Instead of the routine office of Morning Prayer today, we had structured but less formal kind of worship which Judith, one of the students wanted to experiment with. She prepared it well and it was received with appreciation by many. In the evening, I presided at a Eucharist which started with the singing of the Litany. The service was conducted eastwards facing with a vested Deacon and Sub-Deacon, and using incense, all very traditional, as it was in my youth, before liturgical renewal and innovation became wide spread and commonplace. Few of this generation of students will be familiar with this way of worship. So, for Sam, the student who prepared the liturgy, arranging this was also something experimental, albeit in quite a different way.
College is one place where it is safe to experiment and learn from mistakes and get feedback from one's peers. We fail to teach students effectively how to continue to experiment with worship in the Parishes they are sent out to serve, in order to find out what best meets people's spiritual need. It's hard enough getting congregations to accept any change in their regular liturgical routines of worship, whether these are informal or formal, traditional or contemporary. Only with the most careful preparation can any kind of worship experiment prevent participants from feeling insecure and less than confident. With so many other pastoral demands on the minister, it can be very hard to give proper attention to being innovative and creative. Is it any wonder many experience worship as lacking freshness and unable to stimulate and feed those who are still hungry for an experience of the divine?
Today is one of those in the church calendar when prayer is offer for vocations to ministry and those preparing for ordination, called an Ember Day. My prayers are laden with such questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment