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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Midnight Mass?
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
When do you have yours? And why at that particular time?
Ours is at 1145pm on Christmas Eve.......but nowadays seems to appeal only to the occasional visitor, together with a few of our adult regulars (young families and older folk mostly come to the Crib Service or to the Christmas morning Mass). The once-popular Midnight Mass has become (to me) a rather low-key, and, indeed, disappointing service, given the joy that should accompany the Incarnation!
I therefore suggested to a prominent member of our ministry team that perhaps we might get a few more people through the doors if we held the service an hour or so earlier. I was astounded to be immediately assailed by what I can only call a vicious rant which (amongst other things, and accompanied by emotional blackmail) asserted that it was vital for the Gospel to be read, during the Midnight Mass, at midnight!
I don't know what magic significance this might be supposed to have, given that we know neither the date or time of Jesus' birth......but has anyone else come across this notion?
IIRC, the first service of Christmas Day pre-Reformation was Matins just after midnight..so how come we're saddled with this late-night service, when peeps are tired (especially if you've been leading a lively and well-attended Crib Service), and have a Christmas morning Mass to deal with as well?
Oh BTW - happy Epiphany-tide......
Ian J.
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
A brief trawl of the web for services locally gives a range of start times from 11pm through 11.15pm to 11.30pm with a slight preference for the latter but none later. Although I'm aware of a preference for trying not to reach the Eucharist itself until after midnight, I've never heard the suggestion that one shouldn't reach the reading of the gospel before midnight.
That sounds a bit like an 'only the dear late Father Chantry-Pigg and I knew this, and now I alone am left to ensure the maintenance of the true faith against the barbarians'.
[ 26. December 2014, 15:42: Message edited by: Enoch ]
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Adam.
Like as the
# 4991
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Posted
We had 4pm with children's pageant(about 500 ppl), 5:30pm in the other church (not sure how many as I wasn't there, but about 200 I think), midnight (about 125) and 10am (about 150). The people seem to be pretty clearly voting with their feet, but all the services still have legs attendance-wise.
I think the tradition of a midnight Mass was from the time there were no vigils Masses, so that was the earliest you could do a Christmas Mass. No that that's 4pm, that's where the focus has moved too. The impulse is the same: earliest possible Mass of Christmas.
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Ave Crux, Spes Unica!
Preaching blog
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
We (TEC, for reference) have a 3pm aimed at young children (including a telling of the Christmas story with puppets), a 4.30 "family" service and a 9.30 "midnight" service. Incense and adult choir at the late service, no incense and children's choirs at the 4.30, no incense ans no choral set pieces at the 3pm.
I haven't found anyone in this midwestern vicinity doing anything later than 9.30. I miss a "proper" midnight mass, although as Mrs. C sings in the choir, my role has been caretaker of small sleeping Cnihtlets for the last several years.
Both the 4.30 and the 9.30 were full-to-overflowing. I wasn't there early enough to see the 3pm service finish this year, but it's usually about half full.
Much as I'd love to have (and to be able to attend) a midnight service, I suspect we wouldn't get much interest.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
As far as England and Wales are concerned, Midnight Masses are an Oxford Movement and later development. Before the late C19 the main Christmas services were in the daytime. However, there had been a long tradition of bands going round the farms singing carols all night - 'Christians awake' in the most literal sense. The Welsh, particularly, also went in for all night singing sessions called Plygain.
I don't know whether anywhere still has touring bands singing overnight, but I do know of one place that kept it up until the 1980s.
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Arethosemyfeet
Shipmate
# 17047
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Posted
When I was growing up (15ish years ago) Midnight Mass was probably the most popular Christmas service. In a different place now so not sure if that would still be the case today. The Watchnight Service (closest equivalent here) was reasonably well attended but nothing special. I think a lot depends on the person or team organising the service and, frankly, how well they have managed the contrast from Advent to Christmas. Midnight Mass loses a lot if the church has had a tree up since Advent 2 or 3 and had Christmas carols at Advent 4.
