Michaelhouse has ahagioscope.Sometimes these things are called squints. The idea was that, if you were having to observe the medieval equivalent of social distancing because you were a leper, or had the plague, or had been excommunicated by the vicar (!), you could, literally, squint ;at the most sacred moments of the consecration of the bread and wine at the Mass.
I never imagined that, in my lifetime, an electronic version of hagioscopy would be needed on Sundays. Devin and I have talked long and hard about the kind of worship we ought to be streaming on a Sunday - should it be a Eucharist, or something else? Something bespoke for reflection and prayer, or the Lord's own service on the Lord's own day? It's not an easy one to get right. Bishop Dagmar tells me that some bishops are talking about having a personal Eucharistic fast in solidarity with a church unable to receive the sacrament in person. That brings with it more theological complexity than I can engage with here.
This coming Sunday, the ;beginning of Passiontide, feels like a right moment to me to celebrate a Eucharist and share it with you online. I will receive communion in bread and wine, and Megan, alongside me, will receive the bread. As we do so, we do it with you, and for you, holding you in our hearts. In the order of service (which you'll find here) you'll find some prayers to use, and I'll say something about it at the right moment in the service. I'm indebted to Bishop Andrew Rumsey for a reminder of John Calvin's words, addressing our connection to Christ through bread and wine, that the Spirit truly unites things separated by space. In our continued physical separations, may the gift of the Spirit hold us all in bonds of love.
Adrian
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