The Western Rite, Part 2, The Service of the Word

Service of the Word

This is the oldest part of the service. Many authorities (Reed, Pfatteicher, Strey) describe worship in the early church beginning with a simple greeting, and then the pattern of readings from the synagogue would follow: a reading from the law, a psalm, and a reading from the prophets. To this, readings from the letters and the “memoirs of the apostles” (Justin Martyr’s term for the gospels) were added. Old Testament readings later were reduced to one, and still later disappeared altogether with some exceptions (Epiphany).

In the mid-twentieth century, the use of the Old Testament and psalms were restored to use with the Historic Lectionary (See Service Book and Hymnal, 1958). The post-Vatican II lectionary and ILCW lectionary expanded the readings to a three-year series, still based on the traditional church year, with Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings, along with prescribed psalms. (See note on the Revised Common Lectionary below.)

In modern practice there is very little variation between denominations and traditions in the Service of the Word. Reading selections may vary, but the pattern of First Reading, Psalm, Second Reading, Gospel Acclamation (Alleluia Verse or Gradual) and Gospel seem to be widespread.

The Salutation often precedes the Prayer of the Day.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Some have called the Salutation “the little ordination.” In worship we give the officiant the privilege to lead us in prayer. The congregation’s response is sometimes rendered “and with your spirit,” (from the Latin “et cum spirito tuo.”) It is meant to be a greeting bewteen pastor and people. We do not know for certain what the “simple greeting” was in the worship of the early church. It could have been “The Lord be with you, and with your spirit.” It could have been the apostolic greeting, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. And with your spirit.” We know that the latter was sometimes used in the preface dialogue before Holy Communion in early liturgies.

Collect / Prayer of the Day

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come, that by your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by your mighty deliverance; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collects have been written throughout the history of the church. Some scholars have said, “The shorter they are, the older they are.” For information on the structure of collects see Anatomy of a Collect.

The readings below are for the First Sunday in Advent from the Historic Lectionary.

First Reading

The First Reading is from the twenty-third chapter of Jeremiah.

Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
who will reign wisely as king
and establish justice and righteousness on earth.
⁶In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is his name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.

⁷So, mark my words, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no longer be said, “As surely as the Lord lives who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,” ⁸but, “as surely as the Lord lives who brought up the descendants of the house of Israel and led them out of a land in the north and from all the countries where I had driven them.” Then they will dwell in their own land. (Jeremiah 23:5-8, EHV)

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord’s
and everything that fills it,
the world and all who live in it,
²because he founded it on the seas,
and he established it on the rivers.
³Who may go up to the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
whose soul is not set on what is false,
who does not swear deceitfully.
⁵He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God who saves him.
⁶Such are the people of Jacob who look for the Lord,
who seek your face.
⁷Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift yourselves up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.
⁸Who is this King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.
¹⁰Who is he, this King of Glory?
The Lord of Armies—he is the King of Glory.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

Second Reading

The Second Reading is from the thriteenth chapter of Romans.

And do this since you understand the present time. It is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹²The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near. So let us put away the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. ¹³Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual sin and wild living, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh. (Romans 13:11-14, EHV)

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Gradual

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Let no one who waits on you
be ashamed, O Lord
Show me your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths. (Psalm 25:3-4)
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Gospel

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-first chapter.
Glory be to you, O Lord.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Immediately you will find a donkey tied there along with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

⁶The disciples went and did just as Jesus commanded them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their outer clothing on them, and he sat on it. ⁸A very large crowd spread their outer clothing on the road. Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them out on the road. ⁹The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting,

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest! (Matthew 21:1-9, EHV)

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to you, O Christ.

Advocates of the Historic Lectionary point to the series rising organically from the early church. Most of the readings date back to St. Jerome and his Comes from around the year 471. Some selections in the Historic Lectionary suggest switches (judging by the readings from 1 Peter, Misericordias Domini may have originally been Easter 4 instead of Easter 3) and some brief and incomplete Lectio Continua in the Epistles suggest remnants of longer series. The -gesima Sundays suggest a remnant of a longer Lenten season. Practically, a one-year series has advantages for faith formation in worship–working with the memory of the hearers by repeating readings each year.

