Per Christum Catholic Blog

or…is a better title, “Suggestions to Run Your Denomination Into the Ground?”

Check this list out, from, “the last Protestant dinosaur.” The dinosaur, a mainline Episcopalian, suggests that there are a few steps we can take to make people feel more welcome during the liturgy. First, let me say that I agree with a few of his ideas, which involve making the service more accessible to those who may be unfamiliar with the form and rubrics. A few of these are:

- Put as much information as possible in the bulletin so people can understand what is going on

- Keep homilies under 12 minutes

However, most of his suggestions are already employed in many liberal mainline churches. These suggestions below are not really Catholic, except as the term “catholic” is sometimes defined by liberal mainline protestants, in which case it can mean just about anything. Here are some of the Protestant Dinosaur’s ideas:

- Practice “open communion,” meaning anybody, atheist, Muslim, unrepentant murderer, or whoever, can receive communion.

- Limit worship to no more than an hour

- Cut extraneous “crap,” like the Gloria and long psalm responses

- Shorten or get rid of Scripture readings

- Re-write the Eucharistic prayers to be less dogmatic

Read Them All

In other words…being “welcoming” means making the service far less traditionally and recognizably Christian. It means watering down a service just so those who aren’t Christian in any sense (or have no intention to make a commitment to Christ) can feel better and participate.

I believe that this is why many of the mainline churches are declining. Who wants to be a part of a church or organization whose central mysteries and activities lack any distinctive features? I mean, if I visited a synagogue, I may not feel “welcome” as some define the term, but I would have much more respect for a synagogue that was true to its Jewish faith than one that watered down their service for me. After all, I would be arrogant and entitled (as many Westerners are) to enter a synagogue expecting to feel “welcome” on my terms, if my terms were to fully participate in rituals meant for those who have actually made a real commitment to Judaism.

Also, in the end, I don’t think the dinosaur’s approach is really welcoming. Why? Because in a situation like this, you aren’t getting welcomed into anything special. It is like thinking you are getting free tickets to a Rolling Stones concert, but once you arrive, Kenny G is really the headliner, because he is supposedly just bland enough not to offend anybody. Well, believe it or not, some people actually like the Rolling Stones, even though their style might not be as “neutral” as someone like Kenny G. This point is true of the Church. A lot of people don’t want to be welcomed “as is,” into some bland organization that lacks distinctives. Many want to join a church that transforms, and has standards of holiness and morality. One reason I (and many others) left the Episcopal church, and why people aren’t beating down the door to join, is because many parishes look a lot like the one described.

Mind you, I do believe we must welcome people to our churches, but this does not mean watering down or dumbing down our most important rituals and doctrine. However, it does mean telling others about the gospel of Christ, giving them opportunities to commit to Christ in their own time, and making it feasible for converts to receive the necessary quality catechesis and formation to prepare them to share fully in the transforming mysteries of Christ. Anything else is selling both the convert, and Christ, short.

Here are a few good quotes, from comments on Derek’s post on Liturgy and Seekers that I think get at what we are trying to say:

From Anastasia:

To me, there’s nothing worse than people apologizing for what they do liturgically. our priest does this weekly at the announcements “I’m sorry our liturgy is a little strange. I know it’s impossible to keep up. Just bear with us!” It’s borne of his assumption that he knows what visitors are thinking. I think he’s wrong. Even among the genuinely unchurched. My friend HC’s husband was completely unchurched–raised by atheistic hippies in berkeley california–and when he converted to Christianity, he didn’t go someplace seeker sensitive. He became an eastern rite catholic. Maybe some “seekers” want warren’s church and its ilk but I think there’s good evidence that isn’t the case for everyone.

in any case, I think we can give people a little credit. When I visit an unfamiliar gathering or church service–and i find eastern liturgies disorienting–I expect it to seem a little strange. I don’t need or want an apology for that. I cringe when they feel the need. It seems desperate. Being welcoming is one thing but that doesn’t include disparaging yourselves to make me feel better.

i got caught one booth over a seeker sensitive pastor and worship pastor this morning at breakfast this morning. All I could think was that they would have no idea how to reach me.

and from Derek:

I think a lot of people our age are fed up with disposable culture and want something with some depth and authenticity to it. Most of the denomination-switchers I know have been going more liturgical rather than less.

Of course–that could also reflect the circles I move in too…

By the way, I found this on Stand Firm.