The Episcopal Tourist, Write III

This morning at the suggestion of Ed Hutchinson, Lee and I attended All Saints Church in Dorchester just outside of Boston. This is an Anglo Catholic Parish founded in 1867. The present building dates from 1897 and is an architecturally significant structure of great beauty.

We arrived about 15 minutes before the service, found a bulletin and made our way to a pew. The magnificent interior featured high ceilings and clerestory windows with some fine stained glass. The altar was of elaborately carved stone with a richly detailed last supper and painted scenes with gold leaf above. The choir stalls were made of intricately carved wood and there was an elaborate cross high above the choir that also appeared to be part of a rood screen. There were also side chapels. The pews were of wood with no cushions.

The relatively new Fisk tracker organ was shown off to great advantage in the prelude, Improvisation in F# Minor by Buxtehude. The conclusion filled the church with mighty and beautifully balanced sonorities.

The congregation was a diverse mixture. There were many African Americans including two elderly church ladies in matching pink skirt, jacket and wide brim hats. All appeared devout and most everyone genuflected entering and leaving the pews.
The service was called a Solemn Mass, which indicates the presence of incense and chanting. Ed had told us that the church was a training ground for acolytes and this was evident in the precision of the service team. The choir, torchbearers, thurifer, Sub Deacon, Deacon, and Priest entered from the rear and executed some precise choreography reverencing the altar.

I should note that in the pews were the 1940 Hymnal and the Anglican Service Book which seemed to be mostly rite I with some additions. Today we had just the trebles from the choir of Men and Boys. There were only 5 of them, but they were very well schooled and confident, needing only occasional direction from the choirmaster. They sang an introit in Anglican Chant. We began with an opening acclamation and then knelt for the Decalogue, confession and absolution.

Lee noted that they were following the Roman Catholic lectionary, not the RCL. No amplification appeared to be used during the service and it was definitely needed. We both had difficulty understanding readers, priests and others.

The congregation was censed 3 times during the gradual. All bowed their heads each time. The gospel procession was executed with exquisite precision, and then chanted superbly right next to us as the incense rose heavenward. The children were joyfully led out by a torchbearer to Sunday school. Lead kindly light!

The sermon was delivered by the rector, Father Michael J. Godderz. He preached on the Epistle, Ephesians 2:4-10. It concerned the gift of God’s grace. We do not have to do good works to be saved. We are already saved, and our good works are the fruits of that gift of salvation. Lee took exception to some other conclusions of Father Michael and had a lively impromptu discussion with him on the way to coffee hour.

After the creed, prayers of the people, and peace, the trebles sang a lovely anthem by William Byrd I have longed for thy saving health.

Portions of the Eucharistic prayer I were chanted. The priests celebrated in the old manner with their backs to the congregation facing the high altar. All movement was done with great reverence and grace. We went up and received at the altar rail to the strains of Bach’s Bist du Bei Mir, Be thou with me, sung in quite decent German by the boys.

After prayers and dismissal we sang the final hymn. This was followed by a recitation of the Angelus. All stayed to listen to the Voluntary, Buxtehude’s O Sacred head sore wounded, as the altar candles were extinguished by another team of acolytes. This must have been the training class as they had a few small missteps along the way.

A member in an adjacent pew invited us to coffee hour and gave us directions. We went as instructed to the back and up some stairs. There was handicap access via a motorized chair lift. Their Great Hall is a large and graceful space with high ceiling and beautiful wood. It is flooded with light from many large windows. There were a number of happy children running around. It took a while, but we were finally approached by a man and later his wife who engaged us in conversation. This gentleman had been at this church since 1935!

Our impression of this church was of a very devout, vital and engaged community. From my childhood and some other experience, I have always pictured the Episcopal Church as an essentially patrician and definitely white community. What was truly heartening about this church for me was the diversity of the congregation and the obvious strength of their devotion. This is not a wealthy community for the most part and it appears that this church provides much needed structure in the lives of its members, especially the children in this working class neighborhood. The music program is of special interest to me. It is obvious from the musical skills the boys displayed that they have been taught with great care and intensity. One announcement concerned prayers for a choirboy whose home had been destroyed by fire. The bonding, sense of purpose, and community this program fosters must be of great value here.

We heard hints that there had been controversy in the church, presumably something to do with the “current unpleasantness” over sexual matters.

Personally, I might have trouble making his my spiritual home because of the conservatism of the theology and liturgy. The priest did depart slightly from the printed liturgy at one point by using more gender inclusive language, but this was the exception. The old liturgy, while very beautiful, poetic, and majestic, seems to me now to be a relic of an earlier era. I also question the use of the fine, but very outdated 1940 hymnal. Nevertheless, the Anglo Catholic tradition is well represented here with beautiful ceremony, liturgy, music, and community.