MA Liturgical Music
Liturgy and Worship
Recovering and Preserving Festivity
and Celebration in Modern Day Liturgy
A Literature Review
Elspeth Chantler
2004
Introduction
The rolling tide of liturgical renewal 1, which has transformed both the Anglican and the Roman Catholic churches over the last fifty years, has aroused a lamenting of the loss of 'mystery' (the numinous), felt as a result of decreased ceremonial, vernacular texts and a relaxation of formality 2. I have long felt that a resurgence of festivity 3 and celebration 4 is needed to offer worshippers a greater chance to engage in liturgy more fully. The books reviewed here acknowledge the importance of the preservation and recovery of festivity and celebration in modern day liturgy 5. Given that liturgy cannot be separated from tradition 6, liturgists face the challenge of designing authentic worship that is as true to our Christian heritage as it is workable in the context of the modern technological culture.
The Feast of Fools - A Theological Essay on Festivity and Fantasy
Harvey Cox
The Feast of Fools focuses on the themes of festivity and fantasy from both theological and philosophical perspectives, defining festivity as 'the capacity for genuine revelry and joyous celebration' and fantasy as ' the faculty for envisioning radically alternative life situations' (Cox, 1969, p7). Cox asserts that both festivity and fantasy are vital to life and faith, and that both elements are pre-requisites for genuine social transformation. Cox examines the social element within the medieval Feast of Fools, affirming the necessity of a resurgence of celebration, hope, liberation and experimentation. He does not advocate a return to medievalism (nor Dionysian excess!) but suggests that contemporary liturgy must seek to include all that was right and good about the Feast of Fools in its capacity to enable the participants to envision a new social order (i.e. that of God's Kingdom). Cox helpfully places liturgy firmly in the context of wider society. The essay makes an enlightening read - it is as liberating to liturgy as the gospels themselves are to humankind. The Feast of Fools is actually a very sensible book.
Cox has encouraged me in my work to revitalise worship, having provided me with underpinning knowledge to be able explain what inside I already knew.
The Rites of People - Exploring the Ritual Character of Human Experience (revised edition)
Gerard Pottebaum
This is the most recent of the books covered in this review (1992), and pays greater attention to the specifics church-related rituals happening in the context of the contemporary technological culture. Pottebaum presents ritual activity as a creative art, expressing the human need to share and celebrate life.
He offers the view of pagan rite as the origin of sacred liturgy, asserting that the search for authentic ritual making within the context of one's own culture is honouring a rich biblical tradition. Pottebaum seeks to unravel ' the struggle each of us faces… to unfold the holiness of all that is profane, to reveal the sacred qualities of secular life.' (Pottebaum, 1992, pp7)
The Rites of People is plainly written, serving as a helpful introduction to human ritual character. Pottebaum carefully defines his terms at the outset, and avoids unnecessary jargon. His work is fortified by the variety of quotes from other writers presented in the margins of the text. Pottebaum has evidently been influenced by the work of Cox, and likewise offers a illuminating (more recent) sociological backdrop to his analysis, making it a useful barometer for any currently concerned with liturgical renewal.
Elements of Rite - A Handbook of liturgical Style
Aidan Kavanagh
Kavanagh approaches liturgy as an art form to which culture must adapt. Far from advocating the absorption of 21st Century 'ethnic' celebration, or the inclusion of the high-tech multi-media approach, Kavanagh states: 'The liturgy's supreme act of festivity takes the form of the banqueting on the body and blood of the logos enfleshed…'(Kavanagh, 1982, pp101).
Asserting that, '…worship is never merely utilitarian but festive' (Kavanagh, 1982, p20), he provides a thorough overview of liturgical style. He covers the principles of constructing liturgy, matters of form, general laws of liturgy and what he calls the 'Elementary Laws of Liturgical Usage' clearly and authoritatively. Written from a Roman Catholic perspective, Kavanagh sets out to restate the fundamentals of effective liturgy that underpin the rubrics of the Roman rites. The advice offered in this slim volume can be usefully applied by readers of other denominations and the book itself is well laid out and easy to dip into. Elements of Rite is a book I will refer to again and again.
Liturgy Reshaped
Kenneth Stevenson (ed.)
