Seminary Life ~ Worship
Worship
In 1886, on the eve of the laying of the cornerstone for the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Dean Hoffman spoke prophetic words when he said that the Chapel,
"by its central position, its devout communions, its daily offered prayers, and its divine teaching. . . will daily remind them that in addition to, and far above the education of the library and the lecture room, there is a spiritual preparation needed for the priests of the Church."
All members of the community have a role to play in the conduct of Chapel services. The ordained members of the community serve as celebrants and deacons at the daily celebrations of the eucharist, and all faculty serve as officiants at Evensong. In their first year of study, students serve as acolytes, and later as readers and officiants at the Daily Office. Staff members and members of student and faculty households, including children, are encouraged to participate in Chapel services. Members of the entire community are invited to take a hand in composing the intercessory prayers of the eucharist.
A consistent pattern of chapel worship utilizes the rites of the Book of Common Prayer, the new forms from Enriching Our Worship, and supporting liturgical materials. The eucharist is celebrated according to the Lutheran rite on a scheduled basis as well, in keeping with our ecumenical agreements. On Tuesdays, an evening celebration of the eucharist provides an opportunity for the entire seminary community, and especially families, to come together around the Lord’s Table. Children are invited to acolyte, read and sing. Mid-day eucharists on other days encourage the full participation of daytime staff. On Tuesdays, Fridays, and feast days, the sermons are preached by faculty members, senior students, or distinguished guests. Evensong, a service historically beloved of Anglicans and a distinctive feature of the worship life of the Seminary over many generations, is sung four evenings each week. Heralded by ten minutes of hymns played on the tower chimes and opening with the procession of the faculty, Evensong retains a formal beauty which is at one with the chapel’s architecture and furnishings, the choir-wise seating arrangement being conducive to the antiphonal recitation of the daily office.
Central to the worship life of the Chapel is the participation of three primary chapel guilds. The Guild of Sacristans maintains the chapel furnishings and vessels and makes all necessary provisions for the smooth conduct of services. The Guild of Precentors comprises the cantors who provide vocal prompting at services and gather as a group on Monday evenings to lead the community in singing Compline. In an average worship week, the community may sing more than sixty pieces of music, often supported by the chapel’s three-manual 1958 Holtkamp organ, which was fully restored in the spring of 1996.
It is the Guild of Chimers’ responsibility to play the Seminary’s historic set of fifteen Durfee tubular tower chimes. Rung mechanically, they may be heard each morning and evening throughout the neighborhood of Chelsea, as they have been since the days of Dean Hoffman, calling the Seminary community together for the corporate worship of God.
