#Presbyterian Worship Services

[threeangels]

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[teenmaximoff]

Inspired by @piratefalls ‘s post

Buck attempts to shift himself onto his stomach to sneak in ten more minutes of sleep before he needs to shower and get ready for work, but he’s pinned to the bed by an arm splayed across his chest. The muscley arm of his boyfriend. Just thinking about that word causes Buck’s insides to flip. He has a boyfriend. A big, strong, beast of a boyfriend – who looks like a vision as he softly snores next to him.

Buck and Tommy were at the same apartment fire downtown last night. Half of LA’s stations were there. It took all that combined manpower to finally put out the fire that had spread to all twenty floors of the building. Buck didn’t even have time to quickly meet up with Tommy and tell him how hot he looked landing the chopper on a flame-engulfed rooftop. All he could do was wave as he flew away and deal with the (not so) gentle ribbing of his team making whip sounds at him.

A little bit after the fire was put out, the 118 were dispatched to another call. They didn’t need as many stations there for the cleanup and triage. As they were driving away, he saw Lucy loading another victim into the back of Tommy’s chopper – his third trip back from Presbyterian. He ended up making another two before the end of his shift.

Buck’s shift ended first. He changed and went to Tommy’s to surprise him with dinner after a long and exhausting shift. As of late, Buck has been staying at Tommy’s more than going home to the loft. Even though it’s a longer drive to the 118, nothing beats getting to wake up next to (or entangled with) his boyfriend.

Buck wanted to stay up and wait for Tommy, but he was exhausted himself and ended up passing out hours before Tommy got home. Around midnight, Tommy buried his face into Buck’s neck, apologizing for waking him up – not like he had to. Buck will always savor every second he gets with his boyfriend. With the man he’s fallen for.

Tommy was misty-eyed as he recalled his last transfer. They didn’t get to the hospital in time. The patient, a college student, succumbed to her injuries minutes before they landed. Lucy tried to perform compressions, but there was no use – she was gone.

It’s part of the job. Both have lost plenty of people with the LAFD. Doesn’t make it any easier. One of the perks of dating another first responder is having someone who knows exactly what it feels like. The regret, the blame, the what ifs – Buck’s been there. Been there more times than he can count.

So even when his muscles were steeped in exhaustion and he had an early shift the next morning, Buck gave Tommy what he needed. He held him down and sank into him, fucking him slowly and reverently until his mind was clouded with only thoughts of him and their shared connection. He showered him in praise, worshiped every patch of skin he could reach and reminded him of all the good he’s done. How he’s worthy of the pleasure he’s giving him. How loved he is.

It’s an act of service that Buck is usually on the other end of. He’s more likely to bring home the trauma of work – he’s over-emotional, he’s too much at times, he’s exhausting – yet time and time again, Tommy takes care of him. The least he could do was return the favor last night.

Buck watches Tommy sleep for a few minutes. He’s beautiful, a work of art unlike Buck’s ever seen before. His chiseled muscles and cleft chin are so handsome, so masculine – it takes his breath away watching him. Sometimes Buck feels like he needs to pinch himself. He still can’t believe this side of himself was hidden away for so long. How he couldn’t see who he was after years of searching for it. But, if he came out before, who knows if he would have met Tommy? Who knows if he would have happiness like he’s found with his boyfriend? He’s right where he’s meant to be, when he’s supposed to be.

Buck turns his alarm off before it wakes Tommy. He kisses the top of his head and slides out from under his (beefy) grip to start getting ready for work. He does his morning routine, basking in the smell of Tommy’s shampoo and soap on his skin. He’s never going back to his old brand. Not when he can have Tommy’s signature cedar scent on him all day, reminding him who he’s going home to at the end of his shift. He throws on one of Tommy’s hoodies (for the same reason) and a pair of dark jeans.

When Buck makes it back to the bedroom, Tommy is still fast asleep – snoring louder now that his mouth isn’t muffled by Buck’s neck. He kneels on the bed and lays a quick kiss to Tommy’s bare shoulder. He really wants a proper goodbye kiss before work, but he’d rather let his boyfriend sleep.

But then Tommy turns over on his side, pulling Buck into a patented Thomas Kinard bear hug. “C’mere.” He grumbles, barely awake. His eyes are still closed.

“Babe, I have work.” He whispers into Tommy’s jaw. Tommy’s lucky enough to have today off. “I’m coming over later.”

