H The Peace
Stories from the four churches
At St Ann's the Peace is the climax to which the first half of the service moves. Today the president uses a versicle and response echoing the theme of the service. This is used for a month or more during the same teaching theme or season of the Church's year and is printed on the notice sheet. Members of the congregation are encouraged to greet one another with it outside the church - or even over the telephone! The response 'and also with you' is the signal for a lot of movement in the church as people shake hands, hug or greet one another in other ways. There is some sensitivity to people who want to remain on their own, though the PCC recently rejected a suggestion that one corner of the church be set aside as a peace-free zone. It is good to see people using the time to share with others something of what God has said to them through the preaching, and to discover what the younger members of the church have been doing in their groups. People have been taught what the Peace is for and how to use it (see pages 270-271). At present they are experimenting with the Peace lasting for fifteen to twenty minutes, with refreshments being served, after which some who are not yet communicants leave. This has helped to encourage enquirers and those seeking baptism for their children, for instance, to experience a freer style of service which is shorter and does not commit them to receiving communion. Some, however, say that communion feels like an afterthought rather than the climax of the service. The service begins again with some gentle music and chorus singing, during which people take their seats as they prepare for the Thanksgiving.
At St Bartholomew's today the service has been led by one of the lay people. At the end of the intercessions she glances at her watch. The vicar is taking the service at one of the other churches in the group and often arrives here towards the end of the intercessions. If he does, it is natural for him to say the words of the Peace and it acts partly as a greeting announcing his arrival. But he must have met sheep on the road or have been talking too long at the other church, so the lay leader says the words of the Peace and the small congregation spend a few moments greeting one another. If they are short of time, the Peace can be briefer and more formal - living together in a village means they have already greeted one another today. Enter the vicar, at speed, just as the hymn is being announced. 'Peace be with you all!' he shouts, with a wave of the hand, and they all reply. Much better than 'Good morning everyone'!
The clergy at St Christopher's use a full range of seasonal introductory words to the Peace, occasionally following the pattern of the Maundy Thursday service in the seasonal material, using a short collect about peace instead of the introductory sentence. The deacon says, 'Let us offer one another a sign of peace' and sometimes wonders why people need this reminder what to do: why can't they just get on with it? But when they were moving away from the (bad old?) days when the Peace was first exchanged in the sanctuary and then brought down to the people by a server greeting the person at the end of each row, these action words were needed to give people permission to move on their own. And occasionally they have the Peace later in the service, before the distribution. Some say that a general handshake is not appropriate at that point, so the 'Let us offer …' words are not used.
The vicar at St Dodo's is used to commanding his congregation, but has been having a battle over the Peace, with some resisting his attempts to make it more demonstrative. 'We will all stand for the Peace. The peace…' he bellows …'We will all exchange a sign of peace.' And when one couple on the front row remain kneeling (in peace), he marches over, lays a hand on each head and says, 'The peace of the Lord be with you!' which is not quite a demonstration of peace.There has never been any teaching on why or how to exchange the Peace (see section below). There is embarrassment as one lady, taught in a more formal church, extends both hands tentatively towards a large man bearing down on her with arms flung out ready to hug her. She ducks. In one corner, some of the younger people don't seem to have been taught the difference between the Peace and snogging. And those who know one another well are engaging in noisy back-slapping and handshaking, ignoring those who are not known to them, who stand in sheepish silence waiting for the thing to be over. But that is the problem. The vicar is deep in (no doubt important) conversation with the church treasurer and has not thought how to announce the next hymn over the hubbub. So he shouts … .
What the Peace is for and how to use it
Some of the things people at St Ann's have
been taught:
* time to get straight with God
before coming to communion (so you may need to be on your own,
perhaps grappling with something from the sermon);
* time to get straight with other
people before coming to communion (so you may need to go and
make your peace, or ask forgiveness from someone at the other
end of the church). This is what the Prayer Book calls being
'in love and charity with your neighbours';
* time to share with others something
for prayer (so you may need to ask one of the leaders for the
laying on of hands for healing, or some other individual
ministry, later in the service);
* time to share with others something
for praise (so you may have something that God has been doing
with you during the week that will contribute to the praise of
the whole church);
* time to greet people you do not
know (so you may need to help someone else, perhaps someone new
to the church, feel part of the Christian family at communion,
rather than greeting only your close friends);
* time to be sensitive to the mood of
others (so you may need to refrain from approaching someone who
is clearly putting themselves right with God).
How to stop the Peace
Some suggestions:
* When announcing the Peace, announce
the hymn after it: 'At the end of the Peace we shall sing
…'. Then all that is needed is a nod to the organist, or
an agreement that the organist takes the decision when to
start.
* The organist plays the opening bars
of the hymn, and stops while the announcement is made.
* Some gentle music is played,
perhaps a chorus which people can join in. As this ends the
hymn is announced.
Note to the resources
Note 16 in Common Worship Holy Communion provides for the Peace to be used at other points than the one provided. It can be used as the opening greeting, or as part of the Communion rite before the breaking of bread or the Dismissal. The Peace may be introduced with a suitable sentence; some are provided in the seasonal provisions, and more here. The pattern is easy to copy, for instance to provide words for special occasions or to echo some particular teaching in the sermon. The introductory words should not normally be a prayer but an encouragement, based on Scripture, to minister peace to one another. The second sentence, 'The peace of the Lord be always with you', is best kept as a standard introduction to the response, but may be seasonally varied, as for example, 'The peace of the risen Lord be always with you.'
© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2004