A decade ago, the Roman Catholic church made changes in its Mass rite that rattled the routine of its faithful worshippers. Notably, the people’s response to the priest’s greeting at the beginning of the liturgy changed. The longstanding reply to “The Lord be with you” now became “And with your Spirit.” The former response, “And also with you,” was retired in favor of language that more adequately represents the Latin mass text and biblical language. (Lutherans still respond, “And also with you.”)
Lutherans went through a similar uncomfortable shift in liturgical language in 1978. At that time, the denomination published the Lutheran Book of Worship (green hymnal). The new hymnal included a revision in the Apostles Creed, returning to text it had avoided since the Reformation. Previous worship books included the creedal wording “I believe in…the holy Christian church.” The new hymnal contained the historic Creed, which restored “catholic” in place of “Christian.”
The language shift necessitated an educational campaign to explain the difference between the lower-case and upper-case use of “c” in catholic. Many were confused, believing that if you confessed your faith in the catholic church, it meant professing belief in the Roman Catholic church’s teachings (the upper-case “c”). Instead, the lower-case “c,” included in the Creed, is synonymous with “universal.” We believe in the universal body of Christ, one that provides for all the baptized, regardless of faith traditions. The universal church includes our brothers and sisters in the capitalized-named Roman Catholic church and other Christian denominations.
The spirit of the holy catholic church – the universal church – is active in our community. During the difficult time of grief as we mourn the death of three Manhasset young men in a tragic car accident, the various houses of worship have opened their doors to lend support. On July 27, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church held a comforting prayer service to remember James Farrell, Michael Farrell, and Ryan Kiess. Later that week, The Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church hosted a wake and funeral for its sons, James and Michael. This morning, August 6, at 11:30 AM, our congregation will hold a funeral service for Ryan, while the Congregational Church of Manhasset, 1845 Northern Boulevard, will simulcast the funeral live from their worship space. We welcome all to join us in prayer. We give thanks to the one holy catholic church.
We also invite you to join us for worship this Sunday, August 8, at our 9:15 AM (indoors) and 10:30 AM (outdoor drive-in) liturgies.