What is Rogation Sunday?

The following information has been copied from www.fullhomelydivinty.org and will explain some history of this service.

This worship begins indoors, and weather permitting, we will process outdoors. In the Liturgy, we are praying for God’s blessing on our parish and on our fields of service.

The Rogation Days, the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day, originated in Vienne, France (not Vienna, Austria), in 470 after a series of natural disasters had caused much suffering among the people. Archbishop Mamertus proclaimed a fast and ordered that special litanies and prayers be said as the population processed around their fields, asking God’s protection and blessing on the crops that were just beginning to sprout. The Latin word rogare means “to ask”, thus these were “rogation” processions. In an agricultural society, closely connected with the soil and highly vulnerable to the uncertainties of nature, this was an idea that took root quickly, and the custom spread around Europe and over to Britain. The Sunday before the Rogation Days came to be considered a part of Rogationtide (or “Rogantide”) and was known as Rogation Sunday. The Gospel formerly appointed for that day was from John 16, where Jesus tells his disciples to ask, and ye shall receive.

While technically they were days of fasting, for which they were also known as “Grass Days,” for the meatless meals that were enjoined, the Rogation Days developed into a popular festival, celebrating the arrival of spring and serving other purposes, as well. Other names for these days include “Gang Days,” from the Anglo-Saxon gangen, “to go,” and “Cross Days,” both titles signifying the processions with crosses and banners around the countryside. In some parishes, the procession took more than one day and the whole business became an occasion for several days of picnics and revels of all sorts, particularly among those who trooped along at the fringes of the religious aspects of the procession. The route of the walk was around the boundaries of the parish, which was a civil as well as a religious unit. Thus, the processions were useful in teaching people, particularly the young, their parish boundaries. Known as “beating the bounds,” the processions customarily stopped at boundary marks and other significant landmarks of the parish, such as a venerable tree, or a great rock, or perhaps a pond. The priest would read the Gospel and perhaps affix a cross to the landmark. Then the boys of the parish would suffer some indignity intended to help them remember the spot. Boys were bumped about against rocks and trees, thrown into the water, held upside-down over fences, thrown into wands--and then given a treat in compensation. In later times, the marchers beat the boundary marker with the willow wands, beating the bounds, rather than the boys.

The reminder of boundaries had another important impact on communal life. In a poem by the 20th century American Robert Frost, the poet’s neighbor asserts that “good fences make good neighbors.” Boundaries are often very important in relationships. As members of parishes beat the bounds, they would often encounter obstructions and violations of boundaries. The annual beating of the bounds provided an opportunity to resolve boundary issues. It also led to the tradition of seeking reconciliation in personal relationships, during Rogationtide. The sharing of a specially brewed ale, called Ganging Beer, and a mysterious pastry, called Rammalation Biscuits, at the end of the walk was a good way of sealing the reconciliation.

George Herbert gave the following good reasons to beat the bounds; 1) a blessing of God for the fruits of the field; 2) Justice in the preservation of the bounds; 3) Charitie, in living, walking, and neighbourly accompanying one another, with reconciling of differences at that time, if they be any; 4) Mercie, in relieving the poor by a liberal distribution of largess which at that time is or ought be made.

The custom of placing crosses on boundary markers and in the fields seems to derive from the fact that the Rogation Days fall near the old feast day of the Invention (or Finding) of the Cross. Crouchmas (Cross mass) was on May 3rd and it was the custom on that day to place crosses in fields and gardens as a way of blessing them and praying for them to be fruitful. While full Rogation processions are rare today, the blessing of crosses to be planted in the fields of the faithful is one of the ways the older customs survive.

Keeping the Rogation Days Today

Much of modern society has lost its direct connection with the soil, but his psychological distance does not lessen the actual dependence of all people on the gifts of nature. Furthermore, responsible stewardship of all of these gifts is increasingly being recognized as the concern of all people. Days of thanksgiving, harvest festivals, and the like are observed in many churches at the end of the growing season. The Rogation Days at the time of planting have become little more than a liturgical footnote in the American Prayer Book, but in these times of growing ecological concern the Church would do well to revive them.

