The Gospel Side

Last evening I attended the 5pm service at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in West Des Moines. I sat on the Gospel Side.

When I asked Edith what the Gospel Side was, she remembered this from her childhood...her mother always called one side of the church the Gospel Side and the other, the Epistle Side. She thought the Gospel Side was on the left, but couldn't really come up with a reason why it was called that.

So...I did a bit of sleuthing on the Internet (whatever did we do before computers?) The Episcopal Church Dictionary says this about the Gospel Side: "an archaic term referring to the left side of the altar as viewed by the congregation from the nave. The gospel was read from this side of the altar. The epistle was read from the opposite side of the altar, which was known as the Epistle Side."

In modern services, both readings are generally done from either the pulpit or in the midst of the congregation. St. Tim's does the reading from the congregants, at least at the Saturday evening service.

So, I sat on the Gospel Side. Since I'm not a huge fan of Paul (who wrote a great many of the Epistles), I don't think that's the right side of the church for me. Here's my suggestion: one side should be the Psalms Side and the other, the Isaiah Side....my favorites! Then it would be a real dilemma where to pick a seat!