High church congregations that emphasize tradition and liturgy are seeing increased interest from younger worshippers.
Posted on Saturday, May 17, 2003
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Religion/28015/
BELLA VISTA — The young acolytes march
reverently down the center aisle of St.
Theodore’s Episcopal Church. Clothed in
white robes, they bear a cross, candles and a book of Scripture toward the altar. Their entry marks the official start of morning worship. It’s a familiar sight to Episcopalians worldwide, as are the ensuing series of movements and prayers by the officiants and parishioners. The reserved yet beautiful service is a far cry from the typically spirited services associated with the Bible-Belted South. In a religious environment where the biggest worship trends seem to be boisterous praise through contemporary songs and casual services, some might think a liturgical service like St. Theodore’s is not of-the-moment enough to grab the fast-food crowd. But to many, that’s the point. Even with pews still overflowing in contemporary church services, "high church" may be the new wave in worship. Some ritual-based churches are reporting increased attendance, and recent research seems to show a longing for something beyond a contemporary praise service. A lot of people today are seeking religious depth born of tradition, says Robert Bruce Mullin, subdean for academic affairs at The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York. He is the author of Episcopal Vision/American Reality: High Church Theology and Social Thought in Evangelical America. "Many persons are attracted to the high church movement after having experienced the praise worship," Mullin says. Several Christian denominations — namely Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Episcopal — base their services on ancient liturgical practices and a formal, high-church style of worship. Other denominations, including Lutheran and Presbyterian, follow some liturgical practices, as well. "Their role, their understanding, is [that] they are preserving the ancient traditions and maintaining liturgical practices over and against this rapidly changing world out there with the hope that there will be people who’ll look upon them and say, ‘Hey,
these are people who have an expression of truth and they look good, therefore I want to be a part of it, ’" says Paul B. Brown. Brown is an adjunct professor of worship and preaching at Memphis Theological Seminary and an ordained minister of Cumberland Presbyterian Church. "Instead of adapting, these traditional churches are saying ‘ We’re maintaining the authenticity of traditions and this is real, ’" he says.
WHY HIGH CHURCH? John Atchison was a thirdgeneration believer and member of the Assemblies of God. He even served for 20 years as a preacher in the lively denomination. "We had real rock and roll," Atchison says. "We’d stand up and clap our hands. It was fun."
But after many years, he began to feel like it wasn’t really worship. Atchison says he found himself looking for more.
He recounts the story of Elijah running from Jezebel in 1 Kings 19 and how God showed Elijah great wind, an earthquake and fire — yet God was not in those physical outbursts. "Then, in a still, small voice, God says, ‘ Elijah, what are you doing here?’ In a way, it’s a parallel with my former Pentecostal Protestant ways," Atchison says. "I was looking for him in displays of power. I found him in a small, still voice."
Atchison was the preacher at a Wyoming church when, on a trip to Denver, he met an Eastern Orthodox minister who told him a group of ladies in his church had the whole book of Psalms memorized, due in part to its repetition in church. "I thought how I had at least half the songs in our Pentecostal hymnal memorized and how I could have just as easily memorized Psalms if we’d used that over the years," Atchison says.
He converted to Eastern Orthodoxy shortly after that, and he has been "Father" Atchison for the last 10 years. The last two have been spent as the minister for St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian Church in Springdale.
Atchison now loves the ancient a cappella songs and prayers and Byzantine chants. He still considers the catchy music he used to sing each Sunday as praise for God, but perhaps not worship. "Praise is more physical. Worship transcends the whole thing completely," Atchison says. "When you enter into real worship, you touch God. Something happens to a man’s spirit. It feels right, like a cold drink of water. Time ceases to exist for a little while."
Mullin, of The General Theological Seminary, examined in his book about high church theology the attraction of liturgical traditions in an American culture that seemed contrary to such traditions. People sometimes seek a liturgical church to fill a spiritual need, he says. "Popular religion is what it says it is. It’s popular, easy to grasp, but it doesn’t have the depth and richness of the traditions," Mullin says. "Many groups accept the authority of the Bible but particular traditions don’t matter that much." With high church, we can’t say that. The traditions we inherited from Europe must be maintained or we lose that sense of distinctiveness. "
WHAT DO THEY DO? The Rev. Craig Gavin of St. Theodore’s says liturgical parishioners find comfort in the sameness of worship. The congregational recitation of the Nicene Creed reminds them of the common beliefs, and the use of The Book of Common Prayer helps maintain continuity of beliefs around the world." People know what to expect when they walk into an Episcopal or Anglican church anywhere in the world, "Gavin says.
Even the youngest can feel comfort in tradition.
At St. John’s Lutheran Childcare Center in Fayetteville, preschoolers attend a weekly chapel service with the church pastor, Roger Schoolcraft.
