Expecting More on Feast Days

Continuing my “Expecting More” Series of posts, I want to explore how to deepen and enrich the typical Feast Day experience at a typical Episcopal parish. By Feast Day, I mean the Red Letter or bolded Feasts from the BCP. Feast days are an important part of the Christian Life, but too often they are ignored. We need to expect more, but how is that to be accomplished?

First, we have to realize that there are real barriers to people coming to church on weekdays. We have to work around this. Second, expectations have to be announced to Parishioners. Third and importantly, we have to make going to Church on Feast Days an Event, something people want to do.

To this end, these are the days to pull out all the stops. Smells, bells, and holy water this is the time to use them even if you don’t normally. It is also a chance to have the whole daily office in your parish if you don’t normally have that yet.

The Feast begins with the First Vespers on the night before. Unless this is a major feast, one of the twelve with lections appointed to its eve, this need not be too fancy. If on the other hand it is a major feast then treat it like evensong on the day of the Feast as outlined below.

On the day of the feast itself, Morning Prayer, and Noon Prayer are held at the appropriate times.

The time for pulling out the stops comes at Evensong. This service should begin at 6 or 6:30 p.m. so that as many people as possible can come. After the clergy and choir process into the church, and the opening sentence and versicle and response have been said, the phos hilaron is sung while the candels are lighted. Appropriate antiphons should be sung with the Psalms and the Gloria in Excelsis should be sung after the Psalms in place of the final Gloria Patri. After the first lesson, the Te Deum should be sung while incense is offered before the alter (i.e. the alter is censed). Likewise Appropriate antiphons should be sung with the Canticles. A reading from a hagiography of the saint who’s feast it is should follow the appointed lessons from the prayer book.

Evening prayer having lasted about forty minutes, the choir and clergy should then process out. This lets late arrivals get to their seats without disturbing the proceedings. Then the choir and clergy reenter singing the Litany of Thanksgiving. Having arrived at the chancel, the holy water is brought out and the congregation is aspersed while a suitable psalm, hymn or canticle is sung.

Then a Choral Eucharist is held. Again the Gloria in excelsis should be sung after the Psalm. The thurifer should accompany the party to the crossing to read the gospel, so that the scriptures can be censed before they are read. In fact they should not be read, this is the time to chant the gospel. At the celebration of the sacrament, the incense should be used again. After the post communion prayer, the priest’s blessing and the dismissal, wait a moment for those wanting to exit to do so.

Then proceed to Compline. Sing the Psalms with an appropriate antiphon and the Gloria in excelsis. Read the Chapter, pray the prayers, then have the clergy and choir process out to a good hymn.

That is it, two hours and fifteen minutes engaging all of the parishioners senses, the touch of holy water on their cheek, the odor of incense, the sound of the Psalms, Hymns, and Canticles, and the sight of your gorgeous church, reaching their intellect with the sermon and readings and their hearts with the prayers. This it seems to me is how you get your parishioners to come back on Holy Days.

But how do you set the expectation that they should come in the first place. This is why it is important for Ministers to preach on the importance of attending divine services on Feast Days during the week. If their ministers tell them they need to come, then they might come. If the services are scheduled so that parishioners can come, then they might come. But if no expectations are set, they are sure to be meet.