy velvet (or whatever) chasuble, s bishop’s mitred hat, etc. I mean everything “royally done.)
As he is walking down the aisle, censor smoking and swinging, Talullah tugged on the Bishop’s skirt – enough to cause him to stop, and TB says: “Darling, your hat and dress are divine, but did you know that it’s on fire?”
Leave it to Talullah. . .this is supposedly a true story (and if it isn’t, it should be). It cracks me up every time I read it!
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I sooo hope that’s a true story 🙂 Thanks for sharing it.
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A great moment! The little children should be there, joining in the worship – and keeping things real for the vicar.
One Sunday morning as our pastor was beginning with greetings and brief announcements, he reminded people to silence their phones, and out of his own pocket – his phone started ringing! It was priceless. He blushed, laughed and turned off his own phone.
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Brilliant!
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Yeah, it sounds like you could all use some shouting and clapping sessions at ye olde church. 😉
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We’re too British 🙂
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