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Al Eluia
Inquisitor
# 864
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
I was astounded to be immediately assailed by what I can only call a vicious rant which (amongst other things, and accompanied by emotional blackmail) asserted that it was vital for the Gospel to be read, during the Midnight Mass, at midnight!
I think this rant deserves a response akin to "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
Our TEC church had three Xmas Eve services: 2:30 pm (a small, older crowd); 4 pm (children's/family service); 10 pm Choral Eucharist, which probably finished about midnight. I read and chaliced at the 2:30 and Mrs. Eluia played the organ.
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Posts: 1157 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jul 2001
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Enoch says:
'That sounds a bit like an 'only the dear late Father Chantry-Pigg and I knew this, and now I alone am left to ensure the maintenance of the true faith against the barbarians'.
Exactly! ![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
Ian J.
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
It varies from place to place. We attended a Midnight (well, 11.30) Mass at a church with a small regular congregation, which was more than doubled by people from its sister church and other visitors. Some parishes where I have worked, the Christmas morning mass has seemed an afterthought; others tend to be like Bishop's Finger's parish. Last year I presided and preached at the main morning mass of a large suburban parish and expected a big crowd; it was a disappointingly gloomy experience, and I was told that the midnight had been very different.
Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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Liturgylover
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# 15711
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Posted
My experience suggests that midnight mass is more popular then ever, to the extent that you need to arrive earlier to get a decent seat. However, numbers at services on Christmas Day itself seem to be in decline.
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Qoheleth.
Semi-Sagacious One
# 9265
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Posted
Midnight Mass is our best attended service of the year. Christmass morn is typically sparse and feels rather flat after the splendours of midnight and a short sleep. (Urban CofE)
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Posts: 2532 | From: the radiator of life | Registered: Apr 2005
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venbede
Shipmate
# 16669
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Al Eluia:
I think this rant deserves a response akin to "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
How true, how true. In fact why bother with all this silly church going lark and a sense that we are trying to get in contact with something considerably larger than ourselves, when all we need to do it stay at home, listen to some vaguely inspirational music on the player and reflect how loving and wonderful and in no need of redemption we are?
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Offeiriad
Ship's Arboriculturalist
# 14031
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Posted
In my last two years of ministry in rural Cornwall, despite nostalgia there was no actual demand for a 'Midnight' from any of the five parishes. Even the most 'trad' asked if they could have 9pm instead.
Posts: 1426 | From: La France profonde | Registered: Aug 2008
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bib
Shipmate
# 13074
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Posted
We have a 5pm service for young children. At 11.30 pm we have the traditional Midnight Mass which is candlelit until after the Gospel reading. This is always a beautiful service which is very well attended and is the last service for the hard working choir until the end of January. Christmas Day is less well attended and we often see the people there who only come at Christmas and Easter, whereas the regular congregation prefers the Midnight Mass. Maybe it would be preferable physically to hold the service earlier in the evening, but being a night owl, I'm happy to worship at midnight and drive home with carols playing in the car and a chance to gaze in awe at the houses lit up for Christmas.
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"My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring"
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Gee D
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# 13815
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Posted
We have a Christingles service (primarily for children) at 6 pm, then a Festival Choral Eucharist at 11 pm. The pattern over the last few years has been a large increase in those attending the Christingles service and a slow decline in numbers at the 11 pm. Then another Festival Choral Eucharist at 8 am, and a Festival Sung Eucharist at 10 am.
I notice the times of some of the midnight services - as early as 9 pm - given above. I suspect that climate has a lot to do with that. It's daylight here until after 8 pm at the moment, and later as you head south. Even at 11 pm, it's still normally quite warm, over 20 degrees, sometimes even hot. Quite a change from the snow of the US Mid-West and so forth.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
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Baptist Trainfan
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# 15128
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Posted
Our Nonconformist church has no tradition of Midnight Mass - Christmas morning tends to be more important and this tends to be a "family friendly" and short service.
However a few years ago several folk felt they were missing out by not having a Midnight service, so we decided to put one on. However this is - by choice - the most "untraditional" service of the year and is very much a reflective and "alternative" type of service.
