We’re launching a new worship service, The Table, on September 18 at 9AM at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. The new worship style will be in Johnson Hall and will be more informal, intimate, earthy, and modern.
There’s been a lot of discussion about the new service, both positive and not so positive. I’ve heard, “It’s not something I’d be interested in” or “Why do they think we need a “different” worship service?” At the other end of the spectrum are adults and youth that are excited about an alternative, more modern “feel” to our worship.
When we travel to South Africa, I am struck by the differences and the similarities in our worship. In South Africa, music comes from an electric piano, everyone dances and there is way more incense than I’ve experienced here in the States! But both services follow the classic Anglican order of worship: a call to worship, songs of praise, Scripture readings, a message, a time of prayer and confession, and then the celebration of the Eucharist around a common table with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Our robust Eucharistic theology embraces both concepts that an altar emphasizes the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but as a table, we focus on the fellowship with God that we have through Christ.
What if The Table is not about us, the loyal members of St. George’s?
William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1944) said, “The Church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.”
The Table will give us another option to invite friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances to worship with us, especially those who haven’t been exposed to a more formal worship style or who may have never been in a church before.
All our worship services provide opportunities for our current members to come together with the wider Nashville community to know God better; all our worship services lead us to the Cross.
This is your invitation to join us at the fellowship of The Table. See you there!
Blessings,
Agatha