Liturgical Principles at Canterbury House the Episcopal Center at the University of Michigan



Introduction
Canterbury House is a campus ministry located on the edge of a major public university. Our primary mission is to reach the vast majority of students, both undergraduate and graduate, who seek spiritual community but are suspicious of "organized religion." We attempt a precarious balance: an experience that is spiritually nurturing and yet intellectually challenging; where the conventional "trappings" of institutional religion are minimized yet the essential values of the Episcopal Church are still communicated; where both contemporary culture and ancient wisdom is affirmed and made more meaningful.

1. The Theme
The most important value of our worship experience is that it be meaningful and relevant. We have found that students more readily engage the content of the readings and the sermon if they are given a specific question or theme to think about and discuss. For that reason, at the beginning of the service I present a specific theme inspired by the Gospel for the day which the opening meditation, hymns, other readings, and sermon will all reflect. After introducing the theme with some very brief remarks, I invite the congregation to a silent meditation on one or two questions suggested by that theme (about 3 minutes of silence, marked by the sounding of a gong three times). The silence is gently broken by a Taize chant and then the service moves easily into the Collect of the Day and the readings. The beginning of the service emphasizes quieting down and listening rather than lots of scripted proclamations. We tend to avoid opening hymns, lengthy opening sentences, and the Gloria for that reason.

2. Interfaith and Non-Scriptural Readings
Responding to the openness among "Generation X" members to a variety of spiritual traditions, and because I believe it is very important to teach people how to discern the presence of God in other cultures, we often offer a reading from another faith tradition that relates to the theme for the day. In doing so, we send a signal to our congregation that they very much want to hear: that we do not pretend to have a corner on the truth, and we will not perpetuate the institutional church's sin against other religions. Thich Nhat Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ is a most helpful resource in this regard; readings in the journals The Sun, Parabola, and Tricycle are also very helpful. We also have readings from contemporary Christian writers that give fresh insight on the theme of the day. Kathleen Norris, Marcus Borg, and Anne Lamott are especially good resources.

3. Secular music, Gospel music
We have no interest in the "Praise music" that many contemporary services draw upon. But we are interested in helping people discern the presence of God in the music of our living culture, breaking down what Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls "the unchristian dualisms of sacred and profane, religion and politics, church and world." The living God is alive and well outside the Church, and it's time we honored that. We have an outstanding jazz quartet that plays in the traditions of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Sun Ra; they also play pop music such as Stevie Wonder or Bob Marley; and they improvise over Taize chants and traditional hymns. We also play a lot of gospel hymns -- it rocks, and honors our diversity.

4. Student leadership vs. priestly leadership
I'm always trying to find the right balance between the students' need to find their own voice, and their need to learn whatever the Church tradition has to teach them. My homily time includes lots of time for discussion. I've begun to appreciate more and more the importance of students having the freedom to speak their truth, even when that truth seems banal or even misguided. It is important for them to take responsibility for their truth, and to find a sacred place that honors them where they are in their journey.

5. Creeds
Students are enormously sensitive to issues of intellectual integrity and attempts by religions to impose a "group-think" conformity. For that reason, I rely on the overall service to communicate doctrine without requiring a "pledge of allegiance" creedal statement. This feels to me to be most respectful of the diversity of opinion within the congregation; people get a chance to speak about their beliefs within the homily time, and that gives us all an opportunity to challenge and discuss those beliefs openly.

6. Taize chants and meditation
Our Taize chants and meditations are longish; we are not afraid of silence; our jazz quartet improvises on the Taize melodies while we chant, and the effect is to deepen the experience. The quartet also improvises very quietly during the prayers of the people -- sometimes just a very soft drum and string bass duet. The prayers conclude with a Taize chant.

7. Inclusive, Contemporary Language
Considering that many, if not most, of our students have not been raised on the Episcopal prayer book, inclusive and contemporary language goes without saying. I use many of the recently-authorized Eucharistic Prayers, as well as material from the New Zealand Prayer Book. However, on special occasions a particularly archaic prayer or litany is effective in communicating a unique tradition or sentiment (for example, the Bidding Prayer during the Advent Lessons and Carols service). When the archaic language is the exception, it sometimes stands out in a fresher light.



The Rev. Matthew Lawrence
Chaplain, Canterbury House
Director, Institute for Public Theology