When on the road, the missus and I will visit the congregations of Protestant road teams (non-Presbyterians) and we find that liturgical churches (Lutheran and Episcopal) save us the embarrassment of sitting through very strange and often irreverent worship in settings where prayer books, liturgical orders, or lots of Scripture reading are absent. A set form of worship generally covers the liturgical food groups and restrains those preachers or congregations who wind up asserting more of themselves into the service than a visitor without local knowledge can take.
The one exception to the liturgical service is the so-called Passing of the Peace, after the confession of sin. This used to be performed, as I understand it, by the priest or pastor in the form of a declaration of pardon. Now in most liturgical churches the assurance of forgiveness is a communal exercise in which everyone plays a part. I’ve even been in Missouri Synod congregations where the pastor felt compelled to shake hands with everyone while church members embraced, shook hands, and exchanged greetings — with the missus and I looking on stiffly and anxiously. It is a moment when liturgical worship becomes even more awkward than standing through praise songs you’ve never heard. At least you can stand during the song in relative impersonal safety; with the peace passed, you have nowhere to hide.
But the Vatican may have come to the rescue (and may be making up for Vatican II’s liturgical reforms which kicked off the Passing-of-the-Peace painfulness). The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has clarified what the “sign of the peace” means and how it is to be observed. I was especially heartened to read this:
. . . [Bishops] should do everything possible to end “abuses” such as:
— “The introduction of a ‘song for peace,’ which is nonexistent in the Roman rite.”
— “The movement of the faithful from their places to exchange the sign of peace amongst themselves.”
— “The departure of the priest from the altar in order to give the sign of peace to some of the faithful.”
— People using the sign of peace at Christmas, Easter, baptisms, weddings, ordinations and funerals to offer holiday greetings, congratulations or condolences.
Let the clergy run the show. That’s why they get paid the big bucks.
Old Life 
Please, oh please, make this so.
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I always found it annoying when overly-enthusiastic (redundant?) members hip-checked the covenant children into the side of the pews in order to “exchange peace” with visitors (strangers) who may or may not have been professing Christians.
Save the chit chat before or after worship. I’m going to forget your name anyways…
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As a one-time LCMS almost member, I can identify with the awkwardness of the “sharing of the peace”. It basically became the setting where the congregational extroverts made the rest of us feel awkward.
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Peter Hitchens lamented the PotP in CofE churches, admitting he preferred to skulk behind columns or in shadows speaking to no one. CS Lewis hated it too, I think.
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Try it in a charismatic church. You don’t know if the next hand shake might slay you in the spirit or give you the gift of tongues without asking permission.
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Interesting.
I’ve attended some confessional Lutheran services (LC-C here in Canada – analogous to LC-MS – and an LC-MS mission church in Prague, Czech Republic), and I’m not sure I recall this ‘Passing of the Peace’ being done at those I’ve attended, though I do recall a point in at least one, maybe more than one, service in which we were all encouraged to great each other and shake hands – during the service. I am familiar with that kind of thing from my evangelical days, so it wasn’t completely unfamiliar, but it was unexpected in liturgical worship, and therefore slightly jarring…
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Visited an LCMS yesterday. Solid service. My wife noticed this but I did not: An African family went up for communion. A little girl (probably 3 or 4) was passed over for receiving the bread. She raised both arms as if to say, “what about me?”. Same thing happened with the wine. I think the pastor did give her a blessing, though.
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From Why Catholics Can’t Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste by Thomas Day:
“In the early 1970s a friend of mine attended Mass in one of Philadelphia’s grand old parishes, an immense pile of stone built to last for eternity. In the same pew right next to him was an elderly lady who energetically fingered her rosary beads all during mass. She stood sat and knelt with everyone else but her thoughts seemed to be far removed from the activity around her.
“The time came for the Handshake of Peace, one of those ‘new things’ which made everyone feel a bit silly. My friend turned to the elderly lady at this point and, holding out his hand in friendship said ‘May the peace of the Lord be with you.’ The old lady scowled. She looked at the proffered hand as if it were diseased. ‘I don’t believe in that shit’, she replied and, without missing a breath, went back to the quiet mumbling of her rosary.”
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Jim,
Sean’s grandma. Or maybe Tom Van Dyke’s grandma.
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Jed, ding. The extroverts (hi, Will) are also responsible for that dreadful thing called “fellowship hall,” where all manner of glorified socializing takes place. But like Adam McHugh says, sociability and spirituality are not as synonymous as American-made religion seems to think (or something like that).
