Some directions follow: SR - the presider's right as he faces the assembly from the sanctuary; SL - similarly, the presider's left; U - up away from the assembly; C - the centre; D - down towards the assembly. (So, for example, USR means the space behind the presider on his right).

Observations

Before the liturgy starts, we wonder about an open book on a stand SR. It turns out to be a book of the elect. A closed book with a baptismal design on the cover would be better. (We are too curious for our own good as Eden demonstrates). Meanwhile the sacramentary sits open on the altar.

The pastor comes out from the USR door to make announcements at the lectern. They are not terribly important and dissipate the pre-liturgical waiting period - a time for relaxing and clearing one's head. While we gather during this time, we don't become assembly until we are collected as such during the processional.

Meanwhile, the presider carries his vestments through the nave and into the back room, dressing slightly while he does so. After the pastor leaves the lectern, an emcee comes up from the nave to a SL lectern. Much activity but when does the beginning begin?

The choir sits in the back loft. We try an unrehearsed hymn on foolscap but no one sings. We can't hear the cantor at the SL lectern because the organ and choir are too loud.

The procession is sparse: a processional cross holder, two acolytes, one lector and the presider - no communion ministers. The lector carries the gospel book not the lectionary. We are confused because the lector doesn't use the gospel book. When he has displayed the gospel book at the front of the altar, he disappears into the nave.

After the procession, the presider stands in front of the altar. The altar, now holding both the sacramentary and gospel book, is masked. The presider makes several unnecessary announcements.

The lector come up from the nave to read. During the sung psalm refrain, he tries to squeeze into a non-existent corner. We look all the more at him - if he relaxed in plain view we could easily ignore him.

The cantor's psalm refrain is unintelligible. He's having trouble leading us. The organ plays at "full organ." No one sings.

The pastor comes out the USR door and takes the gospel book from the altar. He presents the Gospel book at shoulder level - a headless alb wearing a book. This is funny, distracting and places undue emphasis on the book. He bumps into the lector at the lectern.

The pastor explains the gospel before proclamation. What is the homily for? This attempt to explain symbol breaks up the moment. He begins the homily with more announcements: one on tax receipts and another on Sharelife envelopes. He preaches from the front of the altar... but isn't the lectern the place for the liturgy of the word? Nevertheless, the homily has energy and we are presented with a real picture of Jesus Christ.

For the general intercessions, we can't hear the presider's introductory prayer at all. He drops the volume at the end of phrases.

There is no offertory procession yet an offertory song covers up the collection. This distracts us and we end up the song just in time to witness the lavabo and to assent to the prayers over the gifts which we have missed.

The presider spends a lot of time precisely folding the lavabo towel. This must be important. He doesn't let his assistants help him.

During the sanctus and eucharistic prayer, the presider repeatedly drops the volume. Suddenly a sing-song pattern appears. It's very hard to hear the proclamation. We drift away.

During the eucharistic prayer, we awkwardly sing the mystery of faith acclamation while kneeling. Why don't we stand up?

At the doxology, the presider holds up only the bread. Something's wrong. At the Lamb of God, he says "This is Jesus who died, Happy are we..." What a startling thing to say? But immediately Jesus' eucharistic presence is proclaimed. We wake up instantly.

At communion, the pastor appears from the USR door to hand ciboria to three ministers of communion, who aren't served by the presider. Because everyone takes communion in the hand, embarrassed altar servers only act as decoration beside the ministers of communion.

After spending much time washing dishes, the presider announces, "Please be seated." Is he apologizing for taking so long? Some may wish to remain kneeling but no one does. He closes the Sacramentary on the altar and hands it over to be removed. Watching all the business at the altar inhibits the power of silence to work.

The assembly dissolves before the end of the hymn because the recessional has ended. No leadership takes the hymn through to the finish.

Analysis

Does the liturgy at this parish work more than not? Are there enough moments overall to maintain a healthy prayer life? Two successes pop to mind: the homily which presented Jesus and the Lamb of God invitatory - see above. Both suggest that the parish's liturgical expertise is word heavy.

Otherwise, the liturgy is sloppy regarding movement, word and symbol manipulation. For example, when did the beginning begin among the surfeit of announcements from three different locations and three different ministers? This fuzzifies the assembly's focus.

We need clarity and order. Each minister must know that he or she either allows liturgy to happen or gets in the way - helps or hinders. No one is neutral. Preparation and rehearsal can solve many problems of order. Training and fine tuning ministerial responsibility, identifying tasks and personal ability will do the rest.

Movement

1) Pacing gestures.

Some gestures are more important than others. Dish washing can happen later. For hand washing, we need to see only that hands get wet and are dried. Washing or extending hands too quickly makes us wonder if we've missed something. A slow, relaxed pace helps secure our attention and lets the gesture speak.

2) Using procession.

Processions alert us to the people of God on the move. They collect us. The introductory procession gathers the assembly's focus to the sanctuary. A choir in procession helps give shape to the singing of the assembly, promoting and collecting its enthusiasm. It is the beginning of liturgy. An offertory procession allows the assembly to feel its participation in gift giving. The recessional holds our attention while we experience "end" and dissipate the central action of eucharist back into the assembly.

3) Integrity of movement.

To promote clarity, we must see how a movement begins, how it is carried out and when it stops. All movement must be loud and clear, providing an integrity which helps us understand it. Liturgy can well take the impact of surprise and fractured movement only when it means something.

