conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

As a dancer, I grok how a gesture conflates with the meaning it's intended to convey.

But as a woman, I am TIRED of having to be touched all the time. Or of having to fend off unwanted touch, and then having to deal with the negative feelings thrown at me for my having the temerity to insist on not being touched.

(Sigh.)

So I'd love to hear you talk more about the meaning of blessing with and without laying hands on people.

I think that there are various forms/contexts of/for blessing. So, hands or no hands, it may not matter at all. The "priestly blessing" or the specific blessing of "laying on hands" may simply be a subset of blessing. Christians bless God in their eucharistic prayers. I bless the congregation at the end of the service. And a simple act of kindness may be a blessing.

The meaning may have shades of difference, but is essentially the same. We want God to be present. We ask for God to work something upon or within us...at least this is a common Christian p.o.v.

It took me a while to get to the question you asked. My mind spun around on stories of clergy abuse and the like. And I am listening to Ani diFranco. Heh. So, have I begun to answer your question?

If you can get a question out of what I posted, you're doing better than I am!

I wasn't thinking about clergy abuse at all. (And by the way, would that be abuse OF clergy or abuse BY clergy?) Mostly, I was after this thing you said in your response: "So, hands or no hands, it may not matter at all."

I think my feelings about your post are enmeshed with my general resistance to all things clergical. You and Cristopher both choosing to enter the religious profession provides a great spiritual challenge to me. :-)

I have had the chance to lay hands on people for blessings of healing and health. It is an amazing blessing for both people.

One time, I visited a person who had a broken hip and was suffering from delusions. If someone touched her, she would scream. I prayed for her health and healing the same as I would if I had laid hands on her, but I did not touch her.

On the Eucharistic note, Tripp: do we bless God during Eucharistic prayers, or do we recognize God's blessedness?

My students often point out that when they say "Baruch atah . . . ," they are not blessing God but recognizing his blessedness.

I only know the Jewish perspective on "blessing God" and am wholly ignorant on the Christian perspective.

Interesting. The English translation of the Hebrew is often "We bless you, God." So, huh, I am hesitant to say that there is one answer to your question. God is blessed. This we know...God has the quality of blessedness...and we recognise it. Blessed be God Most High, no?

But I think that for the Christian it may be appropriate to bless the Second Person of the Trinity. After all, Jesus is a human. I can bless another human being even if he happens to be Jesus.

Okay, the bad news about asking to join a three-way conversation is that if I'm catching up on reading, and I feel the urge to post a reply, here, which is really addressed to both of you, I'm doubting that Megan is checking your old comments to see if I've weighed in on something... so I'm going to post this here and email it to her. (btw, Tripp, do you have a preferred email address?) I'm feeling like a blog newbie, 'cause this has got to be a common-ish problem, but I dunno a good solution.

* * * * * *

Meeegan, remember that i didn't quite get drug kicking and screaming into the ministry, but i didn't exactly come willingly, either.

I can resonate with your desire to not be touched. Especially on the head (or the face), which is the body part commonly used in thbe kind of sacramental blessings we're talking about. That's way, way inside the shell of polite personal space.

I'm reminded of a conversation with one of my best friends and classmates in seminary. We were talking about inappropriate sexual behavior by/toward clergy, and she said (to my astonishment), "I'm ALWAYS aware of where the hands are." That brought me up short... and I've since been much more careful about physical contact. Doing some of the things that are asked of me requires that I be within the space of somebody else's breath...

Will anyone read this?

I am with you Cristopher. Touching is, well, touchy. I did not grow up with liturgical touching, so I find it generous. But then I have seldom been touched inappropriately and I don't find being tourched on the head particularly odd. But, as your friend reminds me, people vary in this.

How then do we invite people into the liturgy of laying on of hands in a way that is not...I don't know...difficult for them? Or do we simply let the discipline go all together? Is there a middle ground? Should we ask at the altar rail "Do you mind if I touch your head?"

Thoughts?

I'm here! Cristopher, thanks for the email and further guidance for my addled brain.

Tripp, I think you are on the right track when you think of *inviting* people into a liturgical moment of blessing by touch. Not *requiring* them to participate in that moment, or making it awkward for them to exempt themselves from it.

In the UCC services I've attended in recent years, there is an analogous written or spoken invitation to communion -- something along the lines of "everybody is welcome, and here's how the logistics work." Something proactive like that might serve in the case of hands-on blessing as well. What do you think?

In practice, at my congregation, this happens in three places: at the communion rail on Sunday, at the healing eucharist on Wednesday, and with visitors at weddings and funerals.

Sunday mornings, the ones who ask for blessings come to the communion rail (don't get me started down that rabbit trail) and cross their arms, or don't hold their hands out for bread, or some other non-normal gesture. I usually stop and ask the parents if they receive communion (unless I recognize the kid), and if they don't receive the bread, I'll either squat down or kneel down to get to eye level and ask, "can I bless you?" If the kid says no, I'll just smile and move on.

Wednesdays are a different thing. The seats in the chapel are about 15 in number, in a rough horseshoe. After receiving bread and wine, everyone remains standing, and the priest goes around and anoints everyone there. If people can stand, they do.

At this service, I don't ask whether someone wants to be touched. I will say something like "if you want to be anointed, remain standing," but everyone does it anyway. Frankly, I'm uncomfortable with the current practice, but I'm not the senior pastor, and I can't really change it. My preference for healing prayers and anointing is to name the affliction we're praying about, and to make up the prayers as the Spirit leads. But in a setting where a (small) roomful of people can hear me, and some of them want their afflictions to remain private, I use a standard set of words, treating it as a liturgical movement as much as prayer. (I'm always last, and the one who anoints me is a leader in our congregation who functions as a deacon. He does for me what I'd like to do for others, making up the words as he goes along.)

The third place is at the communion rail at weddings and funerals, when visitors who are obviously unfamiliar with the tradition come forward. I try to talk through our common practice for communion before we start the prayers, but some folks still come forward, but will stand about a pace away from the rail looking awkward. I'll ask them if they want to receive, and then ask them "can I offer you God's blessing?" or similar words, and then ask if I can touch them on the forehead.

Community Church does not have the practice at all. Reconciler, on the other hand, offers it at every service. It is strictly voluntary. We have a side altar with a prayer rail. During the singing of the communion hymn, people are invited to come forward for anointing. We use blessed oil and usually lay our hands on the head of the person who (usually) kneels. I typically anoint the forehead with oil in the shape of a cross. There is one member who works with her hands and she usually requests that I anoint her hands. Interesting connection, I guess.

This is all in view of the congregation...so people see the choreography, but I imagine we could be more explicit.

It sounds like you're interested in introducing the practice of hands-on blessing at Community Church. Do I understand that correctly? Or are you more looking for ways to make the existing Reconciler practice easy and graceful?

Hmm...

It is an historical Christian practice...and one that Baptists tried to argue was as important as baptism and communion. So, I do think about it with Community Church. But I am not sure they are all that interested. So, not likely right now.

I would like to make the practice at Reconciler more graceful, but am not sure how to go about that yet. Thoughts?

I don't really understand what the problem is, so I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss for how to make suggestions.

What, specifically, do you wish were different about the way the hands-on blessing goes at Reconciler?

Is it that you wish more people would take part?

Is it that you wish you had better words of invitation?

I figured that when I typed my comment. Ah well...It is an interesting thing to manage worship in a congregation.

You figured what, when you typed your comment?

That the questions would be myriad and that I would be incapable of articulating my desires any clearer.