In one of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, 'Silver Blaze', there occurs the mysterious case of the dog that didn't bark. My visit to church last weekend also featured a Vicar's dog that didn't bark or, in fact, do anything at all until after the service had ended when he trotted cheerfully down the aisle. It came as a surprise to me, but no one else present as this is all part of the routine. I'll leave the other strange 'going on' to the end.
As time was pressing due to the house move I had opted for an 8 o'clock service and, generally speaking, I found it helpful. Lots of silence before and during - a luxury not usually afforded to me and very appropriate for the start of Lent. The ten commandments in full. People kneeling for prayer (when was the last time you saw that?!) All this added to the atmosphere and was, I'm sure, appreciated by the twenty or so mainly elderly people present that morning.
A couple of deeper issues were framed for me. Firstly, the pros and cons of tailored services. Eight o'clock communions originally served the purpose of allowing domestic servants and those who had to work on Sunday's to get to church and for some reason have continued to serve a purpose, presumably for the reasons outlined above as well as others besides.
Secondly, the place of individualism. Not, in this context, of the more pietistical flavour as explored in the hymns, say Fanny Crosby, or the modern songs to which I have previously referred, but of a more robust and, if I'm honest, somewhat more austere and clinical flavour. Nothing wrong with either sort, I'm sure, as long as such worship forms part of a more balanced diet of more genuinely corporate worship and a lively engagement with one's Christian brothers and sisters.
And the other strange 'going on'? The two readings were followed by... nothing, not even a two minute thought. That absence did not invalidate all else about the service, but it did leave aside one vital ingredient - an explanation and application of God's word with an encouragement to think about it and practice it. Now that really is strange!
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2 comments:
Interesting that you've brought up specialised services. What do you think about the whole Fresh Expressions / Mission-Shaped Church movement? I've visited a couple of very healthy fresh expressions, but the emphasis on network churches sounds like it should encourage a congregation of all the same type of people, which isn't exactly ecumenical. What do you think?
The observation you make is valid, though as I implied, it is a tension that has existed throughout church history. I think a lot depends on attitude and intention e.g. when Afrikaaner's started whites only churches it was in my view clearly wrong, whereas starting a student church in Manchester, such as The Plant, is not. Its also about openess e.g. are such groups willing to engage with other Christians in a meaningful way? Unless they are, their faith is clearly defective.
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