Day 3
Liturgy at the Heart of Our Identity – Report of the LAC
Liturgy “is at the heart of the Church of Ireland identity as a people of God and it is through our liturgy that we express who we are in worship and what we believe”. So said the Revd Adrian Dorian when highlighting the importance of the work of the Liturgical Advisory Council to members of General Synod today.
He outlined the work of the committee on long term projects and in responding to more immediate liturgical needs of the Church. The ‘Journeys’ resource, he said, was intended for use with children in the home and in church and had been the major focus of the committee’s work for the past number of years. The first major volume, launched at General Synod last year, has been distributed. Work on a second large volume continues.
He said the LAC’s Take a Minute prayer cards proved very popular and required a second print run. More prayer resources for social media and hard copies are in production.
The LAC’s music subgroup continues to work to provide online resources to supplement Archdeacon Peter Thompson’s work on the Canticles ‘A Treasure in Clay Jars’. The ‘Singing Psalms’ resource is also online Mr Dorian said and thanked Jacqueline Mullen for her work on this.
He said the Revd Martin Steele leads the work on the choice of texts for the Sunday and Weekday Lectionary. He added that the LAC is aware of the need to bring forward the publication date of this resource.
The committee’s digital and typesetting subcommittee is advancing work on the liturgical section of the new Church of Ireland website, he reported and said that Dean Nigel Dunne and the Revd Alan Rufli were seeking to ensure that the new worship section will be more functional.
Mr Dorian outlined the committee’s autumn residential meeting which heard from the Revd Philip McKinley of the Primate’s Reference Group on Ethnic Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Justice as they started work on resources for Racial Justice Sunday. They also heard from the Revd Rob Jones, the National Director of Pioneer Ministry who addressed them on worship in pioneer contexts.
Speaking to the report, Archdeacon Peter Thompson (Armagh) said that the Singing Psalms and additional resources to accompany the Canticles book would both be online.
George Woodward (Connor) appreciated the work of the LAC and their resources on the Church of Ireland website.