Although numbers are not high (around the 30 mark) it has become an established part of the Church's programme and those who attend welcome the approach. Some people who have never come on Christmas Day come to it, on the other hand it has caused a decline on the Day as some come at Midnight instead.
Christmas Day is strange. Attendances have definitely gone down over the years, we had about 50 this year. We don't get many strangers, but we do get quite a lot of church family members who are spending the Day with parents etc. But many of our "regulars" don't show up at Church at all after the Carol Service on Advent 4.
(What is traditional in Nonconformist services is a "Watchnight" service late on New Year's Eve. But these have, I think, largely died a death in the last 10/20 years. We don't have one, at any rate.)
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Pine Marten
Shipmate
# 11068
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Posted
Ours starts at 11.45, and we usually get quite a crowd. Sadly we missed it this time as Mr Marten and I both felt so poorly from a stinking cold and endless cough that we stayed home ![[Frown]](frown.gif) .
We managed to get to the morning service on Christmas Day, but it wasn't the same.
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kingsfold
Shipmate
# 1726
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Posted
quote:
posted by liturgylover:
My experience suggests that midnight mass is more popular then ever, to the extent that you need to arrive earlier to get a decent seat. However, numbers at services on Christmas Day itself seem to be in decline.
That probably holds true for our place.
We had a crib service at 4.30pm (which I didn't go to so no idea how well attended or not it was).
We then had our Carol Service at 6.30pm, and were packed out, and Midnight Mass at 11.15pm, also packed out. It was noticeable that the congregation were arriving from about 10.30 for the midnight service.
Christmas morning was reasonably well attended, but substantially less so than the midnight mass. It was also a very different congregation - at lot of older people who didn't want to be out that late at night and some of the families for whom that is too late... (all our junior choristers for a start!)
Posts: 4473 | From: land of the wee midgie | Registered: Nov 2001
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by bib:
Christmas Day is less well attended and we often see the people there who only come at Christmas and Easter, whereas the regular congregation prefers the Midnight Mass.
That's interesting, because at our place we are full to bursting at the Midnight Mass, but with a lot of visitors for whom this is the only service they ever attend. The Christmas Morning Mass is less well attended, but is mainly made up of "regulars". Despite the lower attendence, more people receive communion in the morning than at the Midnight Mass.
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Horses for courses, clearly.
Looking back through our service registers, I see that Midnight Mass attendance has declined muchly over the past 20 years, and I wonder if this is partly due to the....er....passing away of the older generation for which it was The Done Thing. Our present demographics comprise mainly young, low-income (often single-parent) families, who mostly don't come to church, students (often foreign nationals), who don't come to church (on account of being Muslim or Hindu, so fairy nuff!), or older people (who don't come out at night!).
Despite all this, we seem to have a compulsion to persist with some form of Midnight-ish service. I wonder if perhaps we shouldn't try quite so hard to put on the Solemn High Mass of the past......but to make it just a bit lower-key.
Ian J.
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Abigail
Shipmate
# 1672
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Posted
I usually find the midnight service at my church a bit disappointing and don't often go. This year I did something different – I went to the Midnight Eucharist at St Paul’s Cathedral.
It was very full – I arrived at the last minute and had to sit at the back in a corner so I couldn't see much but it was an excellent service. It was wonderful to hear the choir singing the first two verses of 'Once in Royal David’s City' as they processed in.
The thing that puzzled me was that none of the people around me seemed to be particularly interested in what was going on. The man on my left was playing with his phone the whole time ![[Mad]](angryfire.gif) . The people in the row in front sat and chatted through the Creed and most of the carols, nobody wanted to share the peace – I turned to my left and right and behind but everyone carefully avoided eye contact. What was going on? I genuinely don't understand why anyone would take the trouble to go out late at night, make their way to the cathedral and apparently not engage with the service at all. Am I missing something?
(Despite all that I'm glad I went. My only worry was whether it would finish in time for me to catch the last bus home. I did, but only just – I had to run for it but the wonderful driver saw me and waited)
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The older I get the less I know.
Posts: 505 | From: London | Registered: Nov 2001
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Zacchaeus
Shipmate
# 14454
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Posted
The urban churches I’ve been involved with in the past have timed their midnight service to avoid the pub throwing out times rather than when the gospel might be read. As there had been trouble with drunken revellers, at previous services.
