“Confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16). Episcopalians, like all good Christians, confess our sins. That is to say, in private devotion and in public worship, we regularly acknowledge before Almighty God “our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed.” Nearly all our liturgies make provision for a general confession of sin. Sometimes we confess our sins privately to our brothers and sisters in Christ. And sometimes we avail ourselves of the gift of sacramental confession by confessing our sins to God in the presence of a priest. – The Rev. Chris Yoder, Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.
The Confession is part of our worship in the Daily Office and in the Holy Eucharist. I appreciate the Rev. Yoder’s description recognizing the centrality of confession in our Christian lives. The Confession allows us time, and spiritual space, to reflect on our actions, our behavior as followers of Jesus, asking for guidance to follow more closely and forgiveness when we’ve gone astray.
We added the confession to our Sunday Worship for the Season of Epiphany. It has not been part of our Sunday Worship for a long time. We hope it serves as a touchstone of reflection for Our prayers today and in the weeks to come.