Well, judging from some conversations I've had recently the answer is: yes, you do - some of you, at least.  A number of people have come up to me expressing their concern, even dismay, at what they see as the increased use of incense in our worship in St John's.  For some, this may be because they find it physically irritating; for others, it is more a question of taste - they find it too ‘High Church' perhaps.  In short, they are incensed by the incense.

In the light of this, I thought it might be helpful to explain a little about why we use incense in worship, and tell you when it will be used in the coming months, so that you can opt either to sit where the smoke doesn't reach, or even worship elsewhere on that day if you wish (St George's doesn't use incense at any of their services, so you could still worship in the parish on that particular Sunday).

The use of incense in worship is found in many religions apart from Christianity, and goes back well beyond the beginnings of our faith.  At one level, it is symbolic of the prayer which it accompanies; as the Psalmist says, "Let my prayer rise like incense before you".  It is also a symbol of purification and cleansing.  We use it to mark out the importance of various objects used in our worship - the altar, the Book of the Gospel, the bread and wine of the Eucharist.  Moreover, by using incense, we engage another of our senses in our worship.  Ours is an ‘incarnational' faith - that is, we believe that in Christ God took on our human nature, body as well as spirit.  So it is right that we respond to God with our whole bodies, and all our senses, not just with our minds.  Incense takes its place along with music, icons, sculptures, stained glass windows, beautiful vestments, and many other  physical objects which engage all our senses in worship and enable us to respond to God with our whole selves.

In Christianity, the use of incense is common in the churches of the Orthodox East, and has also traditionally been used in the Catholic West, though less frequently.  In the Church of England, its use really began as a result of the 19^th century revival associated with the Oxford Movement, when many Anglicans rediscovered their Catholic roots.  It has long been part of the tradition at St John's to have incense of holy days, though it is perhaps true to say that we are doing this slightly more often than in the past.  Nevertheless, there are many worshippers at St John's who welcome this, and it is part of the challenge of leading worship in a parish like this to meet the varying needs of all our congregation.

I appreciate, however, that some of you would like to know when incense is to be used in St John's, and consequently I list below the services for the remainder of 2007 at which there will be incense.  We won't use incense at St Mark's.

Thursday 5^th April Maundy Thursday
Thursday 17^th May Ascension Day
Sunday 3^rd June Trinity Sunday
Sunday 1^st July Saints Peter and Paul
Sunday 5^th August The Transfiguration
Sunday 30^th September St John's Patronal Festival
Sunday 4^th November All Saints' Sunday
Sunday 2^nd December First Sunday of Advent
Monday 24^th December Midnight Mass