" Some families don’t have many family traditions anymore, and many of our kids’ families don’t attend church on a regular basis, "says Allison Ham, director of the child care center. Yet they encourage chapel attendance and seem glad that their children are learning about God, Ham says. In fact, the spiritual emphasis of the center is" sometimes the selling point, "she says. Schoolcraft admits he keeps it pretty casual for the children’s chapel service. He doesn’t wear the customary vestments but does light the altar candles." They come into the sanctuary in a reverent, walking, quiet mode. They know there’s a time we pray and listen to God’s word, learn what we are to God and He to us, "Schoolcraft says. Children ask and learn about seasonal color changes on the altar and other things as they’re presented.
WHAT DO THEY GET?
Just as children learn religious tradition and ideas by seeing and doing, so, too, do adults. The Rev. Larry Benfield of Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Little Rock stressed the importance of The Book of Common Prayer and maintaining a set order of worship." Especially for us Anglicans, the words we use in worship seem to be the primary way we tell our theological story, "Benfield says. People enjoy having a connection with what the church has always done, he adds." When you realize what you’re doing on Sunday is what’s been done in the same way for almost 1,700 years, it gives you hope for the future. If it’s been done this long, the church will continue — and continue to look to the future. "
Benfield says high church worship is consistent with what the early church did and with biblical tradition. He contends God is able to speak to parishioners not only through his Word, but by other senses as well.
All the senses contribute to the worship experience, Benfield says — the beauty of stained-glass windows and Eucharistic vestments, the smell of the wine during the Lord’s Supper or the scent of incense, the melody of sung prayers or the ringing of bells. (Christ Church doesn’t use incense, Benfield says, but some, such as Orthodox churches, do.)
The Rev. Michael Sinkler of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Bentonville prefers the term" ritual" rather than "traditional" when speaking of Catholic worship. "It’s human nature to have rituals," Sinkler says. "The way a family decorates the Christmas tree or keeps the menu for Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving dinner, that’s ritual.... Because we’re human, we appreciate that familiarity."
WHO’S GOING? Perhaps surprisingly, Benfield says many of the new members of Christ Church are young people. These products of fast-food, reality television and a world with ever-declining moral standards seem to yearn for religious liturgy, he says. "What we’re beginning to see is, people in their 20s seem to be wanting more traditional services," Benfield says. "A lot of people now in their 40s were the people who were more drawn to contemporary services. They were a generation that questioned authority, including the church."
Christ Church has seen phenomenal growth in the last two years. Attendance, now about 200, has increased 70 percent. Benfield says some of that growth stems from a growing revitalization of the downtown area and a drive to reinvigorate the congregation. Still, many of those are 20-somethings who want something different. "We’re getting young people in our church who want a change," Benfield says. "I’ve seen some new studies in the last 24 months that show more people wanting traditional services."
And while more upbeat music is often considered a draw for the younger crowd, that’s not always the way it works.
At Christ Church, the Sunday morning service is very traditional, complete with full vestments and formality. However, Benfield calls the Sunday night service the "jazz Eucharist." Parishioners sing simpler hymns, backed by jazz-styled instrumentals. "Baby boomers come to it," he says. The service still uses Eucharist prayer texts as a worship guide, but from an updated language version. "The message is the same."
Still, Benfield and others appreciate the beauty and complexity of traditional songs. "I think much of the music in contemporary worship is very much focused on the individual and on God’s relationship with the individual," Benfield says. "The music in liturgical worship seems to be more centered on community and not on the individual.
" The music is somehow challenging us as a community of believers rather than individuals. We’re always challenged to find the risen body of Christ in the community of believers. How do we as a church relate to the world?" Many of the classical hymns are less introspective and are filled with multiple layers of theology, Benfield says.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? Atchison says Orthodoxy attracts people from many backgrounds. Several from his Assembly of God congregation converted to the Eastern Orthodox church when he did, he says, and one of the founding members of St. Nicholas is a former Southern Baptist. Of course, liturgical churches still hold many lifelong adherents, such as Bella Vistan Roberta Paulette, who calls herself a "cradle Episcopalian." She attends St. Theodore’s but feels comfortable in any Episcopal church due to tradition. "I know what it is and where to go," Paulette says.
Sinkler says it’s understandable, especially in growing Northwest Arkansas, that people tend to gravitate toward contemporary megachurches. "They’re more social-oriented [than ritual churches], and we need that when we have just moved here and are without family. We need somebody," Sinkler says. Church services are often supplemented by small Bible study groups, adding to the sense of belonging.
More spontaneous, praisestyle churches typically don’t have a lot of doctrinal beliefs to learn and follow, he says. Ritual and doctrinal study can be daunting for some seeking the more social connection. "You can get lost in the ritual," Sinkler says. "When you go into a praise church or a Scripture-based church, you’re expected to share some of your person. If you go into a ritual church, you participate with the group. The goal is to make it personal, but it takes a lot of work."
Sinkler says he sees value in praise-style worship but doesn’t believe it completes the spiritual experience. "Praise is part of a greater whole. We’re expected to do praise and spontaneous prayer. But there’s also a need for something formal. It’s a real blessing if you’re willing to do the work."