Our local Episcopal parish provides a Taize-style service on Saturday evenings. The attendance is small (6-8 plus clergy). We sit in the choir section, have incense, sign songs in both English and Latin, gather around the altar for the Eucharist. I prefer this service to the regular Sunday morning services. Seems more ancient. Do other TEC parishes provide a Taize-style service?
I'm not sure what a Taize style service is, but our choir sometimes sings Taize hymns, in the main when people are receiving the Sacrament. Incidentally, once a month, the day of the "Family Service" (no eucharist) we have a Celtic Eucharist, attended by about twenty people, in the evening. It seems to involve some fairly "modern" prayers and the Sacrament is is passed round from person to person, Loving Cup style. I don't enjoy it and opt for my usual choice of the nine o'clock eucharist instead.
Our Taize service has the Loving Cup, passed from person to person. What I like about this service is kneeling in the choir section singing the songs in English and then Latin (two rounds each). Reminds me of my ancestor, a Scottish Priest at a Scottish Abbey (1400s). As I sing the Latin rounds, I imagine my ancestor kneeling in the stall beside me. Would like to sing in Gaelic too! If only I knew Gaelic and someone could translate the songs into Gaelic.
During the 15th century 50% of Catholic priests were married. http://www.futurechurch.org/fpm/history.htm Actually, my ancestor began his clerical career as a priest, then studied law and was appointed Notary, a legal position, for Kilwinning Abbey (Ayrshire, Scotland). The Abbey was large with over 20 affiliated locations. His position, as I understand it, was to handle the legal and court affairs associated with the land holdings of the Abbey. This was 100 years before the Scottish Protestant Reformation. Later, many in my ancestral clan held on to their Catholic sympathies for a time during the Scottish Protestant Reformation. However, 200 years later, some were killed during the Massacre of Dundee, Scotland, Sept. 1, 1651. http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/n...f-dundee-s-population-were-massacred-1.131651
I hope I'm allowed a quick aside. Lady Antonia Fraser was trying to explain to some American students that Elizabeth II was not descended from Elizabeth I. But they were simply unable (or not prepared) to take that on board. Meanwhile, Eliz II is alleged to have said of her Tudor namesake, "I don't have much time for her. She beheaded my ancestor".
Yeah. . . . We have gone off topic. I suppose that is my fault. But I do like our small Taize service because we sing the songs in English and Latin (and French)--which remind me of my Scottish Priest ancestor. I would like to hear more about Taize and Celtic Eucharist services.