The three-year lectionary came about as the result of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) when a three-year series was suggested using Matthew, Mark and Luke as the basis for the Gospel selections for the three years, with John filling in some gaps in Mark and elsewhere. Originally, some Lectio Continua remained in the Epistles. The goal of a three-year lectionary was to increase the amount of Scripture read in worship, from two readings each for about sixty Sundays and festivals repeated each year, to three readings and a psalm each for about 180 Sundays and festivals over the course of three years.

The Revised Common Lectionary has made the three-year series truly ecumenical, being used or adapted by many denominations. For more information on the Revised Common Lectionary and to view readings and charts, see this site from Vanderbilt University.

For more information on the Historic Lectionary, see this site, Lectionary Central.

A paper by Pastor Alex Ring compares the developments of the Historic and Three-Year (ILCW) Lectionaries.

Sermon

There is much that could be said here about the history of preaching and the role of the sermon in the service. In some points of Church history, preaching or a homily had a minor role in the service. At first, the sermon was a few comments after the reading of the Gospel. After the Reformation, following the educational reforms of Martin Luther, and following the example of his own preaching, the Sermon took on a greater role. The Sermon is educational–and for some, it may be the only instruction in the Word of God they will hear in the course of a week. The Sermon is devotional, delighting in the truths of God. The Sermon is formative, impressing the same truths from the readings on our hearts and minds yet again. The rest of the liturgy is not merely a frame for the Sermon. Rather, rite, song, Scripture, creed, prayer, and sacrament are all parts of a whole–the Divine Service, God himself, presenting us with the gifts of his grace.

Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
(The text of the Nicene Creed is from http://www.englishtexts.org)

The Creed is a reflection of the doctrine of the Means of Grace. The Word of God has created the Creed as the response of God’s people to his Word. It’s recitation is a delightful and an exciting confession of faith. It is a response of faith in his Word, a faith formed and fashoined by that Word. As we recite it, we are also saying to one another, “You’re not alone! This is what I believe, too, in union not only with you, but with the church universal for the last 2000 years.“

Traditionally the Apostles’ Creed is the individual’s baptismal creed, hence the pronoun I.

The Nicene Creed is the confession of the church collectively, hence the pronoun We. It is the confession of the church militant in her battles for the truth and against heresy. When the creed was sung, the officiant sang the first line by himself, similar to the practice in the Gloria. (See Deutschlander, The Western Rite.)

Prayer of the Church / Prayers of the People

Jesus Christ, Righteous Branch of David, come to us and reign in our hearts.

To you, Lord our God, we lift up our souls. We trust in you. Show us your ways.

Awaken us by your Holy Spirit. Release our feet from the devil’s snares and clothe us with your righteousness.

To you, Lord our God, we lift up our souls. We trust in you. Show us your ways.

Forgive us our sins. Instruct us to follow your ways. Deliver us from all our enemies.

To you, Lord our God, we lift up our souls. We trust in you. Show us your ways.

Relieve those who are troubled in heart and free them from their anguish. [We pray especially for…] Guard their lives and rescue them, for they take refuge in you.

To you, Lord our God, we lift up our souls. We trust in you. Show us your ways.

Special prayers and intercessions may follow.

Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions.

Silent prayer.

Hosanna! Save us now, Jesus, Son of David. As you once came to your people clothed in human flesh, you come also to us clothed in your holy Word. Remember us. Be present with us day by day, and make us ready for your day of salvation; you live and reign, now and forever.
Amen.

The Mass of the Catechumens ended with the Sermon after the Gospel. A few brief prayers for the catechumens or penitents were prayed, and then they were dismissed. The baptized faithful remained, which is where the term “Prayers of the Faithful” comes from.

