The first liturgical Protestant Worship Service was held at the Contingency Operating Base Basra chapel on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010.
Aca,!A"Soldiers come from a variety of faith traditions, and we have some that come from traditions such as Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopalian or Reformed who are used to several different types of things in worship that are distinct and we are trying to incorporate those things into this worship service,Aca,!A? said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Tim Mallard, 1st Infantry Division Chaplain.
Liturgical services have roots in Catholicism and follow many of the same styles of worship and traditions such as communal prayer, reading and hearing the word, a response of confession, weekly celebration of the Eucharist and the following of the church calendar.
Aca,!A"Our worship is based off the church calendar. So we will be following the lectionary and base our preaching off of that,Aca,!A? Mallard said. Aca,!A"The church calendar follows certain colors and themes throughout the year in accordance with numerous other traditions around the world.Aca,!A?
The Church Year is a series of holy days and seasons that mark the passage of time throughout a year-long cycle. The Christian calendar is organized around two major centers of Aca,!A"Sacred TimeAca,!A?: Advent, Christmas and Epiphany; and Lent, Holy Week and Easter, concluding at Pentecost. The rest of the year following Pentecost is known as Aca,!A"Ordinary Time,Aca,!A? from the word ordinal, which simply means counted.
Aca,!A"It really is tied to Lutheranism, that arose out of Germany or Anglicanism, which arose out of England. Then, with the founding of our country, those denominations or traditions came to America,Aca,!A? said Mallard.
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