What do you think? I like it.
Andrew Brown in the Guardian:
The couple in this video were not churchgoers, and had lived together for years before they got married. They only went to a church after it was suggested by the stately home where they held their reception. But they managed to get a ceremony there that did both solemnity and joy, which are things that weddings need.Aside from the disco dance, the wedding service followed the traditional marriage liturgy of the Church of England.
Brown adds:
I doubt that [Kate] Bottley will ever become a bishop. At the moment she is not even a full-time parish priest. She works three days a week looking after three rural churches, and two days a week as a chaplain. But it isn't bishops who will keep the church of England going.You go, Kate!
"Obviously, the approval of those in attendance was not 100%"
ReplyDeleteNote the groom's comment on YouTube that the elderly ladies who left in the middle of the dance were simply going to the loo.
I thought the vicar's gold pumps were a nice touch.
Bill, I did not get that far in my reading at YouTube. Thanks for the correction. Love the gold pumps.
DeleteKate reminds me of another English vicar - the one from Dibley.
I had a good laugh watching this --and loved it. And prayed for the poor grandma for whom it was all too much....
ReplyDeletePleased to have given you a laugh, margaret. As it turns out, the auntie was only going to the loo.
DeleteI was in a flash mob on Pentecost. We sang and danced to "Day by Day" from Godspell. Some of us had tambourines and noise makers and everyone had ribbon sticks (red, of course) to wave. No one went to the loo and we got lots of positive feedback.
ReplyDeleteBex, sounds like you had great fun at Pentecost in your church. Still, the folks who have to go to the loo, should go to the loo. ;-)
DeleteSilly!
ReplyDeleteWould you have left, Lapin, or maybe made a quick trip to the loo?
DeleteThis was an actual church wedding? Seriously?
ReplyDeleteI'd feel sure it was a parody if I hadn't read last week in the Telegraph, I think, that the CofE is now actively seeking to start a church-within-the-church for pagans and new age types.
I withhold further comment.
An actual church wedding - seriously. As Andrew Brown says in his article, the rest of the ceremony was a traditional Church of England wedding.
DeleteActually, I don't think new age types are much into disco dancing. Not sure about pagans.
DeleteSince I'm neither new age nor pagan, I must plead ignorance.
DeleteThe article is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10133906/Church-of-England-creating-pagan-church-to-recruit-members.html
Bill misses my point that the CofE in this day and time will, apparently, do anything at all to attract members and money.
A finer pen than mine could propose a wholesale rebranding of the Church into a powerhouse public-private enterprise that would add billions to the state's coffers while making the whole dusty, dreary apparatus of church suddenly a hip, happening thing.
Start with a rename: instead of the deadly boring "Church of England," do something catchy like FUNKYTOWN (TM). In neon lights, flashing and blinking 24/7. The Church already has market saturation in every city, town, parish, and village across the land, so why not give people what they really want: instead of interminably dull hours wedged in with the blue-rinse set on Sunday mornings, why not turn every property into a really cool, no-dress-up restaurant and club, a la Hooters? Instead of pews and prayerbooks, cocktail tables and waitresses in hot pants and t-shirts. With uplifting Bible verses embroidered on the back, like "Love Thy Neighbor!" in sparkly glitter.
Instead of dreadful old hymns, why not karaoke nights? Casino nights? Circus nights? And imagine the huge crowds they could draw with a light show of Michael Jackson's Thriller in the churchyard! Trained local managers could tailor all sorts of special events to local interests - the possibilities of mass entertainment - and the resulting huge income to HM Treasury - are practically unlimited.
The presently useless and nearly moribund CofE has such potential to become an important, imposing market force, and give wonderful value for money!
So why not? Why ever not? But I'm not a Swift or an Orwell, so I will stop here, Mimi, and leave the rest to your own imagination to work out . . . .
...the CofE in this day and time will, apparently, do anything at all to attract members and money.
DeleteExcept, the CofE has not been supportive of justice and equality for LGTB persons and women. The powers-that-be might try welcoming and affirming everyone and opening its ministries to all the baptized.
A follow-up: You should read this blog entry by the Reverend Steve Hollinghurst, who was the source of the comments about a "pagan church." The Telegraph article, it appears, is a rather misleading mish-mash of several different things that do not add up to an actual plan of the CofE.
DeleteI do appreciate your concerns that the Ancient and Venerable Anglican Worship Experience might give way to "mass entertainment." My parish here in Pittsburgh is relentlessly Anglophilic. We do Evensong from the 1662 Prayer Book (we even "save the Queen" during choir rehearsal, although we are good Episcopalians and "save the state" during the actual service). We have hosted the Hereford Cathedral Choir on two occasions.
I don't begrudge other parishes, however, the right to use whatever style they wish as long as it is done in the service of conveying an authentic Christian message, regardless of how much that clashes with my own personal tastes--I just avoid those experiences.
Personally, I think that a lot of the stuff that is done to be more "relevant" has a pretty short shelf life, but in attempting them we might learn a few things that could authentically enhance our more traditional approach.
Bill Ghrist (for some reason Blogger is labeling me as "Anonymous")
Bill (you came through as Bill, not anonymous), thanks very much for the link to Steve Hollinghurst, which clarifies what is not so clear in the Telegraph. I prefer traditional worship services, and we have, on a few occasions, used the 1662 BCP for Evensong, and I enjoyed them very much. I came to the Episcopal Church from the Roman Catholic Church, and the liturgy of the Eucharist is quite similar, although, in my opinion, the Episcopal Church service is much more beautiful.
DeleteSome who come to TEC from churches where the liturgy is not so structured and traditional seem to fall in love with our liturgy from the beginning. I wonder about people who have no background in church attendance, especially young people, whether the service would be attractive or off-putting. Hard as I may try, I can't imagine what a conversion to faith would be like, because I have always been a believer in Christianity.
I commend clergy like Steve Hollinghurst for engaging with Pagans, though I'm not at all surprised that his efforts are misunderstood. I especially like that he calls attention to the divine feminine. God is not male.
Footnotes:
ReplyDelete1. "trained local managers" = the useless, irrelevant drones formerly known as priests.
2. "possibilities of mass entertainment" = to which all citizens are of course entitled, which would become an entrenched responsibility of the government, with the prelate formerly known as the Archbishop of Canterbury now routinely posted as "Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport" and perhaps "Minister for Women and Equalities" as well, just to ensure that absolutely everyone has a good time.
It's probably no more eccentric than having Ezekiel 37 (the Valley of Dry Bones) as one of the readings at your wedding... followed by a reception with an adult-capable bouncy castle.
ReplyDeleteThe valley of the dry bones seems an odd choice for a reading at a wedding, as does the bouncy castle at the reception. Is yours a true story, James?
DeleteIt was my wedding...
ReplyDelete...and yes, there were good reasons for both, and the whole thing did work.
Wow! Your story. Ezekiel 37 is, after all, a story of new life. Actually, it is one of my favorite stories from the Hebrew Testament, but I would not have thought of its use at a wedding. I'm happy Ezekiel and the bouncy castle worked for you.
Delete