Practically speaking, the revival of Rogation observances is likely to involve more people if they are part of a Sunday service. It should be added that, while the Sunday before Ascension is the traditional day, some adaptation to the local season and climate would be appropriate. After all, there is little point in fields and seeds for planting at the time when crops are being harvested in the southern hemisphere. Similarly, there will be many places where farms and rural countryside will not be the locale of processions and blessings. But even in urban churches there should be an awareness of our dependence upon the fruits and resources of the earth, of the ways in which resources are wasted, of the dangers of pollution, and of our responsibility for honest labor and industry.

A Rogation observance in church, then, can be the opportunity for a homily on the Christian stewardship of natural resources. Various symbols can be introduced into the liturgy to reinforce this theme. A procession around the whole parish might not be a possibility, but a procession around the church grounds, a local park, or a parishioner’s farm would be appropriate. Parishioners can bring their own garden seeds to be blessed and crosses can be blessed for parishioners to take home and plant in their fields or gardens. Making the crosses would be a good project for the children of the church school or individual families. If the children made Easter gardens, the plants in them can be transplanted to either the parish garden or their family gardens at home, adapting some of the prayers below. Even though the Sunday readings no longer keep the Rogation theme, the hymns can. Hymns and canticles that fit the Rogation theme include, “O Jesus crowned with all renown”, “Fairest Lord Jesus”, “We plow the fields and scatter”, “Now the green blade rises”, “O worship the King”, Benedicite, amnia opera, and Psalm 65.

The Service

Either immediately following the Eucharist, or at another convenient time, acolytes with cross, torches, banners, incense, holy water, and other symbols may lead the clergy, and parishioners in procession. If no clergy are available, parishioners or families may organize their own procession, delegating or sharing the responsibilities for leading the prayers. During the procession, litanies, psalms, and hymns are sung. The litany may be the Great Litany from The Book of Common Prayer, or another litany. A Litany of the Saints is particularly appropriate on this occasion. The Rogation Days remind us that we are all part of creation, and dependent upon both nature and our fellow humans for the necessities of life. Similarly, the Litany of the Saints reminds us that we are also part of something larger spiritually, the Communion of Saints, and dependent upon God’s grace and our fellow saints, both living and departed, for spiritual support and sustenance.

The procession stops at various significant places to offer prayer. At each stop a blessed cross may be fixed to a landmark or set in a cultivated field as the Officiant says: Set up your cross, O Lord, as an ensign to the people, and draw all nations to it. Appropriate blessings are said at various stopping points.

Reconciliation is an important part of the Rogation tradition and should not be overlooked. It is rooted in respect for appropriate boundaries, in the proper ordering of every element of creation, and most of all, in the forgiveness which Jesus himself extended to those who crucified him. Reconciliation is not just about confession to God and absolution, nor is it merely a formal liturgical rite. Rather, it is about face-to-face reconciliation with our neighbor, and most especially our neighbor within the Church. Thus, one of the stopping points of the Rogation procession should be a place where reconciliation is the theme, with an appropriate reading from Scripture (e.g., 1 John 4:13-21) and a homily calling on everyone in the parish to seek to resolve outstanding differences before the day is over. Whenever possible, the priest and other members of the parish should make concrete efforts to bring together those who need to be reconciled. In the liturgy today, the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi will be used; pray in sincerity and then take whatever steps are necessary to reconcile the broken or fractured relationships in your life.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

It is traditional for the Rogation services and processions to end with food. Ganging Beer was probably just the seasonal brew at the local pub, so for those who want to keep that part of the tradition, any good local brew would serve the purpose well. No one seems to have any idea what “Rammalation Biscuits” were, so invent your own. Hot Cross Buns would make a suitable substitute, if you are not feeling creative. In any case, unique foods are not required. Have a picnic or a potluck supper in the church hall. Gladden the body with good food and drink, and the soul with the fruits of fellowship and reconciliation.