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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Mommy Dearest

This month's Maggot Gagger Award goes to "Women's Ministries working for gender justice in the Church & the world" for their liturgies for trial use in the Episcopal "Church" in America.

Here are a few excerpts for the strong of stomach. This is real, not satire.

Morning Prayers to the Lady*

The Officiant (O) and the people (P) begin by saying

O: Dear Lady, open our lips

P: And our mouth shall proclaim your praise...

Confession of Sin

Silence may be kept. All kneel.

O&P: Most merciful Lady, we confess that we have

separated ourselves from you in thought, word and

deed, by what we have done and by what we have

left undone. We have not loved you with our whole

heart; we have not loved our neighbors

as ourselves; and we have even failed to love

ourselves. We are truly sorry, and we humbley

repent. Have mercy on us and forgive us; by your

love, lead us forward in a new direction that we

may delight in your vision for us and walk in your

ways to bring honor to your name. Amen.


...

A Collect for Guidance

Blessed Lady, walk with us this day and guide us in all the tasks we undertake. Open our hearts to hear and acknowledge the thoughts and feelings of others, especially those of children. Help us to nurture ourselves and one another without engaging in enabling behaviors. Empower us with patience, Wisdom, and joy, that at the close of day we may rest in the assurance that we, like your beautiful Son, Jesus Christ, are in right relationship with you. Amen.


A Collect for Service

Holy Lady who sent your Son Jesus Christ among us as one who serves, draw us into service this day. Give grace to those who serve others through their occupations or volunteer work. Give us grateful hearts to joyfully receive the assistance of others. Lead us to the knowledge that all challenges and relief come from your hand. Amen.
...

A Collect for Peace

Gentle Lady, who desires all of creation to live in perfect harmony, assist us in our search for peace...


They even created a Eucharist.


The people ( P) standing, the celebrant (C) says

Blessed be the Lady who births, redeems and

sanctifies us.

P: And blessed be all of her creation forever. Amen

C: Nurturing Mother, our hearts are open to you. You

know our yearnings and our deepest fears. Purify

our hearts with your burning love, that we may

learn to love you more and more. Amen.

C: Loving Lady, have mercy.

P: Mother Jesus, have mercy.

C: Loving Lady, have mercy.

The Collect (see Proper 5, p 229, BCP)

C&P: Mother of all mercies, all good things proceed from you. Inspire us to think right thoughts and empower us to act on them; through your beautiful Son, Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit perpetually watches over us. Amen

This is about as much as I can stand to post. I hope I have not soured anyone's stomach.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:19 PM

    Wow.

    That is truly disgusting. If it were in a novel in a fictional world, it might be entertaining . . . but

    wow. I . . .

    Disgusting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:01 PM

    Co-redemtrix, anyone?

    If we imagine, for a moment, that these prayers are directed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, would the liturgy really be that much different than the most excessive forms of Marian devotion?

    Could it be that, as Episcopal Church leaders search for fresh forms of protestant liberalism, that they have rediscovered the worst of medieval Roman Catholicism?

    This would all be hilarious if it weren't so bitterly depressing. So I say, with sincerity:

    Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:14 PM

    Sour one's stomach? More like churning one's stomach.

    It would appear the goddess has reemerged.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just more proof of what I have long believed. It was the ordination of the Philadelphia lesbians which really put heresy and the homosexual agenda on a roll in the Episcopal Church. They are the ones enchanted with the idea of a return to goddess worship and a demasculinized TEC was the place to bring it to a new birth. They would replace the Sky God, the Sky Father, with the Earth Mother and with their new high priestess they all but have.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous6:56 AM

    I thought 'lady' was a dirty word among the neo-Marxist feminists. But then, I suppose you never can tell with lesbyterians. It's all soooooo 60s.

    On a serious note, I remember once hearing a solid old Methodist preaching to the effect that the position of women was always at its lowest in societies in which the principle deity was a goddess. If you're going to have a goddess, then welcome to barefoot and pregnant land!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous11:24 PM

    Is it 'Liturgies for Trial Use' or 'Liturgies for Punishment Use'?

    ReplyDelete