Seeker

Today's Advent Word in the Advent Calendar I am following is 'worship'. The word worship reminds me of 2 things that William Temple said about worship of God. The first answers the question, why worship? The second answers the question, what is worship? The first is this: "Worship is worthwhile because God is worthy   and worship is God’s work in us." In other words, worship is both something that the worshipper does and also something that God does in the person who worships.  The second is a definition of worship which resonates with me: “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination with his beauty, the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of the will to his purpose – and all this gathered up in adoration, – the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable….” Source of quotes: Readings ...

How do you name God? If you pray, how do you address G - d?  Does it matter what language is used for God in public worship? Anyone who has struggled with   these questions has encountered the obvious pitfalls to be stumbled into by using: gendered language or non-gendered language names of power and authority or gentleness and humility Biblical metaphors or contemporary metaphors I could go on, but I won't, because the purpose of this post is to recommend an excellent short essay Naming God posted by Maggi Dawn. She writes about the importance of how language is used in theology and worship and how pastoral, theological and aesthetic concerns need to be interwoven in constructing liturgy. She highlights some of the problems posed by using 'inclusive language': replacing male pronouns and patriarchal language with female simply replaces one gendered power structure with another removing gendered language has theological limitations rewriting beautiful histor...

This meditation is based on Psalm 19: 1-6. The video clips are from the BBC Planet Earth series and the backing track is 'Pilote' by 'Turtle'. The words of Psalm 19: 1-6 fit the images and music if read slowly, starting when the drums enter. The words are: "The heavens declare the glory of God,   and the firmament shows his handiwork.   One day tells its tale to another,   and one night imparts knowledge to another.   Although they have no words or language   and their voices are not heard.   Their sound has gone out into all lands,   and their message to the ends of the world.   In the deep he has set a pavilion for the sun;   it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;   it rejoices like a champion to run its course.   It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens   and runs about to the end of it again;   nothing is hidden from its burning heat."

Can you make people worship? And should you even try? In England and Wales the 1944 Education Act and the 1998 Education Act requires state schools to provide a daily act of collective worship of a broadly Christian nature.  (Parents may withdraw their children from this without giving a reason and over 16s may withdrew themselves). Government guidelines suggest just over half the worship should be Christian with the rest about other faiths. Most (98%) primary schools do hold an act of collective worship within daily school assemblies. In secondary schools the legal requirement for daily collective worship is honoured more in the breach than the observance, with perhaps 80% not complying. The ComRes survey for BBC local radio recently found that 64% of the 500 parents questioned said their child did not attend daily collective worship in school. Of the 1,743 adults asked 60% said the leglislation should not be enforced. It seems that collective daily worship in schools is in d...

Looking forward to worshipping here again today at the parish church of St George, in Neustift-im-Stubaital, Tirol, Austria. Happy Sunday to you all. Photos: my own

The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley is a blog that makes me laugh most times I visit. (Yes, it's meant to be funny.) They were very excited about their 'Flag and Maracas Service' this morning. 'Archdruid Eileen' announced that they'd "never had two such dangerous worship aids in one service before - or, at least, not since Marston's "Gunpowder and Itching Powder" service, and in retrospect that was just plain stupid."  This got me thinking about 'dangerous worship aids' I've experienced. MARACAS.  I'm thinking home-made variety. Who would buy a maraca when you can make one with a recycled washing up liquid bottle, some things to put inside to shake and strong tape to seal the somethings in? This is dangerous if you have children who worship with all their minds and strength. Unlike adults who struggle with child-proof containers, a child will easily break the maraca's seal. If this is done by over vigorous ...

My great great grandfather was Precentor in a Free Church of Scotland congregation in Dundee. He led unaccompanied psalm-singing - the only music allowed. He used a tuning fork to help him pitch the starting note. He would 'line out' the psalm, singing one line, then the congregation would repeat it and so on. No musical instruments were allowed and no hymns or songs, other than psalms. When my grandmother told me about this when I was a child, I was astonished. I couldn't imagine church without hymns and musical instruments. I thought that no singing apart from the Psalms and no musical instruments was a long time ago and everything is different now. Indeed it is, but not everywhere. A Free Church of Scotland minister in Glasgow has resigned because his denomination recently agreed (November 2010) by a very narrow majority to allow hymn singing and musical instruments in public worship  for the first time. His congregation has grown numerically under his car...