By Ruth Scovill
As we entered the beautiful sanctuary of the St Jude’s Episcopol Church to attend the Elizabethan Mass on August 3rd, we were greeted by the lovely piano prelude music provided by Kipper Roach, who would provide the accompaniment throughout the service. There was a good crowd for the service.
As the time to start drew near, Queen Elizabeth, played by Lisa Montague, greeted the attendees. Elizabeth I. as the third heir to Henry, played an important role in re-establishing the Anglican church as the official Church of England after her sister Mary had done everything within her power to restore Catholicism as the official church in England and destroy the Anglican Church.
Elizabeth consecrated Matthew Parker as her first Archbishop of Canterbury. She also commissioned a new Book of Common Prayer in 1559 with Thomas Cramner leading the committee charged with creating the book. Elizabeth’s Book of Common Prayer is the source of the Mass that would be celebrated today.
Upon entering the chapel, everyone who attended was provided with a printed copy of the Mass. This was very important because the members of the congregation played an integral role in the service, responding to each part of the mass. The entire mass, including the proper responses were printed in the booklet. There were also historical notes, and some parts that had been omitted from the service because they didn’t apply to the current circumstances were included in the fine print in the manuscript so you could see the entire historic service.
Father Rob Willmann led the Mass, assisted by Clifford Gravett and Susan Allman. There was also a choir, which was led by Michael Hozik. All were beautifully attired in white surplices over black cassocks. During the Mass, the vicar, Father Willmann, would lead out, followed by the congregation responding. This process made members of the congregation very much active participants in the service from beginning to end.
As we went through the Mass, I became aware of how very important the opportunity to worship in your native language was, in contrast to the previous Latin Masses. Many of the people at this time had limited literacy, so the Mass also served as a religious education to them. The Mass moved through basic Christian tenets, from our dependence on the Lord for protection, deliverance, and blessings to making a commitment to live each of the ten commandments. To have basic tenets of belief and doctrine so readily spelled out in plain English was enlightening. To make the commitments to live according to the laws of the gospel so clearly explained to people in plain English was powerful.
The Eucharist (Sacrament) was served. Before it was blessed and broken, one of the officiants, Clifford Gravett, explained that there had been a change in Episcopal doctrine concerning the Sacrament. The belief now is that the Sacrament Table does not belong to the Church, but to the Lord. It is the Lord’s Table, and whoever feels inclined to partake is welcome, whether they belong to the Episcopal Church or not. Many people came up to partake of the wafers and wine after they were blessed.
Following this beautiful meeting, all those in attendance were invited to enjoy refreshmrnts in the recreation hall featuring an abundance of beautiful pastries and appetizers. This was a nice finishing touch to a truly remarkable experience.