We are preparing for the launch of a new Family Liturgy on March 4. One of the first steps has been to make space in our Sunday morning worship schedule. The biggest sacrifice, and the biggest gift of grace, is being contributed by our early morning congregation. We are asking that they embrace not one, but two major changes.

First, they must move their worship time from 8:30 AM to 8:00 AM in order to make room for the new Family Liturgy. Second, they must change their format to shorten their liturgy from 70-75 minutes to 45 minutes.

This may not sound like a big deal. But if you were being asked to change the way you have been praying for any number of years, you could appreciate how big a challenge this really is.

Many (if not most) Episcopal Churches, offer an early morning service without music. Some affectionately refer to this as the “Golfers service” – as if the church provides an early morning service so parishioners can pray before they tee off. (It can only help.)

In reality an early morning service without music serves the needs of a spirituality that values open space and silence in the liturgy. Reading of scripture framed by silence rather than music creates space for reflection, or perhaps more accurately a contemplative openness, that is lost --for some -- when a piano or organ or choir “intrudes” upon the silence.

The early morning liturgy in this parish has never been of that type. The 8:30 service was modeled on the 10:30 service, but at an earlier time. In other words, instead of offering two liturgies that invited the expression of two different spiritualities, the parish offered the same liturgy two times. There is nothing at all wrong with this. It was simply how this parish did it. And it worked.

As we move into developing the Family Liturgy, we must change the format of the early morning liturgy. On the one hand this challenges us to make a significant change. But on the other hand, it creates the opportunity to bring greater diversification to our liturgies.

After months of study and reflection, a task group (The Traditional Liturgy Project) recommended specific changes to the early morning liturgy in order to make room for the new Family Liturgy.

The Traditional Liturgy Project generated a number of options. One of which was a very early start time while keeping the original format unchanged. The task group chose to begin the service at 8:00 AM and shorten the liturgy, while retaining some music.

We had our first experience of the liturgy on Sunday. Early responses are very good. One oft repeated affirmation was the restoration of the Prayer Book and Hymnal as worship aids. Previously words of the liturgy had been printed in a bulletin so visitors could more easily navigate their way through the worship service.

One could argue that going back to the Prayer Book and Hymnal will make the 8:00 AM liturgy difficult to follow. This is probably true. But all decisions related to liturgy involve the sacrifice of one value in order to embrace another.

No change is without dissent. One parishioner sent an email expressing disappointment in the changes that had been made. This parishioner had participated on the task group, and had a good understanding of the issues. His email would fall under the category of the “loyal opposition.” He preferred an earlier start time and keeping the liturgy relatively unchanged.

All of his points were valid. I agree with every one. I can also agree with the decisions made by the Traditional Liturgy Project. The parishioner's email expresses liturgical preference rather than liturgical necessity. In many decisions about the details of liturgy it comes down to personal preferrence -- wear a chasuble? use a Prayer Book, read two or three passages of scripture, this hymn or that hymn, Eucharistic prayer A-B-C?. The list of appropriate choices is long, if not unending.

At some point someone needs to make a choice after listening carefully to the whole community gathered to pray. I asked the Traditional Liturgy Project to help me listen. They did a good, good job.

My overall impression is that the early morning congregation is responding to the liturgy very well. It is a sign of both God’s love and Neighbor Love at work among us. We have two Sundays to go before the launch of the Family Liturgy on March 4. So far so good.