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Ooh, fellowship; how awful!
Nobody’s stopping you introverts from hurrying into your cars and leaving after service. True, people might ask you, “Why the rush?”; you could perhaps try telling them that you’re uncomfortable associating with your brothers and sisters; that you have this condition called ‘introversion’ which is non-contagious, but a serious impediment to normal human social interaction for y’all, and that you’d prefer to hang out in cyberspace with your own kind instead.
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Incidentally, I was an introvert all through my childhood, teens, and early adulthood – but I did a 180; I put myself out there, and chose to become more outgoing, and in time, I became an extrovert.
There is hope for you people. If you want to change. 😉
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WillS,
Congrats on your metamorphosis, remind me to vote for you to be mayor if we ever happen to live in the same town (so long as you don’t kiss my babies). All I am saying is that instead of sharing the peace as a matter of liturgy, why not move the meet and greet to before the call to worship? That way Harvey Handshake doesn’t have to hold up worship in order for every Tom, Dick, and Harriet in the congregation to know he is in attendance that Lord’s Day. At least it gives me the chance to duck into the parking lot after the service to avoid that awkward conversation until next week’s after church BBQ.
If an awkward 30 second conversation in the middle of worship constitutes true fellowship, then I have a lot of re-arranging to do when it comes to my notions of practical theology. If fellowship doesn’t involve either strong coffee, or more preferably strong ale, and nicotine, I tend to get all squirmy.
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I agree with you, Jed. I’ve never experienced this ‘passing the peace’ phenomenon, and I hope I never do; it doesn’t seem right.
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And good for you, in your choice of social lubricants; I’m an extrovert, but I enjoy them too, either with others or alone, for that matter. 🙂
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Jim, I thought of that incident but couldn’t locate my copy of Day.
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Never seen the peace passed. I did get to witness quite a bit of (presumably) holy kissing when I visited the Primitive Baptists while on vacation in NC this spring. Talk about looking on stiffly and anxiously.
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d4, presumably your feet have never been cleaner though.
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This church only “donned the towel” when oberving communion which was not the week we went. Much to my wife’s relief but to my chagrin–I showed up in flip flops with pant legs rolled high.
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The only thing we pass in our parish is the offering plate. That said, having both stood in silence during worship songs and been in places where the peace was passed, personally I find the former more awkwardand irritating.
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PS. I am considerably more comfortable receiving and giving the peace (“Peace be with you) than singing “Flow river flow.”
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Will, that’s not introversion. Maybe you are to temperament what Exodus International is to sexuality (or Tom Van Dyke is to Calvinism).
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All of our socializing and glad-handing is done before and after, but I’m sure our minister wishes everyone would quieten a little bit sooner than they do. Going from the dreaded announcements (from the pulpit) right to the call to worship is a bad thing. Kill off all non-divine announcements, I say, or do it from the floor well in advance of the service. There’s also this new technology called the laserjet printer which should make announcements obsolete.
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If American evangelicalism had its own version of the seven deadly sins, introversion would be one of them.
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What about just not interrupting. I have trouble concentrating as it is, now you want to enroot the equivalent of a false start. I already got the couple with a newborn in the front row, and old folks feeling froggy and interrupting the sermon as they see fit, and English dudes yelling from the pulpit when they get their turn at the lecturn. Shut up, sit down and focus. I barely like you as it is.
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My guess is that the excessive cheeriness in the South stems from two things: First, embarrassment among the dumb babdists and meffadists over their past arbitrary and sometimes capricious church discipline practices (Yeah, we booted your cousin because someone saw him leaving the liquor store but we’re really, really nice, really). Second, it’s just the natural consequence of revivalism and showy piety. As usual, old school cures all.
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Bill, but you don’t have to sing. It’s hard to turn down the peace.
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cw, the other trick is to make the announcements part of the congregational prayer. “Lord, we pray for good weather this Saturday for the church picnic, which will meet at Boynes Co. State Park at 2:30. Lord, see Judy Troy for directions. . . .”
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Brutal.
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We rent a part of an old church and our “fellowship time” resembles a college house party. Some people are in the sanctuary upstairs, some congregate in the halls and stairways, impeding traffic flow, and some gather in the tight kitchen space where the coffee & snacks are. I keep waiting for John Belushi to show up and bust someone’s guitar.
