Thursday, March 2: We
Asking the Questions
We.
When first glancing at the Nicene Creed I noticed that the creed does not begin with first person singular “I” but rather first person plural “We.” Using the first person singular “I” expresses an individual’s profession of faith. However, changing the beginning declaration to “We” changes it to a profession of faith by all the congregants gathered together. Expressing our faith as a whole connects our spiritual journey to each other.
We all want to belong, accepted without judgement and recognized for our unique qualities. At St. Thomas, we’re reminded that we belong to a loving and open community, more specifically a community of faith when we recite in unison the Nicene Creed. Our personal faith and beliefs may look different from one another, and that’s okay. The “We-ness” still holds true as we pray this creed together.
Several prayers we recite during The Holy Communion begin with We or Our:
- We Lift them up unto the Lord (Opening)
- Our Father, who art in heaven (Lord’s Prayer)
- We confess that we have sinned against you (Confession of Sin)
- We do not presume to come to this thy Table (Post Communion, my favorite prayer)
See you next time when We are gathered together.
Barbara Brandenburgh is the author of today's Lenten Reflection. Barbara has been at St. Thomas for 19 years. Barbara is a cradle Episcopalian and was baptized at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1955. Barbara's work at St. Thomas supports the "We-ness" she mentions in her reflection. She has been coordinator of Foyers dinner and social groups since 2012, served on the Welcome Committee for ten years and is an usher at the 8:30 service.