“You’ll be coming alright.” He smirks, still in a sleepy daze.

“Okay old man.” Buck laughs, prying himself from his boyfriend’s grasp. He kisses Tommy again, this time on the lips. “Get some rest so I can hold you to that…” He can’t help it - He kisses him again, this time lingering for a few seconds.

“Mmm hmm.” He burrows his face further into the pillow, falling back asleep. Buck stands up and checks his watch, seeing he’s officially running late. Great. “Stay safe, love you.”

Buck freezes. He turns back to see Tommy is out. “Babe?” He questions. He doesn’t get a response. He’s not sure if Tommy was even awake when he said it. But he definitely said it. Said that all important four-letter word. A word they had yet to say to each other. Until now.

All Buck can think about is another four-letter word - Fuck.

[reasonsforhope]

"Faced with declining membership, aging buildings and large, underutilized properties, many U.S. houses of worship have closed their doors in recent years. Presbyterian minister Eileen Linder has argued that 100,000 churches may close in the next few decades.

But some congregations are using their land in new ways that reflect their faith – a focus of my urban planning research. Some are repurposing their property to provide affordable housing, as the housing crisis intensifies across the country.

Take Arlington Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia. In 2016, the church sold its historic stone building to the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing to construct a 6-story complex with 173 apartments, known as “Gilliam Place.” The building still houses space for the congregation, as well as La Cocina, a bilingual culinary job training facility and cafe. In Austin, Texas, St. Austin Catholic Parish is partnering with a developer to build a 29-story tower providing 200 beds of affordable student housing, in addition to new spaces for ministry.

Other houses of worship are pursuing similar projects today.

Same mission, new projects

Faith-based organizations have been building housing for many years, but generally by purchasing additional property. In recent years, however, more houses of worship are building affordable housing on the same property as the sanctuary.

This can be done in a variety of ways. Some congregations adapt the existing sanctuary and other faith-owned buildings, while others demolish existing buildings to construct a new development, which may or may not have space for the congregation. Another option is to build on excess property, like a parking lot.

Depending on how a development deal is structured, a faith-based organization may receive proceeds from the sale of its land, or from leasing their property to a developer – funds which they can then spend on ministry or on a new space for worship. If a new development includes space for the congregation, sometimes they rent out those spaces when the space is not being used for worship, which can also financially benefit the congregation.

Faith-based organizations often see these projects as a way to do “God’s work.” In some instances, they include community services beyond the housing itself.

Near Los Angeles, the Episcopal Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Placentia partnered with a nonprofit affordable housing developer – National Community Renaissance, also called National CORE – to develop 65 units for older people. The complex also includes a 1,500 square foot (140 square meter) community center. The city’s diocese has a goal of building affordable housing on 25% of its 133 properties.

For some congregations, these are mission-driven projects rooted in social justice.

In Washington, D.C., Emory United Methodist Church redeveloped its property and constructed The Beacon Center – which has 99 affordable housing units, community spaces, and a commercial kitchen that provides job training for recently incarcerated people – while preserving the sanctuary. In Seattle, the Nehemiah Initiative is working with Black churches in the Central District, a historically African American neighborhood, to redevelop its properties into affordable housing to keep residents from being displaced."

Potential to evolve

As states and cities struggle to provide affordable housing, studies have been conducted from Nashville to New York City on the amount of land faith organizations own, and their potential as housing partners.

In the D.C. metro area, for example, the Urban Institute found almost 800 vacant parcels owned by religious organizations. In California, a report from the Terner Center at University of California, Berkeley found approximately 170,000 “potentially developable” acres of land owned by religious organizations and nonprofit colleges and universities...

When thinking about the redevelopment process, Arlington Presbyterian member Jon Etherton told me, “the call from God to create, do something about affordable housing was bigger than the building itself.”"

-via The Conversation, July 19, 2024

[izzythehutt]

Do you have any religious wizarding world headcanons? God bless you <3

This is one of the HP world-building things that I struggle with because it doesn't...really make sense. JKR didn't want to deal with it in a significant way. It obviously takes place in a universe, like our own, where British Christianity (or at least the cultural vestiges of it) permeates. The characters celebrate Christian holidays, there's literally a wizard friar. They are clearly not living that neo-pagan life. But there's also no explicit mention of religious worship at the school (no required chapel attendance at Hogwarts, like there would be at a real British boarding school.) Is there even a Church in Hogsmeade? Harry had a christening and has a godfather so he was baptized (Sirius you are failing in your religious obligations to your godson lol)! There's a church graveyard in Godric's Hollow and people are going to services on Christmas Eve. Harry's parents have a quote from Corinthians on their gravestone that he isn't capable of contextualizing correctly. The Dursleys are smug, middle-class unchurched, uninterested in metaphysical questions materialists, which I can dig and is definitely a real "type".