There was a time when the concerns of the congregation were prayed about within the Great Thanksgiving in the Service of the Sacrament. There are many Prayers of the Church (also called the Prayers of the People or the Prayers of the Faithful). Some are written as seasonal prayers. The prayer above is written specifically for the First Sunday in Advent in the Historic Lectionary.

One worship book gives these directions for the Prayers, with the intention that the presider will write or gather petitions for the occasion:

Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

Prayers are included for the whole church, the nation, those in need, the parish, special concerns.

The congregation may be invited to offer petitions and thanksgivings.

Prayers of confession may be included if the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness has not been used earlier.

The minister gives thansk for the faithful departed, especially for those who recently have died.

After each portion of the prayers:

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

The prayers conclude:

Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978.

The Western Rite, Part 1: Confession / Lord, Have Mercy / Glory to God in the Highest

During September of 2023 we will look at the Western Rite.

The Oxford Dictionary defines rite as: “a religious or other solemn ceremony or act. ‘the rite of communion.'”

A stricter definition used by liturgists is a rite is words that are spoken (or sung) in worship. Ceremony is actions or gestures used in worship.

The Western Rite isn’t a single rite, but more of a pattern of words and songs that many denominations and traditions follow. The Roman Catholic Mass, the Lutheran Divine Service or Gottesdienst, the Anglican / Episcopalian Eucharist are all variations of the Western Rite.

Some denominations / traditions consider the Confiteor / Confession a part of the service. Some consider it separate, with the service proper beginning with the Kyrie. This is why the opening / processional hymn is sometimes before the confession, sometimes after. Modern Roman Catholic usage sometimes combines the Confession with the Kyrie.

The confessional rite is based on the private prayers a priest would pray in preparation for the mass and while putting on vestments (Reed, p. 256). Among Lutherans, private confession was still used in the early years, and public rites of confession began to appear in the 1530s (Reed, p. 258). This is a relatively late addition to the Western Rite.

The invocation is the same phrase spoken at baptism–the words that connect us with God’s name. We approach our God as his people, baptized into his name, cleansed with Christ’s blood. The sign of the cross is also a reminder of baptism. “Receive the sign of the cross on the head and heart + to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” The invocation also reminds us whose work we are here to do. We worship in God’s name.

This is how we approach our God. Like the father of the prodigal, our heavenly Father awaits us with open arms.

We hear God’s forgiveness proclaimed, again, because of the life and work of our Savior Jesus.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins to God, our Father, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. (Hebrews 10:22)

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess to you all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended you, and justly deserved your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them, and I pray of your boundless mercy, and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Source: Saxon Church Order of 1581, translation based on The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941. For German original, follow this link.

There are many forms of confession and absolution. We confess what we are. We confess what we have done. We know what we deserve and what we would get if we approached a holy God alone. We are not beating ourselves up–we are stating facts. Here is another fact: Jesus Christ suffered and died to bear our sin and take it away. We plead for God’s mercy for the sake of Christ.

In the ancient church, an introit was sung at this point. Introit means entrance. Most introits were short chants composed from psalms or other parts of Scripture, concluding with the Gloria Patri and then repeating the opening verse. Here is the introit for the first Sunday in Advent:

Antiphon:
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.*
O my God, I trust in you; Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.*
Let no one who waits on you be ashamed. (Psalm 25:1-3a)

Psalm:
Show me your ways, O Lord;*
          teach me your paths.
[For you are the God of my salvation;*
          on you I wait all the day.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,*
          for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, O God,*
          out of all their troubles.] (Psalm 25:4-5, 21-22)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,*
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,*
is now and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon:
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.*
O my God, I trust in you; Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.*
Let no one who waits on you be ashamed. (Psalm 25:1-3a)

Source: Sanctus, November 27, 2022. Psalm 25:5 and 21-22 are not part of the original Introit.

