merefaith: discipleship in the ruins of empire

The prayer corner in our house contains a hodgepodge of materials. I understand that the Eastern Orthodox refer to their devotional spaces as icon corners because they are dominated by the display of these beautiful "windows of heaven." I prefer the designation "prayer corner," because, well, that's the focus of such a space anyways. Our three little icons from Egypt couldn't exercise hegemony over the corner as it is! But we do have several crosses and a couple of prayer beads. Ultimately, being Reformation-rooted Western Christians, and because we're such bibliophiles, the real center of our corner is the short shelf of devotional literature. Naturally, a couple of Bibles remain in place, as well as a few classics of evangelical piety. Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest takes its place here - as, by the way, it also does on occasion during morning prayer at the local Episcopal Church. The regulars take turns giving short homilies (since we've become regulars, Kelly has been assigned next week), and one of them insists on using Chambers during his time. Just another tidbit of grassroots ecumenism. But I digress.

We love prayer books and, as a result, they constitute the bulk of the literature in that space. And, given the history of different traditions' typical practices, the prayer books stem from the "high" churches and the magisterial Reformation - Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic. The reasons that the Radical Reformation churches have generally shied from such resources are well known: intentional focus on the primary study of Scripture and suspicion of "rigid forms" over "heart worship." Among some early Baptist churches, notably the "founder" John Smyth and, later, the General Baptist Thomas Lambe at the Bell Alley Church in London, even the text of the Bible was set aside after being read at the beginning. This was done so that the "spirit" of the words could be focused upon during worship. I also suspect a third reason for the lack of prayer books: many of the Free Churches either focused their evangelism upon, or had the greatest success, with less-educated and impoverished populations. Even today, Pentecostalism, now the most successful Free Church form, spreads most readily among those who have less share in the things of this world and so long for a greater share of the Spirit.

But there is nothing inherent to the baptistic project that precludes drawing upon the resources of a prayer book, while there is much that commends such practice. I have already mentioned how the origin of the Anabaptists was a kind of generalization of monastic practice. Meanwhile, if the original communitarian vision held by Baptists is to reassert itself, the one that speaks of the Church as God's gathered assembly, then there is every justification for praying in step with others and for taking up aids to piety and worship outside of one's own thoughts or ingenuity.

I am, of course, not the first person to understand this. Not by a long shot. Gathering for Worship, the British Baptist service book that I have praised previously, is the third in a line of worship aids stretching back over several decades. This wonderful resource has now been joined by another from our theological cousins the Mennonites. Last year Herald Press, the publishing arm of Mennonite Church USA, released Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer Book, Ordinary Time. Given that there will be latent suspicions about "forms," one may not be surprised that this book is only so ambitious. As the title suggests, the prayer cycle it creates is intended for the season between Pentecost and Advent (however, a second volume for the high seasons is apparently in the works). Being Anabaptist, it thoroughly focuses on the life and example of Jesus Christ. The four-week plan focuses on the Lord's Prayer, then the Beatitudes, then the parables, and finally the miracles. The prayers are "Scripture-saturated" (as any good prayer book should be, I think) and the pattern of themes takes on an "Anabaptist coloration." At the same time, its publication exemplifies a catholic spirit of engagement with the broader Christian tradition. It should be arriving in the mail today and I look forward to making personal remarks about its contents later.

In the meantime, here are a couple of reviews from the Herald Press web site:

"It is a blessing to have a prayer book rooted in our common Christian tradition of morning and evening prayer. It is unabashedly Anabaptist while employing the best elements of Christian prayer from other ancient and contemporary Christian sources. The layout is simple and clear and holds to a consistent pattern." - Father Andrew D. Ciferni, O.Praem., Daylesford Abbey, Paoli, Pa.

"A superb prayer book! The editors have done an outstanding job choosing texts and hymns and writing prayers and forms to establish substantial patterns of prayer. Their language is that of the universal church, so this publication knits its users to Christians throughout time and space. I pray that this volume will be used widely and well." - Marva J. Dawn, author of Reaching Out without Dumbing Down.

You can also read another Roman Catholic reader's comments here at the Bridgefolk web site.

Labels: Discipleship, Ecumenism, Liturgy

Posted by Chris Schelin on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at Thursday, July 17, 2008 | Permalink