Also witchcraft in HP is a natural ability people are born with as opposed to some unnatural power one gains with the unholy cooperation with demons. So I guess HP is a parallel universe where the biblical strictures against witchcraft wouldn't exist/apply? The fact that McGonagall's backstory involves her dad being a Presbyterian minister cracks me up. Ain't no self-respecting real-world Calvinist bringing his kids up as wizards in our universe.

I do think the Christian worldview/Christian themes are pretty apparent in HP, but doctrinal questions are left un-dealt with. Obviously there's an afterlife and a world beyond this one—and the whole series is ultimately about death, accepting it and conquering it, being willing to die for others, etc.

I do love having the Black family make scriptural references so I apparently can't quite resist them having some at least period appropriate bible knowledge.

My favorite batshit crazy HP theory is that the whole pureblood wizards/muggleborns conflict is a metaphor for recusant Catholics/English protestants.

[beardedmrbean]

NEW YORK — Just two days after pleading not guilty to federal corruption charges, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is focusing on faith.

Last Thursday, the mayor was indicted on federal corruption charges including bribery and conspiracy. A 57-page indictment alleges he solicited illegal campaign donations from foreign nationals. Adams pleaded not guilty Friday.

The mayor dug in his heels Sunday and reaffirmed he is not resigning at two appearances at houses of worship.

Mayor Eric Adams speaks at 2 NYC churches after indictment

Adams leaned on his faith and faith leaders on the heels of his historic indictment. 

"Sometimes you have to let go and let God," Adams told parishioners at Emmanuel Presbyterian Reformed Church in the Bronx. 

Parishioners and faith leaders in the Bronx remained neutral on their support for the mayor.

"It's not a question of supporting him. It's a question of praying for him as a church," said Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong-Manso, with Emmanuel Presbyterian Reformed Church.

Later at Mount Sinai United Christian Church on Staten Island, he said, "No one wants to go through this. No one wants to deal with what I am dealing with right now. No one."

"We unapologetically support his right to due process," said Bishop Victor Brown, of Mount Sinai United Christian Church.

Rev. Al Sharpton was among the faith leaders showing support for Adams during a rally with the National Action Network on Saturday.

"I've known Eric Adams 35 years. I've never known him to have any leanings toward criminality. He deserves due process," Sharpton said.

The Sunday Service stops weren't the mayor's only visits to houses of worship over the weekend. On Saturday, he visited Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, and a gospel music event in the Bronx. The mayor says putting his focus on the church is nothing new.

"I am more in my foundation of my faith than I've ever been in my life," Adams said.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says he's "gonna step up" in response to calls for him to step down

Adams continued to stress Sunday that he has no plans to resign.

"So you hear the small number of loud people saying, 'Well, he should step down.' No, I'm gonna step up. I'm gonna step up," Adams said in the Bronx.

He added, "When people say, 'You need to resign,' I say, 'I need to reign.'"

On Sunday, when asked what his message is to those who have been telling him to step down, Adams said, "To watch me."

He continued, "They're the same people, January 1, 2022, were saying the same thing, that's the same list of people, but we have been able to ignore their commentary and say their noise is not going to get in the way of the numbers, and the numbers show we have moved this city forward."

Despite calls for his resignation, he says he's not shifting focus.

"While the attorneys handle the due process, I'm going to handle the management of the city," he said.

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams prepared to step in as mayor if Adams resigns

Should the mayor step down, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would replace him until a special election is held. That's something Williams said Sunday that he's ready to do.

"When you run for public advocate, part of it is knowing that if something happens, you have to step in. You don't want that to happen because that means that something went wrong with city government," he said.

He added, "I ran to be public advocate and so I'm very happy doing that. If something happened for any reason, we're also prepared to step in to do the job that we were elected to do in all eventualities. But the main message is the continuity of government."

