Wednesday 30 December 2009

Chained to the Machine

How is it that writing a service that lasts only an hour, also considering the music, takes so very long?

6 comments:

James said...

Sadly, this is a thought that has bubbled up in my mind on any number of occasions - frequently somewhere around hour eight... Occasionally much after...

June Butler said...

That's why we have prayer books.

Pluralist (Adrian Worsfold) said...

Unitarians did, and in one case in the UK still produced one, with maybe a few using 1932, but the language moves on at such a rate and there is no consensus about their meaning and adequacy to use them any more. One of two still do much extempore.

June Butler said...

Perhaps on occasion, use the prayer book as a starter and update the words. That would be a bit easier than starting from scratch every week. Although, original liturgies can be lovely.

NUFer said...

The lack of readily available frameworks for worship is a major failing for those lay persons who are called upon occasionally to lead Unitarian services ; when I was in this position some years ago many hours were spent searching for suitable readings/prayers/meditations even before one got to considering the sermon.

I think congregations generally appreciate a few familiar landmarks in the service ; too many lead to the 'liturgical coma' but too few and services become a succession of novelties ; newcomers,particularly,in my opinion,appreciate some kind of 'map' of what is going to happen and like to know where the church is 'coming from',doctrinally. In a denomination where fewer and fewer chapels have settled ministry, an outline framework for worship could establish a valuable unity for the congregation while in no way hampering the freedom of the worship leader to explore his/her own distinct message.

Pluralist (Adrian Worsfold) said...

I use prayer books for structures, but none relate to Unitarian ranges of belief. In this one there is the structure of sorry, thanks, reading, a celebration of time, sermon, but more the hymn sandwich, and more on music for meditation along with all the hymn tunes to put to CD (with no organist). I fear now it is all too long.