Healing Divisions at the Lord’s Table

FROM 19-23 FEBRUARY, I had the privilege of representing the Church of Ireland at the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation (IALC) held this year in Seoul, South Korea. The IALC meets every 2-3 years and brings together liturgists and worship leaders from around the world to consult, study, and pray together. This year 42 members were present from 17 churches of the Anglican Communion.

There was an extensive programme of business including numerous reports and papers to consider covering a range of concerns around liturgy, from academic and historical to pastoral and current. One matter of business stood out as particularly profound and of great significance: the development of a new Eucharistic prayer adapted to East Asian cultural sensibilities. This may sound like a slightly obscure exercise, but bear with me! The prayer has been developed by the Anglican Liturgical Network of East Asia (ALNEA). The seed for this network was planted in 2009, in conversation among delegates from the Philippines, South Korea and Japan, with membership expanding and conversations continuing over several years. If this seems like a small thing to you, I encourage you to consider the history of the East Asian region going back to World War II. Japanese militarism and aggression in the region were not minor factors in the war: there are deep scars and animosities still present in the region today. Memories of the war are alive and well, and indeed the possession of various small, contested islands right around the region are live issues. For these reasons, the East Asian Eucharistic Prayer is not simply a matter of interest in liturgical experimentation, but rather is a story of how our church processes and practices can provide space for reconciliation and healing at a social level.

* Full article available in printed copies.

Abigail Sines

is Associate Minister in the Carrigrohane Union of Parishes and is a member of the Church of Ireland’s Liturgical Advisory Committee.