0 Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness

Durham E-Theses The liturgy as drama Meakin, David John How to cite: Meakin, David John (1996) The liturgy as drama, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5427/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The Liturgy as Drama ABSTRACT This thesis seeks to show that the presentation of the liturgy and the presentation of dramatic performances have something in common. The liturgy is a dramatic methoct of presenting the message of salvation within a gathered worshipping community. It is a drama whose scenes are set in a whole range of contexts, each of which will have a bearing on the methods and appropriateness of presentation. The motivation for preparing this thesis lies in the fact that it is too easy to stumble across ill-conceived, ill-prepared and directionless liturgies where insufficient attention has been given to the sort of detail which is required if the drama is to succeed. We shall look at a number of contexts in which the liturgy is set, among them, the cultural context, the context of folk religion, of language and music and of the physical space before moving towards making recommendations about the ways in which the dramatic impact of the liturgy can be enhanced. Throughout the thesis we shall use a number of major examples drawn largely from the worshipping life ofDurham Cathedral to illustrate the points being made. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. The Liturgy as Drama The Reverend David John Meakin M.A. The University of Durham Department of Theology 1996 15 AUG 1996 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge with grateful thanks the invaluable help and support of all who have made the writing of this thesis possible. My supervisor, Professor Ann Loades. My Father, The Reverend Canon Tony Meakin, for his proofreading skills. Above all, my wife, Simone, for her endless hours of patience in allowing me the space and freedom to work on the computer. ~lfll{ 0 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Let the whole earth stand in awe of him. Psalm 96: 9 1 TABLE of CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Taking worship seriously 4 1.3 Particular spaces: flexible and inflexible boundaries 9 1.4 Cultural settings 11 1.5 The need for change 12 2. LEARNING DRAMA: Folk Religion 14 2.1 Folk festivals 14 2.2 Survival of the Spirit: political consciousness and religious drama 16 2.3 Belief in the supernatural 17 2.4 Folk religion from one direction 19 2.5 Folk religion from another direction 20 2.6 Rites of passage 23 2. 7 A church for the people? 26 3. ROOTED IN REALITY: Liturgy, existence, and the call to justice 28 3.1 Reciprocally proacth·e 28 3.2 Response to deliverance 29 3.3 The power to live 30 3.4 Culture and decay: issues of justice 32 3.5 Changing rites 34 3.6 Inculturation 36 3.7 Trial and error? 41 4. LANGUAGE AND MUSIC: problems and possibilities 43 4.1 The language of change? 43 4.2 'Doing' theology 46 4.3 Language and gender 47 4.4 Language and identity 50 4.5 Liturgy and music 53 4.6 Music and tradition 54 4. 7 Modern music 55 4.8 The liturgy and communication 56 4.9 'The Audience': Living in the real world 60 4.10 Different rhythms 62 4.11 Keep off the grass 63 5. BUILDINGS AND THEIR LIMITATIONS 65 5.1 The historical development 65 5.2 Ecclesiology 69 5.3 Using the space 72 5.4 Moving out 74 5.5 Shaping the space 76 5.6 Shaped by the space 78 5. 7 Renewing the space: the Liverpool experience 80 2 6. A MAJOR EXAMPLE: Enthroning a bishop 84 6.1 Making the connection 84 6.2 A time of planning 84 6.3 A new start ... 85 6.4 ... goes wrong? 86 6.5 A change of plan 87 6.6 The ceremony begins 88 6. 7 The entry 89 6.8 A turning point 89 6.9 The Pastoral Staff: pastoral issues within the ceremony 90 6.10 The legal business 92 6.11 The Enthronement 93 6.12 The Installation 95 6.13 The Presentation 97 6.14 The vision 98 7. THE LITURGY AS DRAMA: moving towards recommendations 99 7.1 Getting it right 99 7.2 Liturgy and pageant: an example 100 7.3 Another example: ordination 104 7.4 The Eucharist 112 7.5 Getting ready . 115 7.6 Symbol and myth 118 7. 7 Patterns of worship 120 8. CONCLUSIONS: Constructive reflections 125 8.1 Looking to the future 125 8.2 Practical considerations 126 8.3 Towards the transcendent? 130 9. BffiLIOGRAPHY 132 3 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Taking worship seriously Within many systems of religion adherents are called to a whole range of responses to their god - among these responses one of the most important is the call to worship. It is the focus of the relationship between the god and the follower, for receiving strength and teaching, and for realising one's interdependence on others. Within the Christian faith the sense of being part of a gathered community, large or small, is central. During the millennium of the Diocese of Durham the Bishop called a Eucharistic celebration for the whole Diocese at the new home of the Durham County Cricket Club at Chester-le-Street. (We will return to an examination of the service later.) What is important here is the sense of allegiance to a larger whole which members of small gathered congregations felt. It helped them to feel a part of a much larger gathered community. Another way of expressing this point may be made by reference to a quite different example. The Dean of Durham, John Arnold, in a sermon at Matins in the Cathedral, used his time to examine the way in which he felt the process which we call prayer may be constructed. 1 Imagine a well constructed fence. At regular intervals there are stout posts concreted into the ground - firm, unmoving, taking the weight of all the rest when the gales blow. These represent regular weekly prayer within the worship of the Church, where everything comes together and is earthed in reality and community. Between these main posts are half a dozen stakes, not quite so massive, but still strong enough to . take some weight. These are our daily prayers, Matins and Evensong or perhaps a short quiet time . whatever it is, something a bit substantial every day. And then, attached to 1 January 1995 4 the posts and stakes, a good wire mesh to close the gaps, consisting of interlocking strands of joy and thanksgiving and intercession, grace before meals and all sorts of spontaneous prayers as well as the continued practice of the presence of God. The image develops with the thought that, while the worship of the Church consists of a whole series of interdependent practices, it is the worship of the gathered community which ought to be taking 'the weight of all the rest'. And if that is what it is intended to do then we ought to be able to expect that it should reach a high standard of preparation and presentation. The experience of many, however, may be that too few who participate in any form of liturgy, whether it be as 'presenters' or 'receivers' have a clear enough idea about what that liturgy is intended either to express or to achieve. , so cannot evaluate whether it is 'taking the weight of all the rest.' This is not to criticise the clergy alone (although there are many whose presentation of the liturgy leaves too much to be desired) but to acknowledge the fact that all who go to church ought to be willing to participate in the liturgy, to contribute to it, rather than simply going along to 'spectate' or be passive in relation to what is going on. If the various liturgies are to be meaningful, the congregation is called on to develop an understanding of what is happening, both in respect of having an awareness of the purpose of the liturgies and taking an active responsibility for them. It cannot be satisfactory to suggest that, if the worship of any particular parish or congregation is to be owned by the whole community, the responsibility for its preparation and presentation is perceived solely as the task of the ordained ministry. That too many of the clergy are not clear what they are doing when they conduct the worship of the Church becomes apparent when we so easily stumble across directionless, ill-prepared, untidy and uninspiring acts of worship.

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