The changing of licensing hours a some years back removed the urgency of this reason but the timings stayed the same..
Posts: 1905 | From: the back of beyond | Registered: Jan 2009
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
Our 11.30pm was fairly low key: one or two visitors/ 'occasional'. I rather miss the Midnight Masses of my yoof (mid-80s), with the church packed and quite a few slightly drunk people trying (and usually succeeding) to behave themselves.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
At both my main church, and the one I happened to attend this year, the main turnout is on Xmas eve, We have to have three or four services, in addition to a Midnight service. But then the Xmas Day service is quite lightly attended, and the main preacher is not on deck for it.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
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Corvo
Shipmate
# 15220
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Liturgylover:
My experience suggests that midnight mass is more popular then ever, to the extent that you need to arrive earlier to get a decent seat. However, numbers at services on Christmas Day itself seem to be in decline.
Much the same in this part of North London. I am puzzled by the number of regulars who disappear after Advent IV - presumably treating the carol service that day as their Christmas observance.
Posts: 672 | From: The Most Holy Trinity, Coach Lane, North Shields | Registered: Oct 2009
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
I am puzzled by the number of regulars who disappear after Advent IV - presumably treating the carol service that day as their Christmas observance.
Or people who go away to stay with relatives at Christmas. Remember, for a lot of people who live in London, London isn't "home"
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
That happens to us as well. Last year, the balance was redressed to a degree by a goodly number of visitors on Christmas morning - alas, conspicuous by their absence this year! I expect they'd all gone off to the other part of the family.......... ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
Ian J.
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
I attended two cathedral services - RC Midnight Mass in Paddy's Wigwam that had that church 2/3 full - and that church seats 2000. And Christmas Day at the Anglican Cathedral which equally felt full.
Not sure what happened here - the usual pattern is midnight is full, the Crib service without Eucharist at 5pm is packed, and the Christmas morning service is sparsely attended and very much a family Eucharist service.
One of the team churches has done well with an 8pm First Service of Christmas. It was agreed one year when there weren't enough ministers to cover 4 midnight services, but they liked it so much they've hung on to it ever since.
The Nine Lessons and Carols service is held at 6pm on Fourth Sunday of Advent.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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ExclamationMark
Shipmate
# 14715
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Posted
As with Trainfan: late services on Christmas Eve aren't a part of our tradition. I've introduced a reflective "late" service in my current (and also my previous churches), neither having done one before.
Attendance at 11.30 pm is smallish (30+) but a lovely feeling in a candlelit church. A few visitors to add to regulars: some returned on Christmas Morning.
Christmas Day celebration full to bursting
Posts: 3845 | From: A new Jerusalem | Registered: Apr 2009
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Try
Shipmate
# 4951
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Posted
My own church, in Ohio, is Episcopalian. We're a small congregation, and had only one service at 7PM on Christmas Eve, plus a 10AM said service on Christmas Day. I was away with my family, but I would imagine from past years that the space we're worshiping in was extremely crowded on Christmas eve, with around 100 people crowding into our auditorioum.
My parent's Methodist church, in Texas which is quite large, and like most urban, Southern Methodists, fairly liturgical, offered no less than five worship services on December 24. They began with a "Service of Hope and Remembrance", AKA a "blue Christmas" service, at 2:30. Technically, that service, which is a requiem Eucharist for those who have died in the previous year, was an Advent service, not a Christmas one. This was followed by the children's service, without Communion, at 5. Two hours later is the main Christmas service, with hymns, anthems, choir, and organ. Communion was served using wee cuppies (intinction is the more common method at that church). There were around 400 people attending, enough to fill the sanctuary but not so many that latecomers could not find seats. At 9:00 there was a contemporary Christmas Communion service with a praise band. At 11:00 PM there was a "Meditative and Reflective" Communion service with hymns and organ but no choir or anthems, similar to the 8:30 AM Sunday service. I would imagine that the 9:00 would have drawn about 100 people, and the 11:00 about 75 or so.
