Friday, May 2, 2008

An audio "pill" for 1928 BCP Withdrawal Symptoms!

When in the midst of this ongoing Anglican diaspora I left my 1928 BCP parish of The Episcopal church, I worshipped for a time where my beloved 1928 BCP was not used.

Needless to say, after 15 years of worshipping (about the spelling of which, more later*) according to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, I developed severe withdrawal symptoms from this experience. I found it difficult to pray, with all the words gone wrong and rearranged to mean as little as possible. I trembled often, and couldn't stay in my own lane when I drove. I had it bad.

But then, I discovered this beautiful Lighten Our Darkness choral evensong CD at the Prayer Book Society website.

Evensong for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
Clergy and Choirs of St John's Church, Savannah, Georgia

The Anthems are Non nobis Domine by Byrd & And I saw another angel by Stanford and there are three choirs used, the Church Choir, the Boys and the Girls Choirs. This recording presents a fine example of the most widely loved of all Anglican services, Sung Evensong. It comes from a church with a fine musical tradition as well as an informed commitment to traditional liturgy and music.



I must have played this CD five times a day the first week after I received it. It is fabulous, and revived my soul as nothing else at the time was able to do!

*I cannot help but mention that Anglican worship in America began to go downhill at just the same moment when folks started spelling worshipping and worshipped as worshiping and worshiped. Coincidence? I think not!

How I Got Pissed Off at the Episcopal church ...

Few people know the real story of why I left TEc ...

My parish undertook to swap the Gentlemen's Room with the Ladies' Room, because the former was a larger space, and the Ladies coveted it. Fair enough.

But in the process of the swap, the beautiful antique urinals were simply walled over ... not moved to the new (smaller) Men's Room! Instead, modern rinky-dink Home Depot™ urinals were used. It was a travesty.

"But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first urinals, when the foundation of this new Men's Room was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice ..."

"Who of you is left who saw this Men's Room in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?"