Law professor expects case will be "a very tall mountain for the mayor to climb"

Adams is expected to appear back in court Wednesday, where his attorney says he will be demanding evidence from the prosecution, in addition to asking the judge to throw the case out.

"The case may ultimately be one that Mayor Adams can win in the sense of ... having a jury find him not guilty. But the idea that these charges are going to be dismissed out of whole cloth before the case gets to a jury is fantasyland," said Hofstra University law professor James Sample.

Sample says corruption cases are hard to prove, but the feds wouldn't bring the case if they didn't feel strongly about the evidence.

"If the case turns into a simple 'he said, she said' and it's really only Mayor Adams' version versus one or two witnesses, then he's got a real chance at winning," Sample said. "I suspect there will be numerous cooperating witnesses, extensive documentary evidence and a very tall mountain for the mayor to climb."

While Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office, she has not yet indicated if she plans to do so. The mayor said they are in communication.

[a-queer-seminarian]

Come to Virtual Queer Worship, Sunday evening on June 25!

More Light Presbyterians' Pride month worship service is this Sunday on Zoom at 7pm EST / 6pm CST!

The service theme is "Here to Stay," a defiant celebration of queer people of faith. We've always been here, we have vital gifts for our faith communities, and we aren't going anywhere.

Feel free to reblog this, and/or invite others off tumblr whom you think might be interested.

If you would like to come, message me and I'll give you the Zoom link. Hoping to see you there!

[barnbridges]

On Denomination Semantics, Church Authority, Bunny, Marion and Julian

I'll say that much, the Greek class is predominantly Catholic, with it being noted that Richard is a non-denominational Christian and Bunny being an Episcopalian.

"Bunny’s family was Episcopalian, and my parents, as far as I knew, had no religious affiliation at all; but Henry and Francis and the twins had been reared as Catholics;"

This established dynamic is a setup to a later conversation in the book, where Julian questions Richard on the changes in Bunny's behavior, attributing them to a possible conversion of either Bunny or Marion, wherein we learn she is a Presbyterian. All fun and good, we just learn that Bunny is so panicked Julian thinks he's having a mental breakdown, right? This is just foreshadowing to Bunny writing the confessional letter to Julian, right?

Upon closer inspection... why would we need to know, in particular, the specific denomination that Bunny holds, when his social status as a Protestant has already been established, and even less so Marion, who Richard doesn't even know?

Well, that is because the confessions are a metaphor for the structure in their lives.

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the three major divisions of Christianity in the Western World. It has a known structure, and it bases its belief both on the Christian Bible and the Papacy, with the structure of the Church as important as the religious text itself. It is a very rigid structure, and it is indeed, as Julian says, "a worthy and powerful foe".

Episcopalians on the other hand, are seen as a "halfway" point between the structure of the Catholics and the relative interpretative freedom of other Protestants. While the Episcopal Church is a Protestant denomination, meaning it does not hold the Pope as any authority, it has structures of authority (mainly, bishops and cardinals) and holds different views on sin as opposed to Catholics (as Francis ironically points out in the Epilogue).

The motto of the Episcopal Church is "Protestant, yet Catholic!", I kid you not. EDIT: The phrase "Protestant, yet Catholic" has been associated with the Episcopal Church and their beliefs.

Not relevant to the theological discussion, but the Episcopal Church also was founded in the US and is a very American phenomenon, being one of the most common denominations for American Presidents and wannabe DC political larpers as well.

A noteworthy detail is also that... the central book of Episcopalians is The Book of Common Prayer... Which Charles desecrated at Bunny's funeral service by using it to kill a wasp. This shows both the particular lack of respect the other characters have for non-Catholic tradition, but also their lack of connection to the gravity of such an act. Charles desecrated a religious text in a church, and it was a comedic moment. They are very in touch with reality /s.

"Charles had killed it with a resounding thwack from The Book of Common Prayer."

Presbyterianism is not a church, but rather a set of beliefs and principles. It is one of the most reformist of Protestant beliefs, and does not at all recognize the need for any religious authority or church to practice. Presbyterians believe in a personal relationship with God rather than a need for a house of worship or sin to practice. Presbyterians are also stereotyped as low class, again as our judgemental professor puts it "

"He had a habit of attributing all of Bunny’s faults indirectly to her—his laziness, his bad humors, his lapses of taste."

