Saturday, December 10, 2005
Backwards Progress
It has been strange, coming into this wonderfully progressive group of people (the UUA), only to find them talking about things like "contemporary worship" and "small group ministry" as if they were groundbreaking new concepts. Where I come from, people have been talking about contemporary worship & small groups for a long, long time. Since I'm not real fond anymore of the places I've been, it's kind of uncomfortable finding my new home borrowing from my former places of residence.
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7 comments:
I havent heard us talking about them as new, do we really?
Indeed, I think of it as making sure we dont throw out the baby with the bathwater.
unless there is something wrong with "contemporay worship" (and we've done that for decades - so it cant be new) or "small groups", why not use those names?
we share other things with others too:
"Pot Luck" sundays! and "sunday school" ( indeed we claim sunday school as one of our step-children), most of us meet on sunday morning.
(pardon if i missed your point)
StevenR
While it is not a new idea for large UU churches, for small UU churches (and I suspect this applies for other Protestant types) it is a challenge....
a large church can have contemporary and traditional worship...but the small church is afraid to do anything that doesn't involve its core members.
Aha! The secret to comments! Add a bit of critique & voila, people comment!
Small groups (in the more technical sense of the term) are new to the fellowship in Anchorage, and yes, that may be tied to its transition from a pastoral to a program sized congregation.
I've heard the "gosh-darn isn't this the best thing since sliced bread" tone at AUUF and in some UU blogs (can't remember which ones at this moment). I'm glad to hear from both of you that this isn't uncritical borrowing.
A reminder for me, I guess, of the many ways in which people and congregations are diverse. What one person/congregation thinks of as ancient history, another has never encountered.
Thanks for the feedback.
Actually i think you have it backwards.. unless I am missing your point. We have rejected Contemporary and Small Groups for a long time mostly because they where considered "Christian". Or at least that is my sense. What is new is the realization that we can use the affective and ejoyable endeavors in the same way, without compromising (perhaps even expanding on) who we are as a religious community.
even before the internet, when I was in APAs - if you wrote a nice long article, you got "nice job" at best. If you wrote a stinging over-the-top comment, you got pages of comments. So, yes, the squeaky wheel continues to be how to get grease.
I TOTALLY get what you mean. In Utah the UU congregation was very awesome (see Ministrare) and progressive. Where I am now, they seem more like a traditional church and think of themselves as progresive because of that. So, it does make me a little nervous. As long as we never have creed or dogma, I'll be alright though.
Yep! Terminal Uniqueness "R" Us! Not just with ways to do church or worship, but with theological concepts (like, say, skepticism), which are shared by a massive number of liberal Christians. I am so very familiar with that self-congratulatory tone of discovery among UUs. Sometimes it's cute. Sometimes it makes my teeth itch with the desire to say something sarcastic.
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