Our church, like many others, concludes our worship services with a blessing given by the pastor or preacher. Another name used for these closing words is a “benediction,” which comes from the Latin words bene (which means “good”) and dicere (which means “say” and thus means “to speak a good word.” Have you ever wondered why we do this and why it is such an important moment? Since we don’t have time to explain it each week before offering it, I’ll explore its origins and significance in this post.
Why We Do It: Biblical Precedents For this Practice
I’m writing this post on the heels of “Reformation Sunday” and right before “Reformation Day,” both of which remind us of the events in the Reformation and this key moment in our church’s history and tradition. One of the pillars of this movement was a call to ground our beliefs and behaviors upon the Word of God. The Bible is where we find the origin of these closing blessings.