What this primarily means for interpreting our characters and their morals, is that Bunny finds himself at a middle-point between the strict hierarchy of the Greek class and the personal freedom afforded to him by decentralized beliefs. He has all his life existed in a state of "in between" authority and lack thereof, and Julian is questioning if the main force in his life that feeds the "contrary" impulse in Bunny is gone with Marion's hypothetical conversion.

This speaks mostly to that... our Julian was probably reared Catholic himself (calling it The Church... yeah he totally also was Catholic at some point), but has turned his back on the particular beliefs of the faith to where Richard finds him today. This also implies that of his 6 students, ironically enough, Bunny would be the one that has a relationship to religious authority most similar to Julian's own, and that has been since he joined the Greek class. This contempt would only grow larger as Bunny engages with people who care even less about religious authority than he does, which Julian might not like or respect, but certainly affirms Bunny as... uniquely able to challenge authority, and certainly the most "liberal" of his students on matters of authority. Bunny is the only one of them who indeed, has a girlfriend. A girlfriend that has been a problem to the Greek class that they simply do not want to even address her at all, to the point where Francis goes into prayer that she leaves Bunny.

It's also quite a touch ironic that after Bunny's death, the next one to question the hierarchy of the group, Charles, is coincidentally the one most influenced by Marion herself. Symbolically, Marion represents the "normalcy" and "gateway" from the Catholic-like structure of the Greek class, and Richard, Henry, Camilla and Francis' disregard and mockery of her presence is just a sign that they are quite far removed from any notion of leaving the cult of Julian or challenging why the belief in Classicism needs Julian for a God and Henry for a priest.

[scotianostra]

On July 27th 1681 The Reverend Donald Cargill was executed in Edinburgh.

The Killing Time claims another victim, "Death to the believer is just like putting off a worn suit of clothes, and putting on a new suit." Those were the words of Donald Cargill.

Cargill was a Cameronian radical, that is he followed another Covenanter, Richard Cameron, he came a cropper the year before, you will remember from last weeks post, at Airds Moss. Poor Colin's troubles started in May 1662, when at a thanksgiving service for King Charles II’s restoration he proclaimed that

"We are not come here to keep this day upon the account for which others keep it. We thought once to have blessed the day wherein the king came home again, but now we think we shall have reason to curse it; and if any of you come here in order to the solemnising of this day, we desire you to remove." Basically it meant he thought that the days of worshipping the way they wanted were number and that Presbyterians were about to get the rough end of the restoration pineapple.

That was the end of Cargill’s career as a licensed preacher. His remaining years were illicit services, ducking arrests, and a flight to the Netherlands; he was wounded in service of the Covenanter cause at the 1679 Battle of Bothwell Bridge.

Back in Scotland by 1680 he made declaration in South Queensferry that further pissed off the Government by saying they were all excommunicated, as was King Charles II.

Several times he was almost captured. One such instance took place at Queensferry. An agent of the king, praised Donald and expressed a desire to meet with him to drink to his health. When Donald appeared, the agent pretended friendship but then arrested Donald and Henry Hall. The men struggled to escape. Hall was mortally wounded. Donald also was wounded, but got away. Despite his injuries, he preached the following Sunday.

Wandering in exile, he often preached openly in the Scottish lowlands, but at other times, he was forced to stay hidden. Highland clansmen hunted for Donald and other Covenanters, because they had been promised bounties for the capture of such "rebels."

The law caught up with Donald at Lanarkshire in May 1681. He was cruelly treated and hauled to jail with his feet tied tightly under a horse's belly. Convicted of high treason in Edinburgh, he was condemned to be hanged and beheaded.

As he mounted the ladder to meet his maker, he said, "The Lord knows, I go up this ladder in less fear and perturbed of mind that ever I entered the pulpit to preach... Farewell, all relations and friends in Christ; farewell all acquaintances and all earthly enjoyments; farewell reading and preaching, praying and believing, wanderings, reproaches and sufferings. Welcome joy unspeakable and full of glory. Welcome Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Into thy hands I commit my spirit."

To the Covenanters, Donald was a martyr for the faith that many Scots had vowed to uphold. But to those Scots who had accommodated the reigning powers, he seemed a radical and a traitor. Four other Covenanters were to die alongside him.

Donald Cargill name is inscribed in a few memorials, the Kildoon Monument above Maybole, the Cargill Stone, Cargill Court, Maybole and another at his birthplace birthplace in Rattray, as seen in the third pic.

