Sabbatical visits:The Gathering, Walkersville, MD

What was your first impression as you entered?

The Gathering presently meets in the multipurpose gym/cafeteria at an elementary school. (I noticed a large, colorful “the future home of” sign in a field nearer to Frederick.) On the sidewalk outside the entrance was the standard “the Episcopal Church welcomes you” sign.

Entering the multipurpose room, the first thing I saw was a large cage on the floor surrounded by children. Inside the cage was a large bunny. (This is the second Episcopal congregation I’ve visited this summer that was using furry animals to help make connections with people.) The worship space wrapped half-around the altar, with a small praise band to the side, and a rear-projection screen up and behind. The focus of the space was clearly on the altar and the lectern.

How long was the service?

The worship lasted an hour and 15 minutes, plus about 5-10 minutes of announcements and introductions following. They gave just under 10 minutes to the priest’s informal conversation with the children (literally a conversation, not a children’s sermon) and 35 minutes to the sermon.

How was the service structured?

Holy Eucharist – but neither Rite I nor Rite II. The liturgy was translated into contemporary prose, including short versions of a Creed, Prayers of the People, and Eucharistic prayer.

What did you like best?

The prayer!!!! At the end of the informal conversation with the children, the priest prayed for them in a wonderfully real, intimate way. At the beginning of the Prayers of the People, members of the congregation shared very short, one-sentence statements for prayer: “I want to give thanks for the safe return of my son from Afghanistan.” “I’d like to ask for the healing and recovery of a family member from emphysema.” People seemed to listen attentively and carefully to each of these. The spoken prayer that followed was more of an informal collect than a litany, and again seemed wonderfully real, intimate, faithful and caring.

What did you dislike?

Although I favor ongoing liturgical renewal, I prefer the punch of a more poetic style than a simple prose style.

What were its greatest strengths that you’d like to import?

There was a very powerful sense of a gathered community rather than a gathering of individuals. It definitely felt more like an open community than a closed community. This would not be a congregation that one would choose if one expected to remain disengaged or anonymous.

If you were looking for a church, would this be it?

Yes, definitely.

What did you learn from this visit?

The experience of corporate prayer in this worship gathering contrasted sharply to what I’ve experienced in any other gathering: Protestant (of any sort), Anglican, Roman, or Orthodox. I am thinking hard about how much more attention we all need to pay to corporate prayer.

The sense of community was so strong that children literally wandering around seemed no more odd than it would at a community picnic or family reunion. This did not impede worship in the least, for anyone. When one small child began crying for some reason, one woman (Mom? Grandma? Aunt? A friend?) simply got up from her seat and led the child out of the room for a while, just as she likely would at the picnic or reunion. It all seemed totally natural, relaxed, and appropriate – and the worship was never interrupted.

Is there anything else you want to say?

They got the “sequence hymn” exactly right. That sang the familiar “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord,” but shortened it, so that it effectively introduced the reading of the Gospel rather than taking on a life of its own. Nicely done!

This is my opinion; I could be wrong.

The Lord be with you.