The answer could be but is not a number and an accompanying list of differing responsibilities like mixing drinks or forming committees. The answer is another question charged with fear and trepidation: "Change the light bulb? My GRANDMOTHER gave that light bulb to the church!!!"
It's worth the mention because we are reflecting on our lives together as worshippers in what is called "ordinary time." The implication is that we will stick to a routine, Sunday in and Sunday out.
- Entrance Processional Hymn,
- Opening Acclamation,
- Collect for Purity,
- Canticle of Praise,
- Collect of the Day with the congregation kneeling,
- First Lesson,
- Gradual Psalm read responsively by half verse while standing,
- Second Lesson,
- Sequence Hymn,
- Gospel Reading,
- Sermon,
- Nicene Creed,
- Prayers of the People,
- General Confession and Absolution,
- Passing the Peace,
- Announcements,
- Offertory,
- Presentation,
- Holy Eucharist,
- Postcomunion Prayer,
- Blessing,
- Exiting Processional Hymn,
- Dismissal.
No changes like Lent and Advent's Penitential Order, like Easter's standing for EVERYTHING! or lack of Confession. For many, our worship in ordinary time is "the way its supposed to be," regular. That's what ordinary means. But liturgical "ordinary" means more than that.
It means more than that because our efforts to be regular in our worship are ultimately motivated to do everything we can to participate sacramentally with God. Being regular only addresses some of that effort. Otherwise persisting at a robotic lock-step uniformity would be our insurance that we had done all we could to participate with God.
Participating sacramentally with God means we must risk being changed. Indeed from its first moments change has been the call to those claiming to be believers. Sometimes it's called repentance, sometimes conversion, sometimes forgiveness, sometimes surrender. It goes by lots of names but God's ordinary always means change.
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