Where's the Beef?

This was running on YouTube and posted at T19 demonstrating a promotional video for the Diocese of New Hampshire Spring Event.



My comments at T19 were,

I hope the production costs were donated.

I am distressed to see this “Letting the Secrets Out” with the “Too Many Secrets” scrabble words appearing again and again. We all know the unspoken secret to which that refers.

Besides that, when I saw this,

“Liturgy is changing” (Uh oh, I thought)
“Worship is the Episcopal Church’s best kept secret” (I agree)
“What if we let that secret out?” (Yeah, go for it)
“Let the liturgy secret out with
A liturgy that honors children (Huh?)
A liturgy that honors creativity (Wait a minute what about God?)
A liturgy that honors our senses and our bodies (Uh oh, here it comes)
This liturgy will let the Gospel secret out, (No I take it back, keep it secret)
and make the Bishop worship like this.” (Ack..Silly dancing clergy video)

And I always thought the liturgy helped me worship God with proper reverence and awe.

The YouTube comment section was interesting. Here are the first 5,

TBWSantaFe
This is spectacular! Thank you.
Tom Woodward

mares2327
What faith and tradition? TEC has thrown Christ to the curb, and is now a cult of moral relativism. It's disgraceful how racist and corrupt TEC has become under Jefferts-Schori, the attacks against African Anglican bishops, the theft of tribal lands in the Dakotas.

uhaek
People, stay far away from this cult. They try to convince you that they are "Christians" but they are not; they don't believe in the Bible, they don't honor God but instead mock Him, they promote what God specifically forbids. They desecrate the sacraments of communion, baptism and especially marriage.
Christ would throw the PB and her fellow swindlers out of the temple.

AnglicanXn
This piece is nicely done - but like the Episcopal Church, it is far more style than substance. You can be as creative as you please, but if Jesus and his atoning death are not at the heart of worship, the liturgy is merely theatrics.

FatherMatthew
I love it. Thanks for the shout out! Some of the slides are too quick to read, though. You need at least 2.0 (maybe even 3) seconds to internalize a text, in my humble opinion. I hope you have a great conference.

eplovejoy1837
Thanks for the helpful comments! Glad to hear that you don't mind me appropriating your work, FatherMatthew!

This was my first try at iMovie, so I struggled with how long to leave the text up. Next time it'll be more consistent.

After letting this post age a couple of weeks, and pondering the value of a theologically sound liturgy in a changing world, I am coming to the conclusion that there is no "secret." What we have here is a failure to communicate how the liturgy grounds us, and protects us from such foolishness as the dancing clergy in the video. Clergy whose feet have left the secure ground laid down by earlier generations. "A liturgy that honors our senses and bodies" it is not. It is a liturgy that brings us back to the Lord humbly, on our knees.

"Almighty and most merciful father,
we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep,
we have followed too much the devices and desires of our
own hearts,
we have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to
have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to
have done.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore thou those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesus our Lord;
and grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen."
1979 BCP p. 320

Now you are free to dance.