Our Whole Lives Long
As a young adult, I felt like God was calling me in two distinct and contradictory directions. On the one hand, I felt called to be a chemistry professor. I loved spending time in the laboratory and the classroom, and I could easily imagine a fruitful, fulfilling life in research and education. On the other hand, I also knew that God was calling me to be a part of people’s lives in spiritual intimate and sacramental ways, including births, marriages, illnesses, and even deaths.
Eventually, I discovered that the life of a priest can also be, in many ways, the life of a teacher, and, although I had to leave the laboratory behind, I found a way to devote my life to teaching without sacrificing a call to sacramental ministry. I still enjoy leading Bible studies and Adult Forums, but my heart is that of a pastor. It is the privilege of being present and, more importantly, reminding others that God is present in the biggest moments of their lives that I treasure most of all.
One of my favorite sections of the Book of Common Prayer is one that we do not use very often—at least not on Sunday mornings. The Pastoral Offices begin on page 413, and they include services like Confirmation, the Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage, Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, Ministration to the Sick, Ministration at the Time of Death, and the Burial of the Dead. These services intentionally cover the lifespan, implying that, at every major point in someone’s life, the Christian community is called to offer prayerful support. Here is a life’s journey through those rites.
Birth. When a member of the parish gives birth, Sara and I fight over who gets to visit the family, whether in the hospital or at home. When we make that visit, we take a copy of the prayer book with us so that we can offer those prayers specifically designed for that occasion. In the service of Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, we invite the parents to join in saying the Song of Mary or a psalm as an act of thanksgiving. We give thanks for a safe delivery, and we ask God to watch over the newborn, the parents, and any siblings as they grow together. Usually I tear up a little bit because the sentiment expressed in that prayer tugs firmly on my heart.
Baptism. Although not in the Pastoral Offices of the prayer book, the service of Holy Baptism is often the second opportunity we have to share the rites of the church with an individual. We often baptize older children and adults, but most individuals who are born into families that are already members of St. Paul’s are baptized as infants. In the language of our baptismal liturgy, we remember that it is through the waters of baptism that we pass with Christ through his death and into the new life of grace. Baptism is the means by which someone becomes a part of Christ’s Body, a member of the church.
Communion. The Episcopal Church does not have a liturgy for a “first Communion” because we believe that Holy Communion is the normative spiritual practice of all baptized Christians, regardless of their age. As soon as a baby has been baptized, we are eager to share the bread and wine that have become Christ’s body and blood, even if that means only giving them a crumb of bread or a drop from the chalice. Holy Communion is the principal means by which the members of Christ’s Body stay connected with Christ and with one another, and we anticipate that an individual will be nourished in that way for their entire lives.
Confirmation. Returning to the Pastoral Offices, Confirmation is the sacramental rite by which an individual confirms those promises made on their behalf at their baptism and seeks the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, given through the hands of a bishop, to carry out the work of a mature Christian. In the past, Confirmation was administered to children around the age of twelve, primarily as a rite of passage. We now recognize that a mature profession of faith is more appropriately undertaken when a child is at least sixteen years old. If someone makes a mature profession of faith in another tradition, whether through confirmation or through baptism as an adult, that person can be received into The Episcopal Church through the laying on of hands by a bishop.
Marriage. Not all of us are called to Christian marriage—the unconditional, mutual, lifelong, and faithful union of two persons that serves as an image of Christ’s love to the world—but those who are can seek God’s blessing on their covenanted relationship. In the context of the church, the service of marriage is a public service of worship, and its aim, like that of the marriage itself, is to glorify God. We also welcome into our community those who remain single and those who do not discern that their committed partnership is the sort of sacramental union that the church understand marriage to be.
Reconciliation. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the sacramental rite of The Reconciliation of a Penitent. One need not wait until adulthood to seek the assurance of forgiveness offered through reconciliation, but it occurs at this point in the prayer book because of its link to prayers for the sick and dying.
Ministration to the Sick. As with the need for confession, sometimes serious illness befalls us when we are younger, but the prayer book includes the sacramental rite of unction—or ministration to the sick—toward the end of the Pastoral Offices section. The first line in the service is a rubric that underscores the role of the clergy in caring for those who are sick: “In case of illness, the Minister of the Congregation is to be notified.” While I am not asking you to reach out to me every time you have a runny nose, I do want you to call upon me and my clergy colleagues whenever you are sick and need the prayers of the church. Most often, that means adding your name to the prayer list or paying you a visit at home or in the hospital. Occasionally, it involves prayers and the laying on of hands and anointing with holy oil. The rite in the prayer book leaves lots of room for adaptation to specific situations, but the heart of the service is prayer for healing and wholeness.
Ministration at the Time of Death. In The Episcopal Church, we do not have “last rites,” by which the Roman Catholic Church means the rites of Reconciliation, Unction, and Communion. Instead, we offer any or all of those within the context of specific prayers that are appropriate as one approaches the end of their life. These are some of the most powerful and tender prayers in the prayer book. Through them, we commend someone we love to the eternal care of God. By inviting family members to say these prayers along with the clergy, we invite them into the holy work of giving their loved one back to God. This rite includes the proficiscere, the ancient prayer addressed to the soul of the one who has died, encouraging it to depart this world and return to its creator.
Burial of the Dead. Even in death, we believe that the church has a role in caring for you. Like all our worship services, our funeral liturgy focuses on God and seeks to articulate God’s promise of new life given to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the context of the life of the one who has died. You will notice that the prayer book makes no provision for a “eulogy,” a word that implies a speech of praise designed to glorify one who has died. Instead, the rite assumes that a homily will be preached, and the clergy at St. Paul’s take great care to proclaim the Christian hope as it has been revealed to us in the faithful witness of the person who has died. Our burial office is the primary way that the Christian community makes sense of the death of one of its members by remembering the promise of the resurrection and giving our loved one back to God.
From birth to death and everywhere in between, the church has a way to support you. I have only included in this article the services from the Book of Common Prayer. There are additional pastoral liturgies in other resources like the Book of Occasional Services and the Enriching Our Worship series. I am thankful to be a part of a church that seeks to care for its members no matter where their lives take them. I hope you feel the love and care of the Body of Christ throughout your life, and I hope you will continue to entrust yourself and those you love to the care of our clergy, staff, and volunteers.
Yours faithfully,
Evan D. Garner
