The Christian Faith
This section of the website provides more extended teaching on larger content areas, such as the Creed and the Sacraments. It begins with Introduction·to the Christian Faith. More content will be added in due course.
The section entitled Short Talks comprises stand-alone talks and articles on different aspects of the Christian Faith, including the teaching of Jesus, the seasons of the Church’s Year and Feasts and Festivals.·
Eucharist: The Gathering
Said and Sung Eucharists
The Eucharist (also called the Mass) can either be said with one or two servers or it can be sung with several servers. A Said Eucharist is also known as a Low Mass and a Sung Eucharist as a Sung Mass. The Low Mass – the simple, said service – is really a Sung Mass cut down and was unknown anywhere in Christendom until perhaps the seventh century.
Eucharist: Liturgy of the Word
Every Sunday and feast day has its own special Collect and readings, and during the year they give us an outline of the Christian Faith, teaching us about Our Lord’s life, death, Resurrection and Ascension, about the founding of the Christian Church and the kind of life we ought to lead as Christians. In this way they help to prepare our minds so that we may be able to worship God with greater knowledge and understanding. The Common Worship (CW) readings follow a three year cycle and the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) a one year cycle. The readings are published annually in the CW and BCP Lectionary.
Eucharist: Liturgy of the Sacrament (Peace and Offertory)
The Peace
At the Peace the priest says:
“The peace of the Lord be always with you”. (1)
These words remind us of Our Risen Lord’s Easter greeting to his disciples. And the priest may say:
“Let us offer one another a sign of peace”. (2)
So we turn and greet those near us in the church with a sign of peace and we repeat the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you”.
Read more: Eucharist: Liturgy of the Sacrament (Peace and Offertory)