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“I’m so glad to be a translator in the 20th century. They only burn Bibles now, not the translators!” - the Rev. Dr. Bruce M. Metzger
Posts: 852 | From: Beautiful Ohio, in dreams again I see... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Liturgylover
Shipmate
# 15711
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Posted
As a slght - but I hope not too significant - aside, I wondered how many had encountered the tradition of a mini carol service prior to midnight mass? It seems popular in Roman Catholic churches and a few Anglo-Catholic ones, and comprises ra 30 minute service of readings interspersed with carols and perhaps one or two choral anthems. Most London churches still have an 11.30pm start time either begining with carols or mass proper.
Having spoken to a few friends at lunchtime today, the firm view, in terms of numbers, is that they were much higher than they have been for some years, and for midnight it was standing room only. For example little Chelsea Old Church had over 400 at their crib service, and 1300 between their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services
Posts: 452 | From: North London | Registered: Jun 2010
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Rosa Winkel
Saint Anger round my neck
# 11424
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Corvo:
quote:
Originally posted by Liturgylover:
My experience suggests that midnight mass is more popular then ever, to the extent that you need to arrive earlier to get a decent seat. However, numbers at services on Christmas Day itself seem to be in decline.
Much the same in this part of North London. I am puzzled by the number of regulars who disappear after Advent IV - presumably treating the carol service that day as their Christmas observance.
Reminds me of when I visited my mother's church on Christmas Day a few years ago and my wife was disappointed that we only sung three carols. The priest replied that the "congregation was caroled out after the carol service of the previous Sunday".
That's what happens when one does carol services before Christmas.
My old parish in Chester did a 6:30 (or perhaps 5:30) Nine Carols and Nine Lessons, and a Midnight Mass at 11:30, the former packing the church out, the latter seeing a sparse congregation. The Christmas morning Mass saw a good crowd. That was over ten years ago, mind.
When I worked in Chester cathedral we had the policy of a verger (always me) walking around the cathedral about half an hour before Midnight Mass with a thurible, thus making the space smell like the church; the theory being that people would behave themselves more.
Didn't stop the sidespeople chatting during the sermon though.
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Posts: 3271 | From: Wrocław | Registered: May 2006
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Liturgylover
Shipmate
# 15711
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Posted
I was glad to note that Pinner Parish Church had its service of Nine Lessons and Carols this evening.
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Rosa Winkel:
When I worked in Chester cathedral we had the policy of a verger (always me) walking around the cathedral about half an hour before Midnight Mass with a thurible, thus making the space smell like the church; the theory being that people would behave themselves more.
Whether or not it had that effect, I approve! I used to do it myself, though not in a cathedral.
Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Try:
... "blue Christmas"...
I don't think we use that term round here. I've not encountered it before. Is it a name for what we call Christmas Eve or does it mean something else?
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Ceremoniar
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# 13596
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Posted
The common practice of having Christmas music before Midnight Mass stems from people arriving early to claim a seat. The music became an inspiring way to fill the time.
Posts: 1240 | From: U.S. | Registered: Apr 2008
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Blue Christmas thread from 2012 - that one is in Oblivion. It's mentioned on a Limbo thread from 2011 too, so something that's come up before.
And there was me thinking it was something about those 'adult' pantomimes that Jim Davidson used to do.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Pancho
Shipmate
# 13533
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ceremoniar:
The common practice of having Christmas music before Midnight Mass stems from people arriving early to claim a seat. The music became an inspiring way to fill the time.
I don't know. It was common for people to gather and pray the rosary before mass. This past Saturday I went to 7 a.m. mass and a group of ladies were praying the rosary before mass began. I imagine carols before Midnight Mass could be an extension of devotions that normally happened before mass. Plus, in the days before Vatican II, weren't vernacular hymns often sung before mass?
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“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’"
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Pancho
Shipmate
# 13533
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Posted
I forgot to add, we used to have Christmas mass right at midnight but over the past decade it's been moved earlier. To be fair it's not the nicest neighborhood and there is gang activity in the area so I imagine some people don't feel all that safe there at night.