This book offers the broadest perspective of the four reviewed here. The numerous contributors, who come from a diverse spread of denominational backgrounds, offer chapters on liturgical revision, initiation, intercession, the Eucharistic Prayer, shape and liturgy, worship and theology, symbolism, mission, and patristics. Like Cox, Pottebaum and Kavanagh, several of the contributors assert that Christian rituals are primarily shaped by ancient practice 7, and recognise the value of an inherited culture, while Stevenson and Yarnold in particular address the problems specific to ministering in our technological culture 8.
Liturgy Reshaped was intends to stimulate ecumenical discussion on both the theoretical and practical issues currently facing the churches of the West, in the hope that 'revision can be succeeded by renewal.'(Stevenson, 1982, pp ix).
It is a scholarly book - pithy, but not so dry as to be inaccessible, and delightfully ecumenical. I found John Gunstone's chapter about the charismatic movement particularly helpful, offering theological insights and understanding of a world which for me (an Anglo-Catholic) has seemed at best baffling, and at worst plain scary. Indeed, Liturgy Reshaped has done its job well, for my thinking has been challenged through the reading of it.
Conclusion
When read together these books provide a broad overview of the subject in question, offering insight born of both scholarly research and practical application. They are, however, only a small part of a large literature base covering modern liturgical practice (and the place of festivity and celebration within it). Others, which I have found useful, are listed in the bibliography.
Elspeth Chantler, 2004
Bibliography
Books reviewed for this assignment
Cox, H. (1969) The Feast of Fools - A Theological Essay on Festivity and Fantasy, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
Kavanagh, A. (1982) Elements of Rite - A Handbook of Liturgical Style, New York: Pueblo
Pottebaum, G. (1992) The Rites of People - Exploring the Ritual Character of Human Experience, revised edition, Washington D.C.: Pastoral Press
Stevenson, K (ed.) (1982) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK
Further reading
Bredin, E. (1994) Praxis and Praise - A Sense of Direction in Liturgy, Co. Dublin: Columba Press
Dix, G. (1945) The Shape of the Liturgy, 2nd ed., London: A&C Black
Earey, M. & Myers, G. (eds.) (2001) Common Worship Today - An Illustrated Guide to Common Worship, London: Harper Collins
Frazer, J.G. (1922) The Golden Bough - A Study in Magic and Religion, (abridged ed.) London: Macmillan
Jones, C. et. al. (eds.) (1978) The Study of Liturgy, London: SPCK
Pritchard, G.W. (1992) Offering the Gospel to Children, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley
Publications
See chapter entitled 'Learning through celebration'.
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- Buxton, in Stevenson (ed.),1982, pp90-91 Back to text
- Stevenson, 1982, pp40 Back to text
- Chambers English Dictionary defines FESTIVITY as: …joyfulness: joyful celebrations: social mirth: gaiety Back to text
- Chambers English Dictionary defines CELEBRATE AS: to distinguish by solemn ceremonies, as a festival or event: to perform with proper rites and ceremonies, as mass, the Eucharist etc.: to publish the praises of: to do something because of a feeling of pleasure at some event.
Chambers English Dictionary defines CELEBRATION as: the act of celebrating: any solemn ceremony: an extolling. Back to text
- Cox, 1969, pp95-95; Kavanagh, 1982, pp20; Fischer in Stevenson (ed.), 1982, pp133; Pottebaum Back to text
- Dix, 1945, pp x- xii, & p3; Bradshaw in Stevenson (ed.), 1982, pp141-143, Gunstone in Stevenson (ed.), 1982, pp 4-5. Back to text
- Gunstone, J. (1982) The Spirit's Freedom in the Spirit's Framework in Stevenson, K. (ed.) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK, 1982, pp4-5
Stevenson, K (1982) The Spirit's Freedom in the Spirit's Framework in Stevenson, K. (ed.) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK, 1982, pp4-5
Bradshaw, P. (1982) The Liturgical Use and Abuse of Patristics in Stevenson, K. (ed.) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK, 1982, pp141-143
Tripp, D. (1982) Shape and Liturgy in Stevenson, K.(ed.) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK, 1982, pp 65-82
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- Stevenson, K (1982) The Spirit's Freedom in the Spirit's Framework in Stevenson, K. (ed.) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK, 1982, pp4-5
Yarnold, E. (1982) Initiation Sacrament and Experience in Stevenson, K. (ed.) Liturgy Reshaped, London: SPCK, 1982, pp30-31
See also Cox, 1969, pp162
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