Martin Luther suggested a spiritual song or a psalm be sung in German instead of the introits (https://history.hanover.edu/texts/luthserv.html, also Luther Reed in The Lutheran Liturgy, p. 262). It is likely he reccommended this because the introits were fragments, and the thematic connection with the readings was sometimes unclear. Much earlier in church history, the practice of singing whole psalms as entrance hymns or as interludes between Scripture readings was widespread (Reed, p. 261) .

Some churches sing an entrance hymn here. Some sing it before the invocation.

The Kyrie originally had the form of a short litany. Here is Kyrie, Orbis Factor, one of nine Kyrie litanies used in Sarum which can be viewed at this link.

Maker of the world, King eternal,
have mercy on us.

Fount of boundless pity,
have mercy on us.

Drive away from us all that is harmful,
have mercy on us.

Christ, the Light of the world, giver of life,
have mercy on us.

Look on those wounded by the craft of the devil;
have mercy on us.

You preserve those who believe in you, and you strengthen them,
have mercy on us.

Your Father, you, and the Spirit proceeding from both,
have mercy on us.

We know you to be one God, and three persons,
have mercy on us.

Be present with us, Counselor, that we may live in you,
have mercy on us.

Source: The Sarum Missal in English, Part II, Alcuin Club Collections, No. XI

Another Kyrie litany, taken from the fourth century Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, is in wide use today among Lutherans:

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace from above,
and for our salvation,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For peace to the whole world,
for the well being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house,
and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.

From Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978.

The more basic three, six or ninefold Kyrie is a remnant of the earlier Kyrie litanies (Reed, p. 269).

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The purpose of the Kyrie at the beginning of the service, long or short, is to cast all our cares and needs before the Lord. The common Kyrie above (“In peace let us pray to the Lord…”) has the repeated theme of peace. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). The Means of Grace, the gospel in Word and Sacrament that we are about to receive, are the only place we will find the peace we seek, because there alone we find Jesus, his Word, his forgivness, his restoration and peace.

The Gloria in Excelsis is the main song of praise in the Western Rite. It came from the Greek church as a song used in Morning Prayer / Matins as early as the second or third centuries. By the 500s it started to be used in the western church, first in the main service at Christmas, then at other high festivals, and then in regular usage.

It begins with the song of the Christmas angels:

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Many consider the first two lines to be an antiphon, and in modern practice, it is often used as a repeated refrain. Originally the officiant would chant the first line, “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (“Glory to God in the highest”) and the congregation would join in the rest, “et in terra pax…” (“and on earth peace…”). This is why the Gloria is sometimes referred to as “Et in terra…” (And on earth…”)

The song of the angels has a parallel structure to it. The ELLC’s translation brings it out very clearly. In the birth, life, and work of Christ, glory is given to God. Peace is given to people.

The first stanza of the song is directed to God the Father, and praises God for who he is:

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

The second stanza is directed to God the Son, and praises him for both who he is and what he does. The second stanza also has the character of the Kyrie, “Have mercy on us.” “Receive our prayer.” Ancient songs and psalms sometimes put the central thought in the center of the song, and here is the center of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who bears our sin.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

The third stanza brings the song to its highest point, again praising God for who he is. The third stanza is trinitarian, emphasizing that we worship one God, one Lord, who is Most High, revealed as “Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.”

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Gloria in Excelsis is very credal. It confesses truths about God, his attributes, and his works.

A rendering of the Latin text for Choir and Orchestra

Glory to God in the Highest from Marty Haugen’s Mass of Creation. English text, presented in a liturgical folk style.

The Gloria is often omitted during Advent and Lent. That tradition came about as a fast for the ears in preparation for the exuberance of Christmas and Easter.

Among Lutherans it may be replaced by the Canticle “Worthy is Christ” / Dignus est agnus during the Sundays of Easter.

Refrain:
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

1 Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God. [Refrain]

2 Power, riches, wisdom and strength,
and honor, blessing and glory are his. [Refrain]

3 Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation.

