When I arrived at St Gabriel’s Anglican Church on Sunday the 9th of May 2010, I was given a program and two handouts which had hymns written on them. These hymns were more traditional as opposed to the youth hymns which are generally sung in other churches. Traditional hymns are used at the moment in Anglican Churches because of the concentration services [1]. They are looking at all the old hymns which have very old, wise words which talk about worshipping God, whereas most of the modern hymns these days such as Hillsongs are more words of this generation [1]. There is no set order of the hymns; the priest just chooses the ones that are suitable to the readings [1]. There was only one instrument used throughout the service which was the organ.
I also noticed that there were many candles around the church which symbolizes that God brought the light into the darkness. If wanted to pray for someone you would light the candle and pray and while the candle is burning it reminds us that Christ comes to us through the petitions and its ongoing prayer to God. This candle is called the votive [1].
The key theological understanding and core belief of the Anglican Church is creed: the teachings of Christ, living in the Holy Spirit and Baptism. Baptism symbolizes the entry into the church [1]. The liturgy is based on the bible and the teachings of Christ from the words of Jesus [1]. The Anglican Churches think their role in the world is to spread the gospel: tell the people the word of Christ, the love of Christ and the need of Christ [1].
The Anglican Church is run in a certain structure. The head of the church is called the primate [1]. They stay in the area where they were elected from but can be anywhere at any time [1]. The Archbishop, Phillip Aspinal oversees the whole of Australia [1]. He is in charge of the structure of Australia amongst Anglican Churches [1]. The Anglican’s do not believe in the pope as he’s the head of the world wide Roman Catholic community. The head of the world wide Anglican community is the Archbishop of Canterbury [1].
The set structure for the Anglican Church is the use of the prayer book [1]. Services at Easter are always more highlighted than other usual services and their biggest is Christmas.
During the service there were several other people supporting the priest. The younger people are referred to older services, assisting the priest when he’s washing his hands at certain times, pouring the wine etc [1]. The other two men are called chalice pares and their job is to minister chalice, the blood of Christ [1]. They also come to the centre of the church to read a testimony this is because portraying the gospel is very important, they bring the candles held on a stick into the body of the church, which is in the middle so the gospel is shared instead of just standing at the front of the church away from the people which is what the Catholics do.
Anyone who is baptized may take communion [1]. Before the giving of the bread and the wine the priest hits his heart three times, the people then kneel in front of the priest as he goes around feeding the bread to them and giving them a sip of wine, this is to show Jesus the sign of humble. The Anglicans believe that the bread and the wine become the body and blood of Christ just like the Catholic Churches. The priest says “Body of Christ rose for you” to those who are receiving communion or “insert name”, the blessing of God may be upon you” if you are a baby/child.
Reference:
[1] Collins, D. A member of St Gabriel’s Anglican Church, 9 May 2010.
