Liturgical Highlight :: Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And Blessed be His Kingdom, Now and Forever
Like the majority of people in our church, I was new to Anglicanism the first time I came to Wellspring. In fact, I had never heard of Anglicanism before I came to Wellspring. And so it has been a joy over the last 10 years to dive into the deep well of our liturgy and to realize how intentional and formational it truly is. I love talking about the flow and structure of our liturgical worship and I am continually struck by different elements at different times. The liturgy is broken up into four sections: Gather, Word, Table, and Sending. The prayers and tone may change depending on the church season, but these four pillars remain.
The “Gather” section actually begins with the choice to show up, to prioritize worship, to leave behind the millions of other things we could be doing to set apart this hour and fifteen minutes as holy and important. This truth always sticks out to me - that in a society where we have a million choices of how to spend our precious time and energy, just showing up for church (whether in person or online) is actually our first act of worship.
After we come together with a call to worship (our first song), the first spoken word in the service is called the Acclamation: “Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” and we respond with, “And blessed be His Kingdom, now and forever.” This is to be the lens through which we understand our entire worship service, but also the lens through which we see everything else in our lives. Before we hear God’s word, before the sermon, before the conviction of sin through the confession and the receiving of God’s provision at the Table, before we are sent out into the world, we praise God’s name and we acknowledge His Kingdom above all else.
And this is such an important and helpful framework for our lives. The lens we look through to help us navigate whatever we are going through is the rule and reign of our King. The uncertainty and fragility of 2020 has revealed more than ever how little control we have. We look around and we see a divided nation and a divided church, we see loss of life and loss of jobs, we see injustice and burnout and disappointment and frustration. In my own life I feel the tension of gratitude for this baby girl I’m carrying, for the family and community and church I’m part of, and yet the grieving for so much that has been taken away, for the pain and anger that so many are experiencing. And yet I hold onto the truth that God is worthy to be praised and that his Kingdom is not of this world. The Acclamation gives me language and assurance that God rules and reigns and is working to form us and transform us as Kingdom people even when we don’t understand or don’t feel like we can see it. We can rest in the truth and power of the words of the Acclamation: “Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and blessed be His Kingdom, now and forever.”
I pray that you would rest in this truth, no matter what you are experiencing right now. That you would be anchored in the reality that God is ruler over all, that He is in control, and that His Kingdom has no end and will come to fruition!
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Are you interested in learning more about Anglicanism? You can find more resources on our website. We will also be hosting a Catechism class in the spring of 2021, from January 12th - May 4th. You can register here, or reach out to me, Katie Gayle, with any questions.
-Katie