4 Blessing, honor, glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen. [Refrain]

For the Lamb who was slain
has begun his reign. Alleluia. [Refrain]

The Gloria had this thought at the center: “Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.” The canticle Worthy is Christ is taken from phrases in Revelation 5, 15 and 19, and praises Christ as the Lamb who was slain, who made us his people by his blood, and lives and reigns over his church.

The Western Rite

The Western Rite is a term for the order of service used in many churches. It is called Western to distinguish it from the Eastern Rite (Churches in the “Orthodox” tradition, Greek, Russian, Armenian, etc.).

The Order of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church, the Order of Holy Communion or the Common Service in the Lutheran Church, and the Holy Eucharist in Anglican and Episcopal churches are all versions of or derived from the Western Rite.

Nearly every version of the Western Rite follows this outline:

Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Service of the Word
- Prayer/Collect of the Day
- Readings
  - First Reading
  - Psalm
  - Second Reading
  - Gospel Acclamation / Verse / Alleluia
  - Gospel
- Sermon
Credo
Sursum Corda, Preface (Anaphora)
Sanctus
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lord’s Prayer
Verba (Words of Institution)
Agnus Dei
Communion
Dismissal/Blessing

Featured Prayers: Advent

Advent 3

Scroll through all our Advent prayers at this link: https://acollectionofprayers.com/tag/advent/

Advent Rites

Rites for the Lighting of an Advent Wreath

The “O Antiphons”

“Stir Up” Prayers

Collects for Advent

First Sunday in Advent
- (Historic) (Mozarabic) (Veit Dietrich) (Stratman)
Second Sunday in Advent
- (Historic) (Mozarabic) (Veit Dietrich) (Stratman)
Third Sunday in Advent
- (Historic) (Mozarabic) (Veit Dietrich) (Stratman)
Fourth Sunday in Advent
- (Historic) (Mozarabic) (Veit Dietrich) (Stratman)

Other Prayers for Advent

General Prayers for Advent:

Next: Featured Prayers: Christmas

Featured Prayers: Last Sunday of the Church Year

There are two traditions for the theme of the Last Sunday of the Church Year.

Image result for parable ten virgins tissot

The older tradition is the emphasis of End Time and its transition into Advent. In the Historic Lutheran Lectionary, the Gospel for the Last Sunday of the Church Year was the parable of the ten virgins, with the emphasis on readiness for Christ’s return. Sometimes this was called “Sunday of the Fulfillment.” (See Wikipedia article on Totensonntag.)

The newer tradition is the observance of Christ the King, which is also fitting. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of all things. Often Christ the King has a passion emphasis, which shows us that Christ as King is not always what we would expect. The Passion Gospels are an opportunity to proclaim the Theology of the Cross. Even as King, Christ suffered, and he revealed the glory of his love in his suffering. As his loyal subjects, we can expect suffering in the world, too.

Prayer Resources for Christ the King

A Worship Stylesheet

Stylesheet

When preparing worship materials, how you print something is important to communicate what is happening in worship. The suggestions below are based on practices in several modern hymnals and worship books. The rites and prayers on this website follow the principles described below.

Directions or Rubrics

In ancient times, worship books put directions or descriptions in red, which is why they were called rubrics. Even when a book or service folder is printed with only black ink, the use of italics can indicate a direction. Somewhere I read that the slant and added detail in italic type make the eye slow down–ideal for making people pay attention to a direction or description.

Stand

Be seated

Silent prayer

Special prayers or intercessions may be made.

Dialogues

Worship often has dialogues between pastor/leader and people. This can be communicated with regular type for the leader and bold type for the group.

While initials can be used, they take up space, and the page looks more elegant without them. Compare…

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
All that is within me, bless his holy name.

with…

P: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
C: All that is within me, bless his holy name.

Older books often had even more written out:

Minister: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Congregation: The maker of heaven and earth.

