Yesterday I attended three services that included communiion. Two were held at St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco. It is an Episcopal Church started in 1978 by two professors from Yale who decided to return to pastoral ministry. One of the professors, so I understand, had the backing of a family foundation that funded much of the early work. They began meeting in another church, but after experiencing some growth bought the property where the present church is located. I’d been told by a professor at Princeton last year that I should visit this church if I was interested in seeing communion done in a different way.
The church is an inclusive church, not just in the makeup of those who worshiped, but in the symbols used to decorate the sanctuary, which consisted of two large rooms joined together. In some ways the sanctuary reminded me of an Eastern Orthodox Church with its many icons and symbols. But there were also symbols like a menorah that seemed to honor other faith traditions. When it came time for communion worshipers went from that part of the room where we were seated into a large open room where the communion table was located. We were taught a simple dance step, similar to what I imagined a Shaker might use, and as we sang we put our arm on the shoulder of the person in front of us and we “danced” into the other room until we had surrounded the communion table. Now we were not the only ones dancing. In the room where the communion table was set up there are paintings on the walls and ceiling of the room. (see photo). These are the dancing saints. They included person from long ago like Barnabas and Moses, but also persons who have lived recently like Thomas Merton and Margaret Mead. One saint did not have his halo, Desmond Tutu, because he hasn’t yet died. At the center of these paintings or icons was Jesus who was also depicted as dancing. I would classify this as the strangest thing I’ve seen while visiting churches on Sabbatical. I can’t say the service was especially meaningful, and yet I did take away from the service a sense that we are far too somber when we come to the Lord’s Table. While I’m not ready to start dancing, I hope I will remember that it is a feast, a gathering of joy that remembers the power of God to turn death into life, the power of God to heal and save us. At this table all the saints do gather, and I’ll bet in God’s presence there may be a few “happy feet.”
Last evening I attended a Eucharist at Grace Cathedral. It was held on the indoor labyrinth at the Cathedral. The assistant rector, Lauren Artress, is largely responsible for having revived the use of the labyrinth as a tool of spiritual formation back in modern times. I was a little disappointed that the communion service did not include the use of the labyrinth, except that the table was set up in the center of the labyrinth and we all set around it for the worship.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been putting my thoughts and experiences together, re-reading notes from books and travel, and thinking about how all this has changed my understanding of myself and the church. It has been amazing how one experience has connected to another, how one internal conflict has found some resolution through the next thing I’ve seen or read. I found it interesting when I entered the sanctuary yesterday morning at St Gregory’s and saw all the paintings I immediately thought of the frescos that were painted over or removed from the walls of churches after the Reformation. And I thought of the frescos on the walls of the Catacombs in Rome. I wondered how our faith might be expressed were we to try and depict it in some art form.
Many things to think about and ponder, not just the next couple of weeks but hopefully for a long time after I get back into the daily joy of ministry.