This year mass (in Spanish) was held at 10 p.m. and it was a full house. Since I didn't get home 'till almost midnight it was almost like having gone to Midnight Mass anyways.
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“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’"
Posts: 1988 | From: Alta California | Registered: Mar 2008
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Magersfontein Lugg
Shipmate
# 18240
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Posted
I'm told Midnight Mass is becoming less popular and I can see why. It seems to me a rather sentimental and slightly silly thing to do. - Do we give due attention to worship at that time of night, and indeed what about drivers going around at that time of night.
I favour the idea of having it either much earlier in the evening, when families can attend too, or not at all!
Posts: 104 | From: Bottle Street | Registered: Oct 2014
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Chorister
Completely Frocked
# 473
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Posted
Our Midnight Mass service remains as popular as ever amongst the adults. But, in common with many other posters on here, we also have an earlier service suitable for young families. In fact we have two as it has become so popular - the crib service with real animals and a real baby attracted over 500 to the early afternoon service and nearly 300 to the late afternoon service. Apparently the total numbers attending on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were 1,400 this year - far too many to fit in the church all in one go!
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Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.
Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001
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Ethne Alba
Shipmate
# 5804
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Posted
This Christmas we were staying with family in a rural area. But the two villages have a total of five churches between them so we were hopeful of a Midnight Something-or-other.
Sadly early evening services were the order of the day locally and we just couldn't face a 16 mile trek in foggy weather to the nearest Midnight Communion on offer.
Talking later, it transpired that many folk Would have liked to go to "A Midnight" and interestingly everyone who said this identified as "not usually a church attender".
Maybe churches are missing a trick here?
Posts: 3126 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Magersfontein Lugg:
I'm told Midnight Mass is becoming less popular and I can see why. It seems to me a rather sentimental and slightly silly thing to do. - Do we give due attention to worship at that time of night, and indeed what about drivers going around at that time of night.
There's plenty of us night owls around, and midnight is prime time for some of us. And what you call sentimental enhances things for some of us, it's how we're built.
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Indeed - same here (it's 2.38am in the UK!). We do seem to have a small but regular congo for the Midnight Mass, so I'm already working on some ideas to adapt it to a more 'intimate' service for the Faithful Few.....
Ian J.
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Knopwood
Shipmate
# 11596
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Posted
When I had to preach in a parish church for the first time, as an intern, several friends my age expressed an interest in coming out to hear me until they learned that the service was at 11 o'clock on a Sunday morning, a time slot that did not exist in their diaries.
Posts: 6806 | From: Tio'tia:ke | Registered: Jun 2006
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Fr Weber
Shipmate
# 13472
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Magersfontein Lugg:
I'm told Midnight Mass is becoming less popular and I can see why. It seems to me a rather sentimental and slightly silly thing to do. - Do we give due attention to worship at that time of night, and indeed what about drivers going around at that time of night.
The custom of Missa in nocte for Christmas is recorded as early as the 9th century. I doubt sentimentalism was the motivation.
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"The Eucharist is not a play, and you're not Jesus."
--Sr Theresa Koernke, IHM
Posts: 2512 | From: Oakland, CA | Registered: Feb 2008
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Wouldn't that Missa in nocte have been rather more of a monastic service than a 'parish' mass, IYSWIM? Agreed, hardly something sentimental, anyway.
Ian J.
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Al Eluia
Inquisitor
# 864
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by venbede:
quote:
Originally posted by Al Eluia:
I think this rant deserves a response akin to "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
How true, how true. In fact why bother with all this silly church going lark and a sense that we are trying to get in contact with something considerably larger than ourselves, when all we need to do it stay at home, listen to some vaguely inspirational music on the player and reflect how loving and wonderful and in no need of redemption we are?
Boy, you sure read a lot into that comment! All I meant was that there's no need to be legalistic about the scheduled start time of Christmas Eve Mass.
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Consider helping out the Anglican Seminary in El Salvador with a book or two! https://www.amazon.es/registry/wishlist/YDAZNSAWWWBT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_7IRSzbD16R9RQ
https://www.episcopalcafe.com/a-seminary-is-born-in-el-salvador/
Posts: 1157 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jul 2001
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