I visited today, for the first time, All Angels Episcopal Church on West 80th in Manhattan, and was treated to one of the most impressive, and prayerful, liturgies I’ve ever experienced. The 5 p.m. Eucharist there is a successful marriage of two styles that do not usually mix: Evangelical praise & worship, and the traditional Western shape of the Eucharistic liturgy (as embodied in the Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer). The service began with a number of repetitive Evangelical-style hymns, and the sermon by Rev. Milind Sojwal was both considerably longer (24 minutes) and more spiritually encouraging and uplifting than the average Sunday sermon I have encountered in U.S. liturgical churches. Then there was a Communion service, similar to that celebrated in most Episcopal churches.
It turns out that this particular idea for liturgical synthesis works in practice; perhaps it will catch on more broadly. It certainly helps that, in this particular parish, there is a fantastic worship band: a six-piece jazz/Gospel group that has great talent, and performs and leads the music with beauty and authority. The congregation too is noteworthy. It’s long been a truism that “in America, 11 a.m. on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week”; but All Angels is strikingly multiracial. (I’ve been to only one church that has been this fully and seamlessly multiracial, with whites, blacks, and Asians in the pews: the straight-out Pentecostal Times Square Church.)
The church was pretty full, and the congregants were enthusiastic — as they should be. Impressive all around, and strongly recommended both for New Yorkers and weekend visitors to the city looking for inspiration. (The church also holds a Eucharistic service at 10 a.m.)