While each of the 60+ Anglican Diocese of the South member churches, plants, missions, fellowships, and partners are faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and worship according to the Book of Common Prayer, not all services are identical. Anglicanism’s ancient yet contemporary nature allows parishes to tailor their services and ministries to appeal to a broader demographic while remaining rooted in the Anglican tradition. Within the Anglican church, there are two main general categories to describe and identify different types of worship styles – “High Church” and “Low Church.”
It is essential to know that these terms were not created to carry any negative connotations to indicate that any church is more or less spiritual than another. Instead, these terms exist to help describe a church’s worship style. High churches emphasize more liturgical, traditional, and ceremonial elements in worship, while low churches adopt a more free-flowing and modern approach to worship. Within ADOTS, our churches fall all across the high church/low church spectrum, allowing southern residents to explore and establish a home church that fits their family’s wants and needs.
One of our higher churches, St. Patrick’s Anglican Church, recently hosted a liturgical workshop, and the leadership teams of two of our lower churches, Mission Chattanooga and Mission Red Bank, were in attendance. “I didn’t want this to be perceived as ‘we’re doing it right, and y’all are doing it wrong. You should do it our way!’ said Fr. Chris Findley, Rector at St. Patrick’s Anglican Church. “The truth is, we all have room to grow. My goal with this liturgical workshop is to present some historical context, theological insight, and practical tools that could help The Mission, and by extension, us all, worship the Lord in ‘the beauty of holiness.’ I think both congregations’ leadership truly enjoyed being with one another, and I pray that this would encourage more cooperation and shared learning among other congregations in our Diocese.”
Fr. Chris Findley and Fr. Wesley Brown of St. Patrick’s provided descriptive informational packets to the workshop attendees, offered hands-on training in their nave, and left ample time for meaningful fellowship between the leadership teams. “Fr. Chris Findley clearly spent significant time and effort putting this workshop together, and it made our whole team feel loved,” said Fr. Chris Sorensen, Founding Pastor & Abbot of the Mission Chattanooga. “After attending this liturgical workshop, we will likely be adjusting multiple areas of our service, including the procession, recession, and how we set the table.”
Although St. Patrick’s clergy were the hosts of this liturgical workshop, they also had much to learn from the Mission clergy. “I spent some time at Mission a few months back to learn their story and gain insight into their new member integration and outreach systems,” said Fr. Chris Findley. “We at St. Patrick’s have benefitted from that time with Fr. Chris Sorensen. It helped me see new ways to welcome and follow up with newcomers. That’s one of the Mission’s strengths. One of St. Patrick’s strengths is our knowledge of liturgy, so it felt like a win-win that we offer to help Mission learn more about liturgy. Yes, we’re very different, and I don’t think Mission is suddenly going to go ‘high church,’ but I think we’re able to give them some perspective and insight that, I hope, will help them with their worship in their context and with their ethos.”
“It is very clear to me that all three of these bodies are after the same thing in worship services,” said Fr. Chris Sorensen. “We long to be an offering that is good, true, and beautiful. Our worship is God-centered. All three of these churches offer Eucharist every Sunday. These three churches are liturgical and use the Book of Common Prayer. What is a little different is the push and pull between the values of transcendence and accessibility. All three of these churches feel that push and pull, and we each have different leanings in trying to find a good balance.”
We hope that the synergy between these churches encourages and inspires other Anglican churches within and outside of our Diocese to connect with other Anglican churches with differing worship styles and find beauty and meaning in the differences while bonding over the fundamental similarities.
St. Patrick’s Anglican Church
stpatricksboro.org
Sundays – 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Wednesdays – 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
7103 Baker Road
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
Mission Chattanooga
missionchattanooga.org
Saturdays – 4:00 p.m.
Sundays – 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
806 E. 12th Street
Chattanooga, TN 37403
Mission Red Bank
missionredbank.com
Sundays – 10:00 a.m.
3912 Dayton Blvd
Red Bank, TN 37415