[constance-mcentee]

Saturday, 23 December 2023

If I were only a heterodox Christian, I could just blend in and take a place in a pew. But, I'm also a transgender and queer christian. I'm a trans person who doesn't pass for cis, so I kind of stand out. This makes me wary of just going to a church where I don't know anybody.

I haven't attended church this Advent season, due in part because I thought I'd be visiting my parents this weekend and I didn't want to not complete the whole cycles (4 Sundays plus Christmas). But, my parents aren't feeling up for visitors. I've missed most of Advent, but at least I could try to attend a Christmas worship.

But, when and where?

The Episcopal church closest to home is having Christmas on Monday at 10:15am. But, the bus will be on holiday schedule and wouldn't get near my home until 10:10. So, my choice would be to arrive late or take the 9:10 bus and get there way early.

The closest church to home is a Presbyterian church which claims to welcome folks of all sexual orientations and gender identities. But, they aren't an official More Light congregation. So, this gives me pause. They don't have a Christmas day worship, so if I went it would be tomorrow. But also, they have many families. Being a trans person who doesn't pass, this also gives me pause. Yes: it's legal for me to be there. But that doesn't mean there wouldn't be problems. And, this could just be me catastrophizing.

So, I'm thinking of making the one-and-a-half hour public transit journey to Grace Cathedral for their 11am Christmas service on Monday. At a much larger church, it's easier to be anonymous. And, I know the Episcopalians are welcoming. I've been there before. It just takes so long to get there: bus, regional rail, and then another bus. Even if I did have a car, I'd have to cross the Bay Bridge and pay for parking.

Being a queer and transgender Christian is so stressful. I know first-hand the terrible ways many Christians and Christian traditions have treated my community. But at the same time, I also know of the loving ways many Christians and Christian traditions have embraced my community. I'm so conflicted. I feel like Christianity is my birthright, but one I've been dispossessed of.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Historic Works on the Subject of Corporate Worship

How Did the Early Church Worship?

Most Christians don’t care to study Christian history and historical theology surrounding worship because they “feel” it takes away certain things they like in their church services. Are you interested in the historic Christian faith and its view on worship? God is to be worshiped according to His commands. God alone determines the manner in which sinners are to approach Him; and it is only accomplished through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Spirit, according to His word.

The early church worshipped in a specific manner according to God’s word. Christ and his commands are the rule by which Christians gather together for worship. We call this the Regulative Principle of Worship.

See these reformed liturgies here (Calvin, Knox and Puritan comparisons) See Calvin’s Strassborg Liturgy here.

Historic Works on the Subject of Corporate Worship

Gospel Worship, by Jeremiah Burroughs, a modernized version.

The Christian’s Charge Never to Offend God in Worship, by John Forbes

How to Serve God in Private and Public Worship, John Jackson

True Worship and the Consequences of Idolatry, by John Knox

A Christian’s True Spiritual Worship to Jesus Christ, by Stephen Charnock

The Glory of Evangelical Worship, by John Owen

The Simplicity of Holy Worship by John Wilson

Vain Imaginations in the Worship of God by Samuel Willard, Jonathan Dickinson, Joshua Moodey, Nathan Stone and Jonathan Edwards

The True Psalmody by the Reformed Ministers

A Gospel-Ordinance Concerning the Singing of Scripture Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs by Cuthbert Sydenham

Gospel Music: or the Singing of David’s Psalms by Nathaniel Holmes

Singing of Psalms a Gospel Ordinance by John Cotton

Singing of Psalms the Duty of Christians by Thomas Ford

Reformed and Puritan printed works on corporate worship can be found HERE.

Some other articles of importance on the RPW or Public Worship: 

Public Worship Preferred Before Private by David Clarkson (1622-1686) Observations on Personal Covenanting by Thomas Manton (1620-1677) Personal Covenanting by Thomas Manton Part 1 (1620-1677) Personal Covenanting by Thomas Manton Part 2 (1620-1677) Reframing Presbyterian Worship: A Critical Survey of the Worship Views of John M. Frame and R. J. Gore, by Frank J. Smith, Ph.D, D.D. and David C. Lachman, Ph.D. Westminster and Worship Examined: A Review of Nick Needham by Rev. Matthew Winzer

