Defining interior liturgy - more indicative of an individual's spiritual emphasis

Recently while attending a class, one of the facilitators explained that the sessions would be opened and closed by a prayer previously written and applicable to the subject at hand. This was to minimize one’s interior liturgy.

I had never heard of this term before and it intrigued my curiosity. I have participated in both liturgical and"spontaneous" communities of believers and find value in each. The question that arose in my mind is how interior liturgy develops. It is primarily an experiential development over time based on spiritual practice, life experiences and the church to which we affiliate. If we look close at our worship in various forms we may find liturgy is present in many of our practices.

Liturgy is simply a worship organization tool so people may participate as a community. It is centered on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Christian congregations. Everyone has the opportunity to praise God and everyone is included in the blessings emanating from that praise. But where does interior liturgy fit?

Interior liturgy is still praising God and experiencing blessings but in a less formalized manner, which may not include the entire community. We enter worship with an agenda dictated by our experiences. If we feel unloved or lonely then our prayer will often reflect those feelings. On the other hand, we may be undergoing extreme happiness and fulfillment and as a result our prayer will reflect that as well. There are many degrees of these and other feelings in all of us.

Even in most “non-liturgical” churches there is some form of liturgy, and an interior liturgy incorporated to some extent. I can use the church where I attend as an example.

The service starts with a worship song, followed by announcements. Then there is some more worship music and an extemporaneous prayer by one of the worship team members, then some more music. Then the pastor leads us in a prayer of confession and we pass the peace. This is followed by another song and then the preacher delivers the sermon and leads us in the doxology and closes with an extemporaneous benediction. This is the format almost every week, and as you can see we have incorporated a definite liturgy.

In the more liturgical church there is usually a theme set forth by the church calendar or the Book of Common Prayer, which over the course of the year touches aspects of the community.

Examples of interior liturgy may be the music chosen or what prayer is prayed. This is not to say these interior tendencies are incorrect, it is that they are more indicative of the individual’s spiritual emphasis rather than the overall needs of the community.

We will never get it perfect, but if we are more aware of our preferences we can try to incorporate them into a more communal offering to the Divine.

As we offer our praise to the Divine Presence, may we also offer love and consideration to those who are in a different spiritual practice and remember we are all one Body?

George Shunk is a spiritual director, who attends Park Street Brethren Church in Ashland.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Awareness of liturgies can lead to more communal offering to Devine