The Lastingham Group of Churches

1. Balance the old and the new. The Christian tradition goes back through all twenty centuries. Let us use it! As C. S. Lewis once said, we ought to allow the fresh air of the centuries to blow through us. Within this long time-span, there is a wonderfully rich diversity – Eastern, Roman, Medieval, Celtic, Taizé, etc. The choice and presentation actually gains, surely, by mixing new and old, particularly when the ‘deep structure’, of the liturgy is made to stand out clearly.

2. Balance the moods: between those bright, confident prayers and hymns and those that express mystery. There must be space for darkness and doubt. If you glance at some of the darker Psalms (e.g. 22, 69) you will see examples. It is unhealthy to repress these parts of human experience. Prayers and hymns must not screen people from reality, but open up its deeper dimensions.

3. As far as possible, the material should be accessible to the ‘fringe’ churchgoer. This does not mean we must offer a simplified version - a very serious mistake, too often made a generation ago. It is interesting that people often find recently composed texts to be less accessible than traditional ones. This may be because they are too explicit, literal, overstated, about things about which it is may be better to be silent. These services may seem to speak to a ‘members only’ group, who 'know' what they believe, and this in turn has the effect of making others feel excluded.

4. Allow space - for silence and reflection. Many people feel that the 1960s–ASB vintage was too talkative.

What liturgy did St Cedd use?

We do not know exactly what liturgy St Cedd brought from Lindisfarne to use at Lastingham. We do know however that in the Europe of the seventh century there were, broadly, two main 'families' of eucharistic liturgies.

The 'Western' type, parts of which are witnessed as early as c.390 by Ambrose of Milan, found its way north from Rome.

The other type, usually known as the 'Gallican Liturgy', is presumed to have come more directly from the East. It followed, perhaps, a trade route from the Eastern Mediterranean to what is now Spain ('Gaul'), then across the Bay of Biscay and up to Ireland; and then, thanks to St Aiden and St Columba, across to Iona and Lindisfarne.

A typical eucharistic preface from the Gallican family - and one which we have in fact used at Lastingham on certain occasions - will be available here shortly. For the moment, to see a reconstructed Gallican Liturgy click here. Notice the florid style, which is indeed popularly associated with a 'Celtic' style, and is rather different from the more restrained style of some of our recent services. - ASF

© ASF 2006

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