When a congregation sees bold type, people instantly know that it’s their part and that they should read it. No announcement is necessary. My congregation prints out funeral services this way with no indicators for Minister or Congregation (M: or C:) and no special announcement, and the congregation of mostly visitors knows right away that they are supposed to read the parts in bold.

Since dialogues are often in couplets (the group answers the leader) print the dialogue in couplets. It will help show the connections. It also saves some space. Compare this…

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give him thanks and praise.

With this…

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

Titles / Section Headings

Since congregation parts are printed in bold, you must be careful when printing titles. Some books use all caps to distinguish titles from text that is intended to be read:

APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

In social media, all caps are often interpreted as shouting. Other methods of indicating titles are to use a larger size, or a larger size with a different font. Using corresponding fonts can avoid a clash of styles. Fonts are discussed below.

CreedTitle

Confusing the Typographical Language

It’s tempting to put the Lord’s Prayer or the Twenty-third Psalm in italics because it looks pretty. This should be avoided since it confuses the typographical language. If you establish the habit of using italics for directions, what does it mean when other text is in italics?

“But it looks pretty…”

That leads us to the thought about type styles. There are many artistic fonts available. Some imitate calligraphy, brush lettering, or Gothic lettering from an old book. Use those to make your own cover art with a short Bible passage, hymn stanza or prayer. Standard Roman style fonts are best for readability.

Some recommended fonts are:

Times New Roman (Good regular/bold contrast. Very basic. Some might say too basic! Italics are true italics, and more interesting than the regular.)
Linux Libertine (Roman-style font with some nice nuances. It is used for headings in Wikipedia. It is made to go with…)
Linux Biolinium (A sans-serif font with the same dimensions as Linux Libertine. Thin/thick lines correspond to Libertine.)
Merriweather (Similar to Linux Libertine, only it’s about 1.5 points bigger than it says it is. It is made to go with…)
Merriweather Sans. (Same font shapes only with uniform lines and no serifs.)
PT Serif (Another Roman-style font with nice nuances. It is made to go with…)
PT Sans (a corresponding sans version)
Palatino (Palladio and Book Antiqua are clones of Palatino) (Roman-style font with some calligraphic qualities.)
Century Schoolbook (for a very old-fashioned look)
EB Garamond (Very clear and stately. See the note on The Book of Common Prayer below.)
Libre Baskerville (This website uses Libre Baskerville because it has good contrast between regular and bold, and the italic is distinct from regular and looks good in black and in red. It was designed to look good on a computer screen, but prints very clearly, too.)

All of the above are available for free on the Internet. (https://www.dafont.com, https://fonts.google.com/) Download a few and test readability of different fonts with your worship materials as sample text. Test the contrast between regular and bold. See how the italics look. Are they true italics or just the same font slanted? It makes a difference in the look of your materials and the clarity of your directions.

Does the font draw attention to itself? Ornamental fonts say, “Look at me! I’m cool and curly!” (An old liturgy book in my denomination was printed entirely in something close to Goudy Bookletter 1911. It wasn’t the easiest to read.) More basic fonts are better for carrying the message of the text.

The lines of a serif font guide the eye in ways that sans fonts do not. I have seen sans fonts used to print liturgy/rites. GIA prints the liturgical sections of their hymnals in a sans font. However, they print the hymns with sans in the titles and serif in the lyrics.

Denominational Preferences

Episcopalians use The Book of Common Prayer, which has a different typographical language than what is described above. Text is printed in a clear and stately Garamond font. Rubrics/directions are in small italics, the leader’s part is in regular type, and a congregation’s shorter responses are in italics, in the same size as the leader’s part. Longer sections are in regular type, but with a small italic direction.

BCP 1979 style

If the worship book of your denomination has a clear typographical language, imitate it as closely as you can. Some older hymnals were not consistent in use of bold for congregational parts. Some didn’t use bold at all, but had lengthy rubrics to direct who said what.

Download examples of the Worship Stylesheet Illustrations