Candidate No: 000648153
TMM2617 Christian Worship: Principles & Practice
Essay
Martha Grace Weatherill
Christian Worship: Principles & Practices
Draft --- Essay
Word Count --- 1290 Words
Question: In what ways does the baptism service of Common Worship differ from that of the Book of Common Prayer (1662)?
Discuss with reference to structure, theology and performance
This essay discusses the differences in the baptism service of Common Worship and the Book of Common Prayer (BCP)1662 in terms of structure, theology and performance.
The BCP views the sacrament of baptism and understands it as a ?moment? model[footnoteRef:1] and it is administered with this view, while Common Worship complements this model by a ?process? or ?journey?
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The parents, adults and candidates who can respond all respond to God?s grace and initiative. For the infants that are unable to respond, the godparents respond on their behalf with the hope that the children will take on that responsibility when they get older.
The contents in Common Worship also affirms that as the church recognises those that have been called by God, and as the church welcomes them into the Christian community, those that are already part of the Christian community are inspired to renew their commitment to the mission of the church of God. Thus affirming that the covenant is God given to infants and adults and the obligation it gives is gradually unfolded.
Common Worship also emphasises the ?social aspect? of baptism and not just the individual aspect of baptism. This is done by an active participation of the gathered congregation in the liturgy thus enabling the congregation to reflect on their role as God?s holy people, prompted to renew their understanding of why they are gathered. The increased participation of the congregation helps to affirm and symbolise that the baptism of the individual is for the whole church and not just for the individual.
Common Worship also has in its liturgy, rites that emphasis the catechumenal process because it makes the stages on the way and it gives the church community the chance of appropriating them.
The theological framework in Common Worship emphasises the reception into the ecumenical
In the Anglican Church baptism starts off by gathering hymns, pslam or anthem depending on the priest. After that is done the priest greets the community as respect. The Collect of the day is prayed and other prayers as well. After this the priest talks about the lesson from the scriptures which most often are from the bible , then they will be a presentation and examination of the candidate then the baptismal covenant is prayed to bless the baby towards the end they also pray prayers of thanksgiving and the priest will bless the baby over the water. When the baby is washed with the water the prayers of consecration over oils is prayed after this the
Baptism has many inextricable ties to the beliefs that are held so very tightly by the Christian church and its adherents. It is one of the many traditions of the faith that seeks to express aspects of the religion that are essential to its practice. Baptism is linked to beliefs about: spiritual rebirth through Christ who seeks to cleanse and purify each individual from their sins, admission into the Christian Church and its mission, faith in the Holy Trinity, particularly in the power of the Holy Spirit which seeks to bring knowledge of God to the world as well as the need for salvation from eternal damnation as emphasised in Lewis Sperry Chafer’s book Major Bible Themes which states that: “...baptism when practiced can be no more than an expression of faith and the hope...that the child will ultimately be saved.” Baptism also highlights the Christian beliefs based on faith and repentance-reconciling with God and accepting one’s role as His son/daughter, participation in the life, death and resurrection of Christ by being able to partake in celebrating His sacrifice for mankind, and finally the forgiveness of sins- turning towards a life filled with God’s guidance and righteous presence.
Worship is the primary action of the church. Those who are part of it assemble together to sing, pray, remember Christ, listen to the Scriptures, and contribute to the Lord’s causes (Acts 2:42, 47; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). It is one of the church’s primary purposes, and it is crucial for its worship to be in harmony with the Scriptures. In Lutheranism, worship is a spiritual exercise that outwardly expresses itself as an acceptance of God’s gift to humans (Jacobs 551). Lutherans
Community is a grounding principle of Black worship, understood by African-Americans as an encounter involving God, the worshiper, and the broader community. For them worship is not primarily the expression of one's private devotion to God, but is rather a community event. It is the "eschatological invasion of God into the gathered community of
The most common Christian rituals and practices are baptism, worship services, prayers, communion, evangelism, marriage, ordination and healing.The
Often held as a rite of passage and entrance into the Christian church, baptism is much more than just symbolic ritual. Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission recounted in the book of Matthew. Even though we are simplistically called to be obedient by being baptized the Christian church has long debated the aspects of this ordinance. Denominations are divided on the basic meaning, types and modes of baptism even two thousand years after the founding of the Christian church. Just as the other ordinance, the Lord’s Supper, congregations find themselves at odd with tradition, biblical interpretation and even individual understanding. However, the simple message of this awe inspiring act can be explained out of the
While infant baptism occurs in Catholicism and these denominations, the pressure on these denominations is very different from that of their catholic counterpart. The Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodoxy all believe baptism isn’t merely a symbol of Christ, but that the act actually conveys grace in itself. In addition to three Eastern churches, Lutherans and Methodists also practice baptism. Lutherans believe it is Christians’ duty to baptize children, as the bible states in Matthew 28:19 that Christians must go forth and baptize those around the world. Methodists are similar to Catholics in that they believe baptism is symbolic, rather than actually denoting and giving grace itself, yet differ in that they don’t think it cleanses humans of original
The reality of full churches and choir stalls, lively Sunday schools, and overflowing basements is dead in today's Church. The unexpected has happened. Christ's followers, gripped by fear, are now scattered, or remain silent. Parishes, at worst, carry on blindly, or at best, look for comfortable compromises and expediency. They ignore cultural diversity in general. The rhetoric of denial continues to pour out of parish bulletins, newsletters, and diocesan and national journals. It is status quo.
