M3M
Mass for the Third Millennium
Grace St. Paul's Chancel · Thursdays 5:30 p.m.
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What it's about
Mass for the Third Millennium, or M3M, is offered every Thursday in the chancel area of Grace St. Paul's at 5:30 p.m. M3M began in August 4, 2002, and is sometimes known as the Contemporary Service, or the Festival Celebration. As always, M3M continues to experiment with different forms and ideas in this weekly venue.
Who we are
We are a diverse group of individuals who gather together:
- Some of us are regular members of Grace St. Paul's or another Christian congregation.
- Some are refugees from negative experiences in a church.
- Some have participated in faith traditions other than Christian, or still do.
- Some are (or have been) explorers in New Age spirituality.
- Some have little religious background.
What we share in common
- Spiritual hunger and thirst.
- Search to know and live a deeper, richer, more fulfilling spiritual life.
- Desire to participate in a spiritual community of seekers and finders of the Divine Spirit.
What we do
We gather for a time of reflection and celebration, for meditation, music, dance and feasting at the heavenly banquet. As a Christian community, centered around the story and Spirit of the Christ, we come together to celebrate and make Eucharist (from the Greek eucharista for thanksgiving).
We use a modified, contemporary and highly participatory form of the historic Christian Mass, focusing on a weekly theme and sharing a sacramental meal of bread and wine. All of the senses are engaged in our rituals.
- Silence for meditation and contemplation.
- Music in songs, contemporary chants, meditation gong, drums and other rhythm instruments.
- Short readings from the Christian Gospel, another faith tradition and the continuing revelation of God to people of faith (contemporary or historic spiritual writers, poets, mystics, or philosophers).
- Reflection and dialogue from our own lives based on the readings and the day's spiritual theme.
- Dance both circle dances and movement to song or prayer by the whole community and interpretive dances by our dance leaders.
- Shared leadership of the service among our pianist, dancers, readers and priests, and there is ongoing planning and creative input from the whole community.
WELCOME!
If you are seeking a deep, rich spiritual experience in your life, come! Give us a try—you are welcome!
Whatever your religious background (or if you have none at all), whether you have a strong spiritual longing or just a curiosity—you are welcome!
Whatever your gender, race, ethnicity, marital status, family group, or sexual orientation—you are welcome!
We believe the Spirit is moving to do new things in our time. Come, be part of our experimenting and exploring community. Indeed, you are welcome!
We welcome your children in the service, or they may go to the nursery during the service.
Some ideas behind the M3M service
First, We believe that silence, mystery, contemplation, and true community are elements lacking or undervalued in contemporary life. Our celebrations seek to encourage all four of them.
Second, There is an entire population in our city, indeed throughout the country, that is spiritually hungry and searching for ways to bring God into their lives. They are often disenchanted with traditional "church" but have found no satisfying alternative.
Third, Truth about God is found in all faiths and in each person. We commit ourselves to inclusion of all faith traditions in our ritual and to welcoming all people. Using communal dance, singing, prayer, meditation, reflection and Holy Communion, we become more open to the truth about God and self. We believe that we are exploring a model of what churches in this new century and millennium will be like: multi-cultural, inclusive in their understanding of spirituality, nonhierarchical and participatory in practice.
Fourth, We believe that music and the arts greatly enrich our rituals, indeed all of life, and we are committed to including new forms of artistic expression. Dance is included in our gatherings. We combine musical performance, both instrumental and vocal, with contemporary chants in the style of Taizé. Many of our chants are original compositions by a Grace St. Paul's Music Director.
Fifth, God's house has many rooms. We hope to have community celebrations in which people from all of them may participate in celebration of her as well as be gathered in his name. We encourage your active participation, but also welcome observers and those who prefer more quiet worship.
TIME AND PLACE
Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m.
Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church
2331 East Adams Street
Tucson, AZ 85719
(4 blocks north of Speedway Blvd. and 1 block west of Tucson Blvd.)
