Thursday, July 17, 2003
Notes from Worship in Transition: The 20th Century LM (Fenwick, John + Spinks, Bryan)
Worship in Transition: The Twentieth Century Liturgical Movement
Fenwick, John. Spinks, Bryan
Edinburgh: T & T Clark Ltd
1995
Characteristics of the Liturgical Movement
1. The struggle for community. Protest against individualism in society and church.
2. Participation. The decentralisation of worship from an activity of the clergy to something involving the whole church.
3. A rediscovery of the early church as a model.
4. A rediscovery of the Bible.
5. A rediscovery of the eucharist, especially in Reformation churches.
6. An emphasis on use of the vernacular.
7. The rediscovery of other Christian traditions.
8. An emphasis on proclamation and social involvement.
"Worship should therefore be the central activity from which all other activities flow out" (p10)
The Relationship of the Liturgical Movement and Charismatic Movement (p111-113)
Parallels
1. An interest in the early church. For the LM the early church is a source of liturgical shape, while the CM looks to it for pneumatological precedent.
2. A stress on community and participation.
3. A reinstatement of the Bible in liturgy and in the life of the church.
4. The centrality of the eucharist (I don't think this is true of the CM - my comment).
5. Informality and liturgical space.
6. Accessibility of worship. Worship in the vernacular, and stripping out of outdated rituals.
Differences
The heart of the CM is pneumatology. The activity of the Holy Spirit, especially personal baptism with the Spirit, is preached, proclaimed and practised, and goes together with a strong desire to worship and associate with other Christians in worship. The LM has not stressed the 'personal epiclesis'.
The LM provided much of the groundwork for the development of the CM, but it is often CM members of churches who provide much of the impetus for churches to accept the insights of the LM.
Liturgical Movement influence on Eucharistic Liturgy (p115)
The LM has left a degree of consensus on the structure and content of eucharistic liturgy. There should be:
a. Service of the Word.
i. reading and preaching of the Word
ii. intercession for the church and the world
b. Service of the Sacrament
i. taking of the bread and wine
ii. blessing God for creation and redemption.
iii. invoking the Holy Spirit.
iv. breaking the bread.
v. distribution of the bread and wine.
Fenwick, John. Spinks, Bryan
Edinburgh: T & T Clark Ltd
1995
Characteristics of the Liturgical Movement
1. The struggle for community. Protest against individualism in society and church.
2. Participation. The decentralisation of worship from an activity of the clergy to something involving the whole church.
3. A rediscovery of the early church as a model.
4. A rediscovery of the Bible.
5. A rediscovery of the eucharist, especially in Reformation churches.
6. An emphasis on use of the vernacular.
7. The rediscovery of other Christian traditions.
8. An emphasis on proclamation and social involvement.
"Worship should therefore be the central activity from which all other activities flow out" (p10)
The Relationship of the Liturgical Movement and Charismatic Movement (p111-113)
Parallels
1. An interest in the early church. For the LM the early church is a source of liturgical shape, while the CM looks to it for pneumatological precedent.
2. A stress on community and participation.
3. A reinstatement of the Bible in liturgy and in the life of the church.
4. The centrality of the eucharist (I don't think this is true of the CM - my comment).
5. Informality and liturgical space.
6. Accessibility of worship. Worship in the vernacular, and stripping out of outdated rituals.
Differences
The heart of the CM is pneumatology. The activity of the Holy Spirit, especially personal baptism with the Spirit, is preached, proclaimed and practised, and goes together with a strong desire to worship and associate with other Christians in worship. The LM has not stressed the 'personal epiclesis'.
The LM provided much of the groundwork for the development of the CM, but it is often CM members of churches who provide much of the impetus for churches to accept the insights of the LM.
Liturgical Movement influence on Eucharistic Liturgy (p115)
The LM has left a degree of consensus on the structure and content of eucharistic liturgy. There should be:
a. Service of the Word.
i. reading and preaching of the Word
ii. intercession for the church and the world
b. Service of the Sacrament
i. taking of the bread and wine
ii. blessing God for creation and redemption.
iii. invoking the Holy Spirit.
iv. breaking the bread.
v. distribution of the bread and wine.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Could Jesus' words have been recorded in his lifetime?
Interesting article from the Biblical Archaeology Review about Literacy in the Time of Jesus. It seems the evidence now favours the view that reading and writing were widely practised among common people in 1st century Palestine. This means that it is entirely possible that many of Jesus' words that we now have in the gospels could have been recorded at the time by those who heard them. This challenges the view, prevalent until now, that they would only have been preserved orally.
