This is a post comes out of some thoughts that have been going through my head for a while. The question is do we at the more evangelical end of the Anglican spectrum miss out on some of the spirituality of those at the higher end? I guess it really got me thinking about it a few weeks ago at Depth (see last post) we had an interesting brief discussion about saying the Grace together, some keep their eyes closed while others look around, but also those from the higher church make the sign of the cross as they say it, but what is the significance in the making the sign of the cross, why do those from a higher church background do it and why do we from a more evangelical background not? Is it outdated symbolism or is it a spiritual discipline that helps focus? I suppose this has also come up as I have been talking with my mentor, the other day he was talking about saying the ‘Daily Office’ a regular prayer pattern that exists in many branches of the church, there are several versions and each often has a Morning, Noon & Evening form. Many of these come from the more traditional denominations, and they are often used in monastic type communities. I have been trying to use the daily office and looking at few different forms online, I have  been using a version from the Northumbria community (along with one from common worship online) which starts with a time of silence followed by the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen” and it suggests making the sign of the cross as you do it. I have only used it a few times so far and have made the sign as I say it (although despite being in an office all by myself I have found myself doing it quite shyly and discretely) and there is something about it, it fits, it feels like it belongs. So why do some do it and others not? Are there other symbolisms like this that we don’t do? Is there room to explore some of these traditions within the evangelical church? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts and feedback.

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written by Simo