Why is there no church society for those of us who believe that Sundays-in-the-Month are one of the works of darkness that beset the church and tempt it into doom and decline?
You know the kind of thing I mean – Matins on the first Sunday in the month and Eucharist on the rest. Or modern liturgy every Sunday except when there is a fifth Sunday in the month when it shall be the language of the Scottish Prayer Book 1928 1929. Or 10.30 am Sung Eucharist every week except the 2nd Sunday in the month when it is matins with the Methodists. Or First and Fourth Sundays in Auchendoggle, third Sunday in Auchendrizzle and a united service on the fourth Sunday in the month – see the church porch notice for details.
I’d be interested in any research in this area. Is it the case that there is a statistical correlation between decline and those practising the doctrine of Sundays in the Month?
Isn’t every notice which includes an intimation about the Sunday in the Month speaking to the world of a congregation either divided by compromise or prepared to announce its decline to the world?
Why do we never talk about this?
Far from it, in fact: I’d rather experience the breadth of Matins and Eucharistic services. http://www.unn.edu.ng UNN
Those who dislike Sundays-in-the-Month are usually either members of the clergy, or laypeople who share the preferences of the majority in any given congregation. In my young days, I was one of the latter – abolish Matins, abolish the said 8-o’clock Communion for Prayer Book lovers, and force everyone to come to the mid-morning Sung Eucharist, Family Communion, or whatever it was called. Conform or get out!
Now I think I was wrong. Compromises which keep people within the tent are surely better than a rigid purity which excludes? OK, nobody is actually physically excluded from the main worship service at any church; but people often *feel* excluded and unwanted, whether they hanker for an occasional Prayer Book Communion, Sung Matins, a Taize Service, Messy Church or Solemn Benediction. I’m all for messiness and muddle, if the alternative is ruthlessly enforced conformity and a ‘Father-knows-best’ (or ‘the-Worship-Committee-knows-best’) approach to planning congregational worship.
I think it is important to have non-Eucharistic worship as well as Eucharistic worship. My problem is the same time slot being divvied up. Have both by all means but have both consistently, weekly.
My all-time favourite “Sundays-of-the-month” setup: http://eccleshill.localchurch.org.uk/standardevents.html
1st Sunday of the month: “Communion on odd months of odd years and even months of even years, and always on Easter Sunday”