In The Practicing Congregation, Diana Butler Bass, a church historian by training, distinguishes between custom and tradition […]
Browsing all articles in Observing Liturgical Traditions
Which colors do we use for various church seasons and what do they symbolize? […]
Earlier this year I asked my staff to take some time and consider the question, “What does it take to make church?” […]
The wreath symbolized God’s unending Love for His people, using greenery, plants and herbs symbolic of the season or stemming from Biblical times […]
Toward the end of The House at Pooh Corner Christopher Robin tells Pooh that what he likes doing best is “nothing.” Most of us don’t have the time to do just nothing as we might have done as children. Perhaps, though we should make the time to do it […]
If I asked you to describe the sacrament of baptism, what adjectives would you choose[…]
It has been a tradition in the Church to bless chalk at the Masses for Epiphany, and then use the blessed chalk as part of blessing one’s home in the New Year […]
My parishioner, Ed, was an electrical engineer. During World War II he worked on a highly secret project involving long-wave radio technology. Later he learned the purpose of the technology he’d helped to perfect […]
“The function of Advent is to remind us what we’re waiting for as we go through life too busy with things that do not matter to remember the things that do” […]
If you are purchasing new vestments, it is possible to duplicate your current ones, yet, increasingly, clergy want their own vestments […]
Icon means image in Greek, and this is the word used in the Greek translation of Genesis 1:27: “So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them.” As an image, the icon is not simply a mirror image […]
Over the years we moved a lot. I couldn’t help noticing things that were the same in various churches and things that were different or unique in each place. And the symbols — what did they mean; why were they there […]
In the time just before the English Reformation, there were many vestments in use: cassock (fur lined for cold churches,), amice, cincture, surplice, tippet […]
What? The whims of fad and fashion enter the church? Sure, did and does. Even in the church, styles change with passing centuries and the adaptations needed to perform the liturgy […]
A form of servant ministry that is a good fit with Maundy Thursday worship is the washing and drying of dirty clothes. “Laundry Love,” a ministry begun in an Episcopal congregation in Ventura, CA […]
‘How do I go forth and spread the good news?’ ‘How has the Holy Spirit guided me in my ministry?’ ‘Does the way I live show forth my belief and relationship with God?’ […]
The tradition of Christian icons began in the Roman catacombs of the early church, with roots that can be traced back to Egyptian sarcophagus portraits. An icon represents the Word of God as image; it is theology depicted in line and color, and is therefore called icon “writing” […]
To paraphrase Churchill, art is influenced by the culture in which it is created and then influences the culture that follows. And vestments speak volumes about who we are, how we see ourselves and where we are heading as the people of God […]
Because the Easter Vigil begins in darkness, one of the most powerful symbols is the lighting of a new fire […]
This pattern takes a bit of practice, but looks like the ones we used to get when we were young […]
The name candle comes from the Latin candere meaning “to shine.” While no date can be definitely pinned down for the development of the first candle, accounts of their use date back to ancient times with Biblical references as early as the 10th century BC […]
Palm Sunday is over, but what is to be done with those leftover consecrated palms? […]
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