Evening all y’all,
This Amy Robinson, chiming in again. This’ll be my final guest post this time around.

As I’m sure most of you are aware, mainline churches today have devoted a lot of time, energy, and devotion to what they refer to as the "Worship Wars." We embroil ourselves in an ongoing debate on whether it’s more reverent to use a guitar or an organ; to sing "Lift Up Ye Heads" or "Shout to the North." Marilynne Robinson, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, came to speak to one of my classes at the seminary. I must tell you, many people’s ire was kindled as she wrote off the entire genre of praise and worship music as worthless fluff and not true worship. I’ve also heard those argue that traditional services are simply formulaic and without any emotional meaning. I’m, personally, rather ambivalent. While I appreciate the need for the style of music to be accessible and welcoming to new comers, I have grave concerns about a lot of the imagery used. I think a lot of our theological depth of hymnody is lost through repetitive phrasing. In addition, throughout both many of the old hymns and quite a few of the new praise songs, I see the glorification of war and the masculinization of God, two of the theological issues that have plagued our church for generations.

However, it seems that in the pews of the Catholics churches in California, the worship wars have taken a turn I never quite expected (See link below). This afternoon, one of the scintillating blogs I read daily pointed out a skirmish in a parish in Huntington Beach. It seems, indeed, that approximately four years ago, Pope John Paul II lifted the requirement for kneeling in service and left that decision up to the individual bishops in the various diocese. Since that time, some congregations have been built without the equipment for kneeling because of the position of their bishops in favor of standing instead of kneeling. However, certain parishioners within the congregations have chosen to maintain their tradition posture of prayer throughout the service, despite the instructions of their priest, and so kneel as the rest of the congregation stands.

Great fervor has built up around this act of disobedience; indeed, one Father Martin Tran is quoted as stating that kneeling "is clearly rebellion, grave disobedience, and mortal sin." Those who support kneeling state that it is a physical manifestation of humility before God; others claim that standing during prayer is a recognition of human dignity. Behind this debate lies the history of domination and oppression within the church (as kneeling is read as a sign of submission), the interpretation of our own physical symbols and their place in acts of devotion (as we read the actions theologically), and the ongoing struggle to understand where we lie in the tension between finding a authentic personal expression of the faith and developing our relationship to church authorities.

As a good little Presbyterian, I don’t feel qualified to weigh in on this one. I’ve visited my share of Catholic masses, attempted to pray the rosary nightly for Lent, and even occasionally cross myself, which makes me much more "Catholicized" than many of those I sit beside on the pews :) However, it would be rather cocky of me to name myself an expert on reading the symbology of kneeling and standing in the course of worship; I think that’s up to the Roman Catholics of Huntington Beach to figure out.

What this does highlight, through, is the importance of striving to understand what we do during worship, and why we do it. Have you every really dove into the symbols within the actions you take during worship? Do you find yourself contemplating the messages your actions in church are giving about the nature of God? What does our ritual say about our relationship to the divine and to each other?

One of our responsibilities as members of the church is to challenge our congregations on these issues. We, too, need to make sure that our rites and symbolism represent the theology we preach. We, too, need to examine what is expressed every Sunday morning through the nonverbal aspects of our worship. Through it, we will understand with greater depth the nature of our own worship, and learn to express our faith in a manner that embodies the beliefs that we practice.

Miz Pah,

Amy

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Cor 10:31 (NIV)



http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-kneel28may28,1,6981595.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=1&cset=true

I grew up as a Catholic.

I say, why not let each individual person do whatever the spirit leads him or her to do, and make it a personal choice?

I have returned to Catholic mass after several years in the Presbyterian Church, and in my church in Hwasoon, there is no kneeling during mass or a place where you can kneel. I grew up kneeling during mass so that is new but it didn't feel different or weird.

That's my two cents here in Korea.