Worship

Jazz Mass | Solemn Evensong | Taize Service | Prayer

Jazz Mass

Every Sunday evening at 5:00 pm, as students and faculty across the campus prepare for their academic week, Canterbury House prepares for the spiritual week to come. During the "Jazz Mass," the congregation worships in ways that are both cutting-edge and deeply reverent. Drawing from the Book of Common Prayer, the New Zealand Prayer Book, and many other sources including stories, news items, and readings from other traditions, the Rev. Reid Hamilton presides over the service.

Music for the service is led by Matt Endahl and his Jazz group, Quartex. Composers featured by Quartex include John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Lester Bowie and other contemporary Jazz musicians whose work was inspired by deep spiritual beliefs. We call it the Jazz Mass not because the music is always Jazz; a typical service will include Folk, Rock, Country, Electronica, or even traditional hymns. It’s called a Jazz Mass because the entire service is open to spontaneity and improvisation. The Jazz Mass is a principle of worship, not a style of music.

Free supper, prepared by our members, follows every service.

Select a CD to listen to one of our festival services.

Solemn Evensong

On Wednesday evenings at 5:30 p.m., please join us for Solemn Evensong. Solemn Evensong is a service of Evening Prayer, consisting of scripture readings, psalms and prayers. The service is particularly reverent, with incense, bells, candlelight, and chanted responses. Those who find themselves drawn to “high church” liturgy will find this service particularly appealing.

Free supper, prepared by our members, follows all of our Wednesday and Sunday services.

Taize Service

On the third Wednesday evening of each month during the academic year, Canterbury House offers a Taizé service, a service of meditative prayer and simple, accessible music. Canterbury House Faculty Advisor Dr. Stephen Rush, who designed our Taizé service, is a nationally-renowned scholar of Taizé music. He has visited the Taizé community and discussed the music with the monks, and has lectured on the principles and aesthetics of Taizé music at national music conferences.

“Taizé is a tiny village hidden away in the hills of Burgundy, in the eastern part of France not far from the town of Cluny. Since 1940 it has been the home of an ecumenical community of brothers whose prayer, three times each day, is at the center of their life. Today, Taizé is a place to which visitors of all ages and backgrounds come on pilgrimage, to participate in international meetings of prayer and reflection.”
– Music from Taizé

Taizé chant consists of short musical phrases with singable melodic units that can be readily memorized. Those who play an instrument are invited to join us at 4:30 p.m. for a brief rehearsal. Free supper, prepared by our members, follows every service.

Prayer

One of the primary goals of Canterbury House is to aid in the spiritual development and formation of its members. From the one-on-one pastoral care, counseling, and spiritual direction offered by the Chaplain to the many spiritual formation and educational programs offered each year, Canterbury House reaches out to the U of M community to provide spiritual growth and assistance to all who need it.

Prayer is central to the spiritual life of Christians. Episcopal priest, spiritual director and author Margaret Guenther says: “The practice of prayer is more than a program of devotional activity . . . the practice of prayer is the work of a lifetime, touching every aspect of our life, from the search for identity to the challenge of vocation to the acceptance of death. . . . How we practice our prayer makes a difference in who we are and what we become.” The Practice of Prayer (Cowley Publications, 1998). At Canterbury House, the practice of prayer undergirds our worship, our service in the world, and our formation as people who are both well educated and spiritually aware.

In our cycles of prayer, we pray daily for the Anglican Church throughout the world, and for churches in the Diocese of Michigan. We pray daily for those in our community whose needs are known to us. If you would like to be on our prayer list, contact our


		Office: 734.665.0606 Fax: 734.665.2240 e-mail:rhhamilt@umich.edu 721 East Huron Street in Ann Arbor, MI. 48104 www.canterburyhouse.org