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

Death and Funerals

"Although many Catholics were willing to leave the church for the sake of fraternal bonds, their efforts to combine the two pointed to the importance of their faith and a very real fear of dying without priestly absolution. In the mines and other workplaces, sudden death was an ever-present danger. Even nominally Protestant men who absented themselves from church except for an occasional fraternal parade sought its rituals when they died. Most wanted a minister to officiate at their funerals. Bishop Hills of Victoria grumbled in his diary about the frequency with which he was asked to officiate at the burials of people of “doubtful morals” who had never attended church. In February 1890, he recorded that

today was the funeral at the Cathedral of a Mr. Roller, a German keeper of a Theatre of not good reputation. It is difficult to refuse these applications for Burial Rites over those who not only have never belonged to us but are of a disreputable character. There was a large attendance of a class of persons who are never seen in a place of worship.

Reverend Grice-Hutchinson was also asked to bury men who had never attended his services. The Slavic Catholic layman who asked Bishop Dontenwill to send a Slavic priest to Fernie remarked that less than a third of his compatriots normally attended church but that at funerals you may “see church crowded with Slavonians up to door.” In 1895, the Anglican bishop of New Westminster was asked to bury a miner near New Denver and recorded that his workmates

seemed grateful out of all proportion to the service I had done, but I understood it. However reckless their lives, they hate the idea of being buried ‘like a dog.’

A small minority, generally the most committed atheists, left directions that no “sky pilots,” a slang term for ministers, were to officiate at their funerals. Other non-Christians were equally clear, such as the ex-mayor of Victoria, a spiritualist, who instructed that “no other Service should be said over his body but the form used by the Odd Fellows.” Most people who barred ministers from their funerals had no desire to be buried “like a dog.” Some were interred with due ceremony by the local fraternal order to which they belonged, and some received the “obsequies” delivered by a miners’ union, which was involved in many Kootenay funerals. However, even these funerals often had one or more local clergymen officiating. An examination of three Kootenay newspapers reveals that a minister presided at most funerals in these communities. In some cases, this may have reflected the wishes of the more pious spouses, mothers, or other relatives of the deceased, but given the large number of BC men whose families lived elsewhere, it seems likely that, except for committed atheists, they tacitly accepted the value and legitimacy of having a minister preside at their funeral. Particularly in the Kootenays, most of these men would not have been church members, and many probably never went to church. John Houston is a quintessential example: though he spent his career criticizing Christianity and meddling moralistic churchmen, he was buried by a Presbyterian minister. Clearly, churchgoing was not part of their sense of manhood. Churchgoers could be everything that manly men were not: feminine; craven hypocrites who supported oppressive employers; effete easterners who attacked working men’s right to their few enjoyments and who worried more about saving the souls of Asian immigrants than about preventing them from stealing the jobs of white workers. However, it seems that for most, some basic elements of Christianity itself were not antithetical to their sense of masculinity. Christian hymns could provide an emotional link to faraway families, and practical Christianity could serve as the moral basis for relationships in homosocial culture. And for the majority, receiving a proper Christian burial was integral to a sense of decent manhood, or indeed of their very humanity. The fact that the funeral could end with a “drunken orgy,” as more than one appalled minister testified, made perfect sense among working-class men in British Columbia."

- Lynne Marks, Infidels and the Damn Churches: Irreligion and Religion in Settler British Columbia. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2017. p. 96-98.

Image is taken from the book, captioned: Funeral at Atlin, 1899, probably held near a mining or logging camp. Note the absence of women | BC Archives, D-01507

[funlovingfuzzball]

Do note that “Open and Affirming” and “More Light” are directly code for “we wholeheartedly support the LGBTQ community”. My family isn’t presbyterian, but the denomination split off from them a while back, so we use their terminology, including this one. This church sign is saying “Black lives matter, and also queer rights”. And full kudos to them, tbh. They’re also of a specific subset of presbyterians (United Church of Christ) who define themselves by being super progressive politically. They seem neat, purely based on the sign.

Decoding the rest of the sign for those who don’t have two ordained grandparents:

Rev. = reverend = minister, but not priest. Presbyterians and the groups that split from them are very chill with ministers being real people - our current one is a bi woman and our previous one was a young dad who played guitar during hymns. Both have kids, the current one has a nonbinary teenager.

