Well, maybe the theory of my liberal pastor friend at Hampton Park Christian Church is not always true. I'd written in this 4th post on traditional vs contemporary worship about his theory that "the most liberal and contemporary churches in style tend to be the most conservative and traditional in their theology (CedarCreek for example). And likewise, the most liberal and contemporary churches theologically tend to be the most traditional/conservative in their worship styles (Episcopal Churches)".
I had visited some examples confirming his theory over Holy Week of 2008: St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church, Trinity Episcopal Church and St Andrew's Episcopal Church on the liberal side and CedarCreek on the conservative side. Yet, I knew of the churches on both sides of the spectrum, not validating this theory.
My experience with this ecumenical Ash Wednesday in Carbondale was such an example. This was a joint service by Church of the Good Shepherd (a UCC church) and First Presbyterian Church, both liberal churches. The former is an interesting place. What do you think about a church that has a forum for live folk music? Interesting? Maybe. But as a poor student, I'm not interested in any music forum that requires me to make suggested donations (read buying tickets). Even if it be 5 bucks. Make it free and I'll be more than happy to make observations. Anyway.
First thing I noticed in the program was their instructions about Prayer Stations: "You are invited to spend time at one or more stations at anytime during the service". Anytime during the service? Come on. When people attend a service, shouldn't they do things in unison, instead of being individuals on their own? Personally, I found it distracting.
And my visit to those stations at the end of the service made me correct a false assumption: those stations were not Stations of the Cross. Rather, they were completely progressive (post-post-modern) prayers and meditations. One station even had pads and crayons for people to make graphic depictions of salvation. Or there was a station where people would write about their mistakes and put in a bowl (to get rid of it). Or another one had a sand box for people to draw their sins in the sand and then smoothen it with their hand as a sign of shedding their sins. Got the idea?
And that was not all. When it came to the Communion, it was a self-service table in the middle of the chairs where people would go there and pick a piece of bread and dip it in the wine or grape juice (although a more formal sacrament followed at some point later in the service). And there was instructions for this also: "The bread is Christ's body broken for you - you need not take a small pinch. Take freely and generously from the loaf".
The meditation on starting Lent was even more interesting. It was a skit by the two pastors. The male pastor (UCC) was gloomy and solemn about starting his fasting period. The female pastor (Presbyterian) countered him by singing a very jolly song about Lent (she is jolly in real life as well). He continued nagging and even found it inappropriate to sing a jolly song for a such a solemn thing as Lent. She continued singing and then explained to him why Lent should be a happy time: "it is a time that we are guests of God". Amen.
This is exactly how we Muslims look at Ramadhan, our month of fasting. In Islamic teachings, Ramadhan is called the Banquet of God. By avoiding pleasures of the body, we enrich our spirit. Have a look here, here and here for my reflections on my past 2 Ramdhans in the US.
Eventually, the male pastor was convinced that Lent should be a happy time and he joined his colleague in singing happily (of course, this was a skit; both were of the same mind in reality). The rest of the service was more or less routine.
What was not normal however was the setting. Instead of sitting at the pews in the sanctuary, they had put chairs at the back in a circle with the table in the middle. So, basically we were in the sanctuary, but had our own cozy corner in the back. And I couldn't quite understand why. Maybe sitting in the pews of a host church while members of another church are there as guests, doesn't make it completely ecumenical. The host would have an upper hand and not on the same ground as the guest? Maybe, maybe not. I've been to ecumenical services before and they used the sanctuary in the ordinary way.
As I was hurried for a meeting after the service, I couldn't stop by the pastors and ask about this and my other questions. I should visit each of the churches in the future to get a better understanding about how each of them would perform their own services.
I had visited some examples confirming his theory over Holy Week of 2008: St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church, Trinity Episcopal Church and St Andrew's Episcopal Church on the liberal side and CedarCreek on the conservative side. Yet, I knew of the churches on both sides of the spectrum, not validating this theory.
My experience with this ecumenical Ash Wednesday in Carbondale was such an example. This was a joint service by Church of the Good Shepherd (a UCC church) and First Presbyterian Church, both liberal churches. The former is an interesting place. What do you think about a church that has a forum for live folk music? Interesting? Maybe. But as a poor student, I'm not interested in any music forum that requires me to make suggested donations (read buying tickets). Even if it be 5 bucks. Make it free and I'll be more than happy to make observations. Anyway.
First thing I noticed in the program was their instructions about Prayer Stations: "You are invited to spend time at one or more stations at anytime during the service". Anytime during the service? Come on. When people attend a service, shouldn't they do things in unison, instead of being individuals on their own? Personally, I found it distracting.
And my visit to those stations at the end of the service made me correct a false assumption: those stations were not Stations of the Cross. Rather, they were completely progressive (post-post-modern) prayers and meditations. One station even had pads and crayons for people to make graphic depictions of salvation. Or there was a station where people would write about their mistakes and put in a bowl (to get rid of it). Or another one had a sand box for people to draw their sins in the sand and then smoothen it with their hand as a sign of shedding their sins. Got the idea?
And that was not all. When it came to the Communion, it was a self-service table in the middle of the chairs where people would go there and pick a piece of bread and dip it in the wine or grape juice (although a more formal sacrament followed at some point later in the service). And there was instructions for this also: "The bread is Christ's body broken for you - you need not take a small pinch. Take freely and generously from the loaf".
The meditation on starting Lent was even more interesting. It was a skit by the two pastors. The male pastor (UCC) was gloomy and solemn about starting his fasting period. The female pastor (Presbyterian) countered him by singing a very jolly song about Lent (she is jolly in real life as well). He continued nagging and even found it inappropriate to sing a jolly song for a such a solemn thing as Lent. She continued singing and then explained to him why Lent should be a happy time: "it is a time that we are guests of God". Amen.
This is exactly how we Muslims look at Ramadhan, our month of fasting. In Islamic teachings, Ramadhan is called the Banquet of God. By avoiding pleasures of the body, we enrich our spirit. Have a look here, here and here for my reflections on my past 2 Ramdhans in the US.
Eventually, the male pastor was convinced that Lent should be a happy time and he joined his colleague in singing happily (of course, this was a skit; both were of the same mind in reality). The rest of the service was more or less routine.
What was not normal however was the setting. Instead of sitting at the pews in the sanctuary, they had put chairs at the back in a circle with the table in the middle. So, basically we were in the sanctuary, but had our own cozy corner in the back. And I couldn't quite understand why. Maybe sitting in the pews of a host church while members of another church are there as guests, doesn't make it completely ecumenical. The host would have an upper hand and not on the same ground as the guest? Maybe, maybe not. I've been to ecumenical services before and they used the sanctuary in the ordinary way.
As I was hurried for a meeting after the service, I couldn't stop by the pastors and ask about this and my other questions. I should visit each of the churches in the future to get a better understanding about how each of them would perform their own services.
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