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June 18, 2009
Rowan Williams' Fresh Expressions of Moonbattery
Maybe Rowan Williams has finally figured out that pandering to Muslims is not going to reverse the Church of England's headlong decline. Now he's pandering to moonbats and teenyboppers:
[I]deas for alternative-style worship are part of an initiative launched by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to appeal to the younger generation.
They are set out in a new book compiled by the Church's Fresh Expressions programme, which aims to boost church attendance with more relevant and exciting services. …
One Holy Communion service promoted in the book, called Ancient Faith, Future Mission, begins with the congregation being shown a video clip from the YouTube website about a United Nations anti-poverty campaign.
Worshippers are told that "our planet is messed up" and that "things are not right".
You can say that again, Swilliams! It gets worse:
They are then asked to approach the altar and rub sea salt on their fingers to represent tears, before walking around and meditating at eight "prayer stations" representing themes such as "gender equality" and "environmental sustainability".
A psalm is recited in "beat poetry" style to the accompaniment of African Djembe drums, and prayers are said "for the corporate world, for influential CEOs who oversee billion-dollar industries".
It's just not a proper church service without a little music from a moonbatty pop band:
Among the alternative services explored in the book … are so-called "U2charists", services in which the congregation receives communion but sings the songs of the Irish rock band U2 instead of traditional hymns. …
The book also features Transcendence, an event held in York Minister in which traditional Latin chant is set by DJs to hip hop or ambient dance music and video images are projected onto the walls.
Here's an idea: why doesn't the church hold rave parties, with ecstasy and grape-flavored vodka for the Eucharist? The priest can strip down to his undies, smear himself with body paint, and crowd surf under pulsating disco lights.
Uh oh, here comes a party pooper. The prebendary at St Paul's Cathedral Rev. David Houlding laments,
All this is tosh. It's just a passing fad, irrelevant, shallow and pointless. There's no depth to it and it's embarrassing because it'll make people think that we're eccentric and silly.
As a result of Fresh Expressions, there are now churches for surfers, and priests have been commissioned to work in night clubs and skateboard parks. Maybe the Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they proscribed an official state church.
On a tip from Viking04.
Posted by Van Helsing at June 18, 2009 7:00 AM
Comments
Why would they need to rub salt on your fingers to represent tears when they probably are already crying real tears at the desecration of their worship?
Posted by: Judith M. at June 18, 2009 7:18 AM
Why would they need to rub salt on their fingers to represent tears when they probably are already crying real tears at the desecration of their worship?
Posted by: Judith M. at June 18, 2009 7:18 AM
So much for being in the world, but not of the world. Though I'll concede the hymnbooks could use some updating. At the time they were written, the hymns were contemporary. I don't see an issue with adding more contemporary hymns, so long as the honor Christ and not the bloody UN.
Posted by: Gregory of Yardale at June 18, 2009 7:23 AM
I still prefer Gregorian Chant and some of the ancient worship songs, but I agree with you, Gregory. As long as the hymns have some substance to them and our true to our ancient faith, I don't care when they were written.
Posted by: Judith M. at June 18, 2009 7:34 AM
"are true to our ancient faith"
Damn homonyms!
Posted by: Judith M. at June 18, 2009 7:37 AM
Just a thought, does anyone actually take this idiot seriously. He looks like a cross-dresser who wants to be a nun. Anyway, how was this person elevated to his current position of power? Shouldn't there be someway that the common sense practioners of the church can have him replaced?
Posted by: Capt. Kranky at June 18, 2009 7:41 AM
I suppose this blabbering blabberskite wants all his fallowers to kneel and pray to images of OBAMASES THE GRAPE and pray to tree spirts when we want to cut down or trim a tree or ask forgivness to the grass when we mow the lawn I MEAN THEIR MOONBATS GET EVEN MORE REDICULOUS EVERY DAY
Posted by: SPURWING PLOVER at June 18, 2009 7:44 AM
His followers, if they haven't already, should begin to question what religion Archbishop Williams is practicing, because it sure isn't Christianity. Christianity is about worshiping Jesus Christ as the son of God, not the bloody United Nations. That isn't to say that you can't be concerned with conditions and issues around the world, but that doesn't enter into the practice of your religion.
When your bishop panders to those that wish to destroy you and worships secular bodies over religious doctrine, it is time for either a new church or a new bishop.
Posted by: CoderInCrisis at June 18, 2009 7:51 AM
I can see why the founder of my church regarded other denominations as apostasies.
Posted by: V the K at June 18, 2009 7:54 AM
I don't think people understand how infected by Liberalism the Churches are. Notre Dame was only one example of the fruit of it
It's a very widespread sickness, and we are going to have to really fight back....and soon.
Posted by: Anonymous at June 18, 2009 8:08 AM
Sort of reminds me of "abandoning free market principles to save them."
Everyone these days seems intent on abandoning or pretending to abandon their principles, "to win."
Posted by: JustAl at June 18, 2009 8:18 AM
When someone in a church, regardless of denomination, describes some innovation in the liturgy as making the mass/service more "relevant", a decline in attendance inevitably follows. Church-goers are awash with the surrounding culture 24/7, and making mass/service more like the rest of the surrounding culture does not make it more attractive, but instead leads one to wonder why they're bothering to go to church if its the same message as they can get by just turning on the TV.
Posted by: GeronimoRumplestiltskin at June 18, 2009 8:23 AM
Posted by: GeronimoRumplestiltskin at June 18, 2009 8:23 AM
You said it.
Posted by: SK at June 18, 2009 9:28 AM
He should trim his eyebrows. That might soften his evil look.
Posted by: glezzery at June 18, 2009 11:41 AM
While it's okay, applaudable even, for churches to offer more contemporary worship services alongside traditional ones, and bring some light to social issues, this church is clearly taking it WAY too far, cheapening the Gospel for the sake of political correctness.
Posted by: Adam at June 18, 2009 2:47 PM
Why do I read articles about what Williams is doing to the Anglican church? Why do I torture myself? Ugh... I used to attend the Episcopal church because of the dignity and solemnity of the traditional services, but I had to leave after I realized the hierarchy (and a lot of the congregation) was full of moonbats.
GeronimoRumplestiltskin is right; when the church seeks to become "relevant" by becoming indistinguishable from secular culture, people will leave the church behind.
Posted by: PabloD at June 18, 2009 5:30 PM
Looks like he's wearing KLAN robes. Or is he modeling the dihmmi version of the burka?
Posted by: KHarn at June 18, 2009 5:39 PM