In a contemporary Christian environment one of the most prominent practices to have a significant contribution to Christianity as a living religious tradition is Baptism. Baptism is of utmost importance for most Christian denominations. It has profound significance for the individual who is baptised and is also important for the Christian community as a whole. As a sacrament of initiation, Baptism calls its adherents to become missionary Disciples of Christ. It is through baptism that one’s faith journey begins and Christians are called to follow and live their lives in the light of Christ.
In his book The Archetypal God and The Baptism of Jesus (LifeRich Publishing, 2016), Pastor John C’ de Baca wants to clear up any misunderstanding that have arisen from the act. And the job also comes with exposing the teachings of modern Christian churches that preach Jesus sought baptism from John to show
In the following paper I will be in detail explaining the academic experience of visiting and observing a Roman Catholic Church and lastly I will shortly also incorporate the theory of Emile Durkheim and the Roman Catholic Church I completed a field study on. For my site visit I visited St Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, North Carolina off of Suther road near the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I started to look up different churches in the area of Catholic churches in Charlotte and this was the first church to appear to me on the internet. I decided to go to the 9:30 mass or also called a liturgy on a Sunday. I did look over the churches scheduled masses and they had them everyday of the week. I arrived there about ten minutes before 9:30 dressed appropriately in a skirt and a dressy shirt, so that I could follow and respect the instructions of the pamphlet that the church provided online. I parked my car and gathered my tablet and sat in the back pews, so that I could take notes quietly. Before the service started I looked over the papers and booklet that the church provided to see what it included. The booklet included a letter from the priest, readings for the week from the bible, hymnals from the Vatican, mass intentions, prayer requests, stewardships, ministries, confirmations, and the priests and deacons as follows Rev. Patrick Winslow, Rev. Jason Christian, Rev. Matthew Kauth, and Deacons Rev. Mr. James Witulski, Rev. Mr. Joseph Diaz.
Throughout the course of organized religion both present and past, ritualistic acts of praise and worship have been practiced as a sign of both love and honor to God. Catholicism refers to these rituals as sacraments. As Christians and members of this faith, the first sacrament received by each member is Baptism. This sacrament has not only been practiced since the beginning of our faith, but has deep meaning and symbolic ties to the start of creation with Adam and Eve. I hope to prove through both illustration and published works how Baptism as a sacrament is both a sign and symbol of humanities desire to become closer to God by cleansing them of original sin through this ritual and rite of passage.
A model of liturgy implemented by Europeans and Americans missionaries can be observed in the HCC, where each hymn relates to a specific passage of the Scripture. The inclusion of the biblical text in the hymnal reinforces the concept of the regulative principle supported by Baptists and other Protestant denominations in the United States. Moreover, the style of Baptist worship service developed in America is similar to Baptist Brazilian churches. James F. White suggests that “Christian worship has been extremely associated with liturgical characteristics, which could lead people to conclude that liturgy works as a process in Christian worship.” The philosophy of worship and the practice of congregational singing adopted in America had a
In its confessions, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) expresses the faith of the Reformed tradition. Central to this tradition is the affirmation of the majesty, holiness and providence of God who creates, sustains, rules and redeems the world in the freedom of sovereign righteousness and love. Related to this central affirmation of God’s sovereignty are other great themes of the Reformed tradition. Worship in a Presbyterian congregation, its shape and content, is determined by the pastor and the session, the church’s governing body. It generally includes prayer, music, Bible reading and a sermon based upon scripture. The Sacraments, a time of personal response/offering and a sharing of community concerns are also parts of worship.
The development of Catholic understanding is expressed through Cristian doctrines and features of Catholic communal life. Catholic Christianity raises and attempts to answer questions of ultimate meaning and value through “rule of faith” and Catholic worship. Sacraments are a part of Catholic worship as they are involved in the liturgical life within church. The rule of faith is a community’s measurement of someone’s faith. The kerygma is six discourses that are referred to as “proclamation” and summarize Christian faith (125). Some of the ultimate meaning and value questions include: what is the ultimate meaning of Jesus Christ; what is the ultimate meaning behind baptism; and how is the liturgy a part of Catholic value these questions will be answered through information provided in Cunningham’s text.