Ministers are a vital part of the assembly before they are a part of a parish. Ministers at liturgy must be seen as part of the assembly. Ministers who parachute into liturgy are very disruptive: where did they come from? What's behind that door? To be present throughout only to proclaim the gospel, deliver a homily or help at communion supports the unity and integrity of the rite.

Symbol Handling

1) Use of space.

When we manage space, we solve a great many problems. Space helps to identify, promote and nurture leadership. Managing space is handling symbol - who and what stands where.

Move the sacristy to the back of the nave away from the sanctuary. Altar servers, presider, ministers should dress there, form their procession there and return there. This spatially marks the beginning and end of liturgy.

Lectors and ministers of communion should sit in the sanctuary. By having them always in sight, their ministerial role is reinforced over time. We see what it is they do and how they are part of the whole.

Masking the altar by speaking from in front of it visually confuses us. It creates a sense of importance which disappears when no-one stands there. The front of the altar ought to be reserved for collections and other gifts "at the foot of the altar."

The presider who conducts the introductory rites from his presidential chair confuses the place of altar: despite its name, a chair is for sitting - only chairmanship happens from a chair not presidency. He should be at his chair for rest, at the lectern for the liturgy of the word, at the altar for presidential prayer, at a baptismal font for baptism. Indiscriminate movement confuses and diminishes those important spaces.

2) Placing ministers in procession.

The structure of the procession helps identify ministerial responsibility and liaison with the assembly. The make-up of the procession reflects the assembly's participation because lay people comprise most of it.

The processional cross holder, for instance, always has our attention. He or she helps guide the procession and our focus, helps promote gift giving in the offertory procession by accompanying the gifts, and, in RCIA practice, helps dismiss the catechumens by the cross to which they and we are called.

3) Ministerial handling of identifying objects.

Ministers in procession should carry the instrument(s) or marks of their ministry. Furthermore, only ministers should handle their proper tools: lectionary for lector, gospel book for deacon, sacramentary for presider, processional cross for processional cross holder. Lectors read, deacons preach gospel, presiders lead public prayer. Crossing these boundaries confuses us.

Ministers have an ordered, intrinsic relationship to their tools. Each carries, displays and presents symbol. Whether we like it or not, symbol works in liturgy by display and presentation. We either help it or hinder it.

Do we need two Word books? Either use a deacon or assistant to handle the gospel book or get rid of it. A book assistant's job should be limited to carrying, displaying and presenting liturgical books.

Holding the gospel book or lectionary above the head while proclaiming, "This is the gospel of the Lord," marks the book too directly. After all, it is the proclamation of gospel that is the gospel not the text. The book becomes sacred because gospel is proclaimed from it and the assembly identifies it, over time, with the gospel proclaimer and proclamation.

Closing and removing the sacramentary wastes time and diminishes its liturgical place. It belongs to the altar. The sacramentary is not ordinarily used anywhere else. Remember, the opening prayer collect us around the altar not in front of the presidential chair.

4) Integrity of symbol.

Symbols work by being allowed to speak while carried, displayed and presented. Explaining a symbol never helps and always hurts. Those symbols which do not speak cannot be recovered by explanation but only by examining how we work with them.

Word

1) Silence

Silence holds our attention only if properly framed and in turn frames action, word and symbol handling. Action, word and symbol must be succinct, clear and large enough to hold everything together. This promotes the power of silence. Restful silence helps us prepare far better than unending announcements.

2) Pacing

Pacing is verbal framing, a tempo which affects the spacing of each word in a sentence. Effective pacing can be slow, moderate or fast. Disruptive pacing is always too slow or too fast.

Lectors need to be loud, clear and moderately paced to invite response. To lead prayer in unison means to be loud and clear. The assembly will fill the gap between its voice and the leader's voice. The psalm response needs constant repetition by the lector or cantor while the assembly picks it up.

Pacing highlights the variety in words. Use three lectors and a deacon or equivalent, one for each reading. This helps pace the whole liturgy of the Word, helping clarity and hindering monotony.

2) Mumbling

A mumbling speaker does not concentrate on what he or she is saying. Being shy of a microphone promotes mumbling. With proper training, microphones are redundant except in the most awkward acoustical environment. Supposedly poor acoustics as an excuse should never replace the effort of speaking. Speaking directly to a large group promotes clarity, pacing and inhibits mumbling.

3) Connecting self with text

Becoming accustomed to a text lets it speak fully through the medium of the speaker. All the energy and feeling which the speaker holds about the text comes through in the reading. If the speaker doesn't care about the text, it will show. If the speaker truly cares about the text, it will show. The contrast between the speaker speaking his own text or an alien text can be remarkable.

4) Maintaining integrity of text

Every text sits within a clear section of liturgy. Each has a job within that section and regarding others around it. Cluttering up a text gets in the way.

What ought to be announced before liturgy? Only very important items, otherwise the time and occasion is trivialized. The presider ought not to make further announcements when he has finished the entrance procession. This gets in the way of the sense of beginning and interferes with the momentum of the introductory rite. It is one thing to greet people, another to distract them.

Announcements at the beginning of the homily destroy the drive and unity of the Word of God. A homily cannot be divorced from the gospel lest the integrity of the Word is damaged.

Covering up a text with another text, music, or distracting action hinders its ability to contribute to the liturgy. For example, the berakah of the prayers over the gifts are ancient. They are the only consistent instances of creation theology in liturgy: let's witness them not ignore them by submerging them with song and hiding them behind a collection.

Shout the eucharistic prayer. This prayer can become stale, repeated week after week. The big challenge for the presider is to keep the eucharistic prayer fresh and alive, after hundreds of uses.