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That’s okay, chit chat away, leave us introverts to write or read the huge tomes of theology.
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Will, only an introvert would come out of his shell like you have on here…
You’re one of us!
You’re one of us!!!!
😀
😀
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@ Zrim, kent: No; I’m one of those weirdo extroverts who BOTH enjoys the company of other people in person AND enjoys online interaction, as well! 🙂
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I’m an ESTJ, according to Myers-Briggs, which is exactly what I knew I’d be rated when I took the test. 🙂
(Cue the inevitable “Myers-Briggs is not reliable” responses…)
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The M-B is great for showing what you would like to be, and it shows the weaknesses inherent in every profile.
I wish I had found out I am an INTP 20 years before I did, the profile answered about 40 existential (and way beyond) questions instantly.
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“(Cue the inevitable “Myers-Briggs is not reliable” responses…)”
Personality tests measure how a person’s perception of his personality. They don’t actually measure personality. Here’s an apt example:
“I’m an ESTJ, according to Myers-Briggs, which is exactly what I knew I’d be rated when I took the test. :)”
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Kent – My response after finding out I was an INTP and reading the analysis, “Oh, that’s what’s wrong with me…”
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Thanks Michael.
The question about what is wrong with me was (and still is ) asked out loud hundreds of times by coaches, teachers, parents, friends, more than friends…
A tough part is when someone finds out about my faith and they ask how I could believe in God and all that (expletive deleted) when I have a brain.
Believing this was all signed, sealed, and delivered before time began helps me a lot…
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Kent, Will’s talking about introversion like it’s a sickness to overcome and suggestion that intros don’t like people prevents this one from (ahem) extending the right hand of fellowship.
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RL, perhaps more like psychology’s answer to horoscopes. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be an INTJ (like me):
http://www.personalitypage.com/INTJ.html
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I have to flip my J switch on when I have to really get my act together. Extended periods of that can cause the need for extended time in la-la land…
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I love these blog threads – begin by talking about Vat II and the Passing of Peace and wind up revealing M-B rankings. I know I’m going to have a bad day if I haven’t had my dose of Old Life before it’s over. BTW, I’m with Grandma (sans rosary, of course).
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From my understanding, the “Passing of Peace” was a tradition of the Church, at least early on. It’s purpose was not that everyone say hello to one another, but rather to make sure that any problems between congregants would be resolved – and I believe that the service would not continue until such reconciliation occurred. This is obviously a far cry from “good morning!” It’s actually fairly easy to grit your teeth and wish an enemy good morning (I do it every day), less so to forgive/ask forgiveness in front of your peers.
My pastor abolished the practice of passing the peace about eight or nine years ago. From what he said, no one really complained – in fact, some even quietly thanked him. As one elderly woman put it to him – “This early in the morning, I don’t need to shake hands with everyone and their mother – I need Jesus.”
For what it’s worth, I think that the passing of the peace is falling out of practice amongst Lutherans. I really see it more often amongst snow-bird churches, where I guess the wizened appreciate a little “2nd Inning Stretch”. It always comes across as farcical and saccharine. I’ll talk to you over coffee after service – I’ll even shake your hand – but on an early Sunday morning, crabby and woozy, I need the Gospel first.
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Seth, you are a Lutheran so you are likely guilty of TWI (typing while intoxicated), hence you are not to be trusted.
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@ Zrim: I was joking! Do I have use emoticons every time I crack wise? Sheesh!
It’s up to you whether or not you wish to extend the right hand of fellowship. I got no beefs with intros, despite my joking.
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“The Force be with you…”
Worshipping with my grandfather at his Anglican church in Canberra recently I was relieved to find that they were using the First Order for Holy Communion in their current Prayer Book which is essentally the 1662 Prayer Book order in modernised language – and no passing or breaching of the Peace!
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Reading these comments has been the highlight of my week. One of the best lines….
Sean’s….”I barely like you anyway.”
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Monty, two things: “highlight of my week” = cry for help; Sean always has the best lines — my personal favorite is “Here come a shoe.”
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For what it’s worth – the passing of the peace isn’t in the Lutheran rubrics (meaning the 1941 hymnal, not sure about the Lutheran Service Book) either.
CW the Unificator – I may be intoxicated, but I am clear-headed to know that I don’t like your title very much. Too close to “unionist”. In Lutheran circles “union” is kind of a dirty word. Take that up with the Prussian Reformed.
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