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FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
Here are some questions, the answers to which may
help you to better understand some aspects of our worship at
Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church:
| “Why does the congregation say in the
Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the . . . holy
catholic church?” |
| The word catholic means universal. It does
not mean Roman Catholic. When we confess our belief in the
holy catholic church, we are including the whole Church of
Jesus Christ -- made up of all its branches without
reference to any particular denomination. |
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| “Why does the congregation sometimes
use written prayers in public worship? I thought
prayer ought to be from the heart.” |
| The congregation sometimes prays written
prayers for the same reason it sings written hymns (most
of which are prayers): When a body of people is to sing or
say the same words at the same time those words must be
either memorized or written down. Written prayers can be
prayed from the heart just as surely as written hymns can
be sung from the heart. |
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| “Why do the pastors wear gowns?” |
| No specific dress is required of
Presbyterian pastors when they lead public worship.
Therefore, there are different practices in different
Presbyterian congregations, and even within the same
congregation for different services. (Note the difference
between our pastors’ dress at Morning Worship and
Evening Worship.) However, the Geneva Gown has a long
history in Presbyterian worship. At the time of the
Reformation the Reformed Churches rejected any dress for
their pastors that implied they were mediating priests or
that involved lavish display. But, because the pastors are
the chief teachers of God’s Word in the congregation,
the Reformed churches in many places appropriated the
simple academic gown of the university teacher for their
pastors. This gown, in addition to emphasizing the
“teaching of the Word” function of pastors, is also
simple, uniform and dignified. Therefore, it draws less
attention to pastors as individuals and more to their
office of teaching elders. |
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| “What are those white strips of cloth
that hang from the pastors’ necks, and what do they
mean?" |
| They are called Geneva bands and are a
residue of the conventional falling collar of the 17th
century. In the Church of Scotland (and several other
Reformed Churches) they were given a church meaning as a
symbol of ordination. They suggest the two Tables of the
Law--the two tablets of stone on which God wrote the Ten
Commandments--and as such are worn by British judges and
lawyers to show that civil law is based in the revealed
Law of God. When worn by pastors the bands emphasize the
Law of God in its broadest sense--all of Scripture--as the
basis for all the pastors say in their official capacity
as teaching elders. Since our pastors wish to stress, as
heirs of the Reformation, the primary importance of the
preaching of the Word of God, they keep this old symbol
before us. |
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| “We have been to both Morning Worship
and Evening Worship at Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian
Church and have noticed a great difference between the
styles of each. Why is this?" |
| We believe that all our worship should fit
the biblical norms of “worship in spirit and in truth”
(John 4:23), and that “all things should be done
decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40). This means
that our worship should be, according to scripture,
orderly, sincere and enlivened by the Spirit of God.
Public worship ought to be the church gathered under the
authority of the Word of God. As the congregation listens
to God speak, it responds or anticipates with adoration,
confession of sin, thanksgiving, submission, consecration,
supplication, and intercession. Then, the people of God go
back out into the world to live a life of loving obedience
to the will of God as his will is revealed in Holy
Scripture. Public worship can be validly done in both more
formal and less formal styles--one is not more spiritual
than the other. We gladly use both styles to help meet the
varieties of needs and preferences within our
congregation. You will also notice that within both these
general styles we seek to have enough of the same so as
not to be shocking (and have people’s attention on
“what in the world is going to happen next?”), and to
have enough variety so as not to be boring (and thereby
lose people’s attention). |
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| “Why does the congregation not applaud
in response to anthems by the choir, etc., during
worship at Rivermont?” |
| Dr. Ronald Preston Byars, pastor of Second
Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, answered this
question from someone in his congregation in the following
words: “Applause, by itself, certainly doesn’t offend
the ears of the Almighty. It may be quite appropriate to
applaud in church when an announcement of some
particularly good news is made: a miraculous recovery from
illness, an impending wedding, making the budget! But the
public assembly of the church for worship is significantly
different from any other public assembly, and different
rules apply. In worship, when a choir stands to sing, or a
person stands to pray, they stand as representatives of
the congregation before Almighty God. The 'audience' to
whom they address their songs and prayers is God. If
applause is appropriate, it is God who will applaud. This
relationship between choir and congregation is entirely
different from the relationship between performers and
audience in a concert of theatrical production. To applaud
a choir . . . is to distort that relationship and confuse
everyone.
There is a second objection to that kind of applause in
church. And that is that once you begin, where do you
stop? If you applaud once, do you applaud every time? If
not, do you run the risk of offending those who expect it?
If you applaud for a children's choir, how about for the
chancel choir? The preacher? Pretty soon, the whole
business becomes so perfunctory that it's as routine as
the standing ovation Lexington concertgoers seem to feel
obligated to offer anyone who does us the kindness of
including us in their tour.
“The anthem sung by the . . . choir is their offering
to God on behalf of the assembled congregation (We) don't
(want to) spoil it by presuming that our approval or
disapproval is of any importance here.” |
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| “What is a catechism?” |
| A catechism is a statement of faith written
in question and answer form to facilitate its use in
instruction. Two famous catechism questions and answers
are the first in both the Westminster Shorter Catechism
and in the Heidelberg Catechism. The first question in the
Shorter Catechism is: “What is the chief end of man?”
It gives the biblical answer: “Man's chief end is to
glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” The first
question in the Heidelberg Catechism is more personal:
“What is your only comfort in life and in death?” It
answers gloriously: “That I belong--body and soul, in
life and in death--not to myself but to my faithful
Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has
fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me
from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so
well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a
hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must
fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy
Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me
wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for
him.” |
We are sometimes asked about our practice of infant baptism
and our particular denominational affiliation. Adequate answers
to these questions are not brief, so we have not included them
at our website. But if you would like more information on either
or both of these questions, we will be very happy to provide it.
If you have other questions about any of our beliefs or
practices, please do not hesitate to contact one of our pastors.
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