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| "Consider this an invitation. I invite you on my pilgrimage to some very different kinds of churches, old Protestant churches that have found new life in the face of change. They reminded me that Christianity is a sacred pathway to someplace better, a journey of transforming our selves, our faith communities, and our world." ... from the Introduction. |
| Index | Chapter Summary | Commentary |
| Summary Notes - | ||
| Ch. 14. Beauty The general tone of American protestant churches is austere. It is "religion unadorned". "People expect mainline Protestantism to be intelligent, but few expect it to be beautiful." Worship focues on words and music, combining them in powerful ways as liturgy. "It is not about performance, it's about drawing people to another place." Even when the music draws on other traditions (accomodating the diverse elements), it grows the mystery of worship. "...music gives shape and voice to the very pattern of our experienced world, through pitch, rhythm, and intensity, through lyrics and harmony. So, the act of singing together of life lived and felt, binds heart and mind with ordered sound." "The beauty of sound transformed the church into sacred space..." Bass points out the dynamic in our history between the "poles of rationalism and mysticism", and comments that the tide is again turning and new visions of beauty are being found. "In every congregation I visited, there was a growing emphasis on beauty, on knowing God through art, music, and drama, on engaging more than just the mind." Beauty is a door to understanding. We can apprehend God through the heart. "God is, indeed, elegant. ... there is a remarkable elegance to those mysterious Christian things like the Trinity, the virgin birth, and resurrection. They may or may not have happened, but they certainly are beautiful." "...the arts speak afresh Christianity's ancient texts..." "art is a refined form of prayer." "Part of what we do is theatre." " ... a sign of their engagement with the Spirit, will be creativity." |
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| A Commentary - Wayne Holst | ||
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St. David's United Church.Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sep 2007