Presbyterian church - the denomination. Aka, the kind of christian they are and the kind of service they hold. Presbyterians are very into individual congregations making their own choices, and churches are run by representative democracy. Sadly, this means your local presbyterian church could be way left or way right, handle with care

United church of christ - kinda synonymous with presbyterian church, to be honest, except it is only the way left congregations. Same general practices as all presbyterians, but way to the left politically. Note: “Church of Christ” is an extremely fundamentalist group. Look for the word “united”, otherwise you’re very not safe

More light - a specific non-profit attempting to welcome out and proud queers in with open arms

The bottom left symbol, a cross with a flame - the symbol of presbyterians in general

The bottom right symbol, a blue wave in a circle - the symbol of the United Church of Christ

Sadly I can’t see the top-left symbol clearly enough to translate it, but everything else on this sign besides the time of worship just screams “we’re friendly, please don’t hate us”. Again, kudos to them.

Today's Republican Christians would accuse migrant Jesus of eating pets and taunt his single mother with 'your body, my choice'.

They would wear 'I can't breathe' shirts to the crucifixion.

#SundaySermon

[jazzdebimprovisations]

Something from Nothing

Preaching is hard. Especially now. Some of us are sharing our post-election sermons to inspire and/or help each other with this work. Here's mine from 11/10/2024. Thanks for noticing.

A sermon preached at United Presbyterian Church of Peoria, IL on November 10, 2024. You can watch the worship service if you prefer. The music was really lovely and we baptized a child and received new members, too! Preaching Texts: 1 Kings 17:8-16 and Mark 12:38:44 Preaching can be very hard – trying to listen to the Spirit, choose the right path among the dozen or more that present…

[neonphoenix]

Your Presbyterian post is wild to me, I grew up pressie in Australia and we absolutely got hillsong music. Unless it's straight hymns which is only the Early Morning Old People Service, I believe hillsong has a chokehold on all Christian worship music in the entire country for everyone except the Anglicans

I come from the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) and I've only heard the occasional Hillsong at any church I've been to, it's usually a couple traditional hymns and then a couple songs the worship leader wrote or liked.

I don't know much about the Presbyterian Church of Australia (also the PCA. Lol), except that a family from my church growing up moved to Perth to plant a church.

Anyways. Wishing the Australian church a very Get Better Music Soon.

[ageebernard]

O God Of Bethel

O GOD OF BETHEL The hymn “O God of Bethel, by Whose Hand” is a well-known Christian hymn often sung in worship services, particularly in Presbyterian and Reformed traditions. The hymn traces its origins back to the early 18th century. Background The hymn was written by Philip Doddridge (1702–1751), an influential English Nonconformist minister, educator, and hymn writer. Doddridge is known for…

[beatrice-otter]

I mean, a lot of those things are indeed Christian because they come from the strand of Christianity that first settled America, and then infected a bunch of the other groups that either formed here or came over slightly later. It would be more accurate to say that it is "Cultural Calvinist Christianity" or "American Cultural Christianity" but it is still Christian. Just not universally Christian.

The Puritans were Calvinists. Today the Calvinist groups in the US are: Presbyterians, Reformed (but not Lutherans!), most "non-denominational" congregations, most Evangelical/Fundamentalist groups, most Baptist congregations, and has seeped into a ton of other American Christians.

See, the Calvinists have been waaaaaay better at communicating their beliefs to the public than any other strand of Christianity in America since before the US was founded. Starting in the 18th Century, Calvinists were doing "tent revivals" where they would have these massive outdoor worship services in tents and getting everyone to come because they were big, entertaining, and a major social event. You'd get to see the best (Calvinist) preachers! It really stirred up religious sentiment in the area! Lots of people from lots of different churches would go, and so were people who called themselves Christian but never actually participated in a congregation or did anything religious ... except go to a tent meeting if there was one in town, because it was a special event. And they usually presented their teachings as "these are the universal things that all Christians believe" or "this is the only way to be Christian". Then in the 20th Century, the Calvinist groups were the ones who embraced radio and television in a big way, and also the internet. So a lot of their beliefs are just kind of ... floating around in the air in the US, and considered universally What Christians Believe.

As someone who is Christian and not from that Calvinist strain, I really don't like that stuff presented as "what Christians believe" or "what Christianity teaches" or "what religion is like" because it is in many cases radically different from what my church teaches. But I get why it's considered universal. Calvinists in the US have spent a shitton of time, effort, and money over the last several centuries to convince people of that.

Americans mistaking cultural things that are peculiar to America as cultural Christianity because they’re unaware of how Christianity is practised anywhere else in the world is also very funny