Proceedings of the North American Academy of Liturgy 2020

The Advent Project Convener: The Rev. Elise A. Feyerherm, PhD, Associate Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brookline, MA, mentor to the Anglican/Episcopal Community of Learning and adjunct faculty at the Boston University School of Theology, and convener of the Liturgy and Music Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts Members in Attendance: Deborah Appler, Elise Feyerherm, William Petersen Description of Work: We met jointly with two other NAAL seminars.

Ecology and Liturgy. We attended this seminar to hear a paper on the interpretation of readings from Luke 1 in the Advent lectionary, particularly the Song of Zechariah and the Magnificat. We were particularly struck by the theme of “turning the hearts of the fathers to their children,” as it brought questions of caring for the earth for future generations to the fore during the season of Advent. The active role of children (and adults) as embodied beings in liturgy raised significant questions for us around how to continue to ensure that people of all ages and abilities are included and cherished in our Advent liturgies.

This paper also raised the question of how liturgy moves us to a new way of being. Both the Advent Project Seminar and the Ecology and Liturgy Seminar work according to the premise that liturgy should lead us toward God’s realm of justice, peace, equity, and abundance, and caring for the earth is a part of that movement forward. How do our liturgies open us up and empower us to change our behavior toward God’s creation?

Liturgical Music. We joined with the Liturgical Music seminar for a paper on the characteristics of Advent hymnody and a singing session devoted to newly composed pieces for Advent. Advent Project member William Petersen presented a paper to the joint group on “Hidden Treasures: Discovering Unusual Advent Music.” His paper explored three hymns: O Day of God; Lord Christ When First you Came to Earth; and Joy to the World. Each stand as an unexpected Advent hymn, and each calls our attention to an under appreciated aspect of the Advent season, especially its eschatological character.

Other Work and Plans for the Future: We continue to work on updating our website; we also seek worshiping communities interested in observing a seven-week Advent season and contributing to the conversation about renewing Advent in the larger Church.