WINTER 1991 PAGE 5 SEA OF FAITH MAGAZINE RADICAL CHRISTIAN WORSHIP AND THE DECADE OF EVANGELISM by A. A. Harrison I write as a recently retired Anglican priest having ministered (NSM) in a rural parish for twenty-two years after secular employment for forty-five years. I have been a member of the Modern Churchpeople's Union for many years and have now become largely in sympathy with the ideas underlying the emergence of the Sea of Faith presentation of religious understanding and expression, though not yet going all the way with Don Cupitt.
Like Ronald Pearse (SOF Magazine, Autumn 1990) I have long felt unable to sustain (many of) the fixed words of (authorised) liturgies and with him I do need meaningful word and sacrament in public worship.
Although rejecting the exclusive claims of the Christian religion still exposed in church formularies and accepting that there is much to be respected and learnt from in other religions, I believe that a purified Christian faith should be the basis of Sea of Faith activity and teaching. That being so, I should like to see radical ideas brought to bear upon what the Christian Churches, by and large, are putting their hands to in the forthcoming Decade of Evangelism since I constantly remind myself of William Temple's saying that the Christian church is the one institution in the world which exists primarily for those who are outside it.
It is being said that the message of the Churches during the Decade will, inevitably, be delivered mainly though the modern media of television, radio and journalism and I believe this to be true. It follows that if Sea of Faith is to participate, its contribution will have to be shaped accordingly.
But this media evangelism is unlikely to have much lasting effect unless it persuades those who are influenced by it to follow up their awakened interest by associating themselves with institutional Christianity, in one form or another, and that is where things are liable to go wrong. If their previous contact, if any, has been solely by way of routine baptisms, marriages and funerals, they are likely to find a wide gap between what they have seen and heard in broadcasts and what goes on in public worship, if they venture to sample it.
I can only refer to Anglican services in which the Eucharist has not only become central but has often ousted anything else on Sunday mornings. This means that the sampler will be confronted with a rite heavily loaded with credal affirmations and doctrinal assertions which are liable to be unintelligible and, perhaps, off-putting. It could be nearly as bad coming into a service of Morning Prayer. Neither in the Holy Communion or in Morning Prayer would newcomers find any reflection of liberal, let alone radical, theology or doctrine as things stand today. There might be a hint of it in the sermon but even that is very unlikely.
What might SOF do to remedy the prospective situation ? It can exhort its adherents to make known its ideas within the Churches of which they are members at whatever level is accessible to them and to press for their exhibition in alternative ritual wording. But it will be uphill work in the face of undoubted reluctance and some downright opposition. It would probably be more fruitful to press ahead with the formation of local groups providing not only for the meeting of minds but for communal activity including what Ronald Pearse calls `events' of worship to which enquirers would be invited.
Worship of something or other is instinctive for men and women. Is it not for us to indicate a reasonable object and appropriate way of addressing it, of listening to it and, I would dare to say - obeying it ? I have long liked the Quaker emphasis on silence in worship but even they seem to feel the need for words to be spoken which reflect the 'inner light' received. I also think, contrary to Quaker usage, that public worship needs an occasional reiteration of belief, if only for the benefit of the visiting enquirer.
Perhaps something akin to the Bishop of Durham's suggestion might serve :- God is. He is as he is in Jesus. So there is hope.
Such a creed does not prevent me from agreeing with Norman Richardson, the Quaker contributor to the last magazine, that there is something of God in every person. I would add that, in my experience, most interested people wish to know what they can reasonably be expected to believe and, if needs be, assert.
PAGE 6 WINTER 1991 SEA OF FAITH MAGAZINE I am of the opinion that worship in public needs music and symbolic acts because room has to be left for emotional as well as intellectual response. I also think that it should include the acknowledgement of, and thanks for, what might be called 'providential' gifts - prayers for ourselves and others but not asking for intervention in natural processes. Worship should imply by omission the rejection of any such dogma as Trinitarian deity, anything other than ordinary humanity for Jesus, (I liked Elizabeth Burns' description of the significance of his death and resurrection, SOF Magazine, Autumn 1990) vicarious atonement, election, certainty concerning either survival after earthly death or immortality although they may exist and a Second Coming of Jesus, since these are all human inventions incapable of proof. If any Prayer Book Collects are used, they should not include any which express doctrinal ideas which are unacceptable to radical Christians.
I think there should be room for the confession of shortcomings but no pronouncement of absolution.
The essence of the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus is, for me, God's free forgiveness of repented sin, provided we also forgive. Elizabeth Burns seems to be satisfied by self-forgiveness and the forgiveness given by others but I feel a need for forgiveness offered and imparted by a power which is both immanent and transcendent - the power I call - God.
I would like to see a much smaller Lectionary including only such passages in the Old and New Testament which do not conflict with radical ideas.
Moreover, readings should not be confined to scriptural material. If Psalms are used, they should be short and not include any which are out of keeping with Christian concepts and teaching.
If hymns are used, they should be chosen with great care. Most collections include hymns which contain many questionable assertions and I have little sympathy with people who do not mind very much what they sing so long as they know and like the tunes. If there is to be a sermon or an address, it should include expository material connected with whatever has been read and the emphasis ought to be upon the teaching of Jesus - especially that concerned with the way of life commended by him.
I wholeheartedly agree with Ronald Pearse that we ought to avoid coercive words or words which strain individual integrity. We do not want rigid uniformity of liturgical practice but it should be possible to devise and circulate a framework to be filled in by individual groups of radical Christians meeting for worship.
A.A.HARRISON